Time to tell our leaders we want gambling reform

I have campaigned over decades for gambling reform.

It started way, way back when I was in law and I met a lovely, elderly woman who shockingly was facing jail for stealing to feed her gambling habit.

It astounded me that this harmless mother was facing jail and it highlighted just how addictive and predatory the machines and products of the gambling industry are.

Fast forward to the current federal election and I believe we now have the greatest chance of national gambling reform that we have ever had.

Gambling reform, and more particularly the proliferation of gambling advertising has been put on the national agenda like never before.

Polls now show that 76% of Australians want gambling ads banned. This is a stunning result.

And while there has been a lot of hard work by a lot of different people and organisations that has led to this, it has also taken the courage and leadership of many of our political leaders.

Perhaps most courageous of all was the late Peta Murphy, the Labor MP who even in the last days of her battle with cancer was fighting for gambling reform.

She had spearheaded a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling that detailed 31 recommendations - including a full gambling ad ban phased in over three years, a ban on inducements, and the introduction of a national gambling regulator – that would significantly reduce gambling harm in Australia.

And given Australians lose more than any other country to gambling – an astounding $31.5 billion – it is clear that the harm it is causing communities across the nation is both tragic and preventable.

I had many long talks with Peta, before and after the parliamentary inquiry that she led, and I found her to be one of the bravest people I have known.

But she was not alone. Every member of that committee endorsed all of its 31 recommendations – regardless of their political party. This is an outcome that is both uncommon and extraordinary. Each member should be recognised for their important stance in advocating for long overdue reform.

It is clear that gambling reform must go beyond party politics.

But it is also clear – given the untold riches and lobbying power of the gambling industry and its allies – it will take brave men and women on both sides of politics as well as many other parties and individuals to make a similar brave stand if we are to see real and lasting gambling reform.

Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, who was on the committee, has spoken out for the need for reform. In many ways he has led his party on this issue. It has taken guts, determination and integrity.

On the other side, Labor MP Mike Freelander has similarly been a champion of reform, urging his party and the Prime Minister to do more on this issue.

I also want to pay tribute to the tireless work of MPs Andrew Wilkie and Rebekha Sharkie who have led the Parliamentary Friends of Gambling Reform and have often been a beacon of hope. Andrew’s campaigning for gambling reform goes back decades.

The Greens have played an important role in this area and so have many independents including the Teals.

The Alliance doesn’t and isn’t endorsing any candidate or parties but it is asking Australians who are concerned about gambling harm to ask their local candidates, where they stand on gambling reform.

In this cost-of-living election, it is extraordinary to realise that gambling losses are now costing Australian households more than what they spend on power bills. Our total losses now even eclipse what the government spends on aged care every year and is rivalling the spending on the NDIS.

Our gambling losses are also continuing to rise.

We are also seeing too many young people being exposed to gambling. A report due to be released soon by the Alliance shows that up to 600,000 underage teenagers are gambling in Australia – that’s enough to fill the MCG six times over.

It is enough to make every parent angry that in Australia we allow more than a million gambling ads to appear on our screens every year. And gambling advertising now saturates our sport, most particularly our major football codes.

It has taken brave politicians to put gambling reform on the national agenda. It is now time for voters to make their voices heard.

Sign our petition to end gambling ads here.

And ask your local candidates where they stand on the need for gambling reform and the full implementation of the Murphy Report.