The deal the prime minister has cut with the Coalition on gambling will be a huge disappointment to people across Australia.
This legislation was about more than just gambling reform. It was a test of whether our parliament listens to the people over vested interests, and the clear answer to that is no. It also raises serious questions about our major party system.
The prime minister had an opportunity to leave a legacy and change our country for the better, and he has instead chosen a path pushed by the gambling industry. Communities rightly feel sold out to a predatory industry that profits from people’s pain.
That pain was on full display during a recent Senate inquiry into the bill. We heard the raw grief from a family who lost a brother and a son. This family courageously shared their story in the hope that the government would act to prevent gambling harm, to stop other families having to experience the indescribable pain their own suffers to this day. They shared some of their son’s and brother’s last words, words that brought the committee to tears.
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“I am ending my life because I am so pathologically addicted to gambling and cannot get myself to stop. I can’t even get myself to stop to save my own life nor to save my loved ones from the pain of me committing suicide. I am just so disgusted and revolted with myself and want to end my life as soon as possible before my addiction ruins more people around me. I am convinced that the world will, in the long run, be better off with one less person like me. I wish I never placed that first bet. But here I am. I cannot change anything in the past, and so this is where my life will end.”
Hearing testimony like this, after being pulled aside at event after event by predominantly young men over the last few years, has left me angry. I’ve heard story after story of shame, strained relationships and financial ruin as a result of gambling addiction.
How can the prime minister hear evidence of the overwhelming harm and respond with a few tweaks to a weak package?
It is damning that Australians can call so strongly for protections from the harms of gambling advertising and the major parties fail so comprehensively to listen. That we can have backbenchers on both the Labor and Coalition side defy party solidarity and speak out, calling for stronger reform, only to be ignored and forced to vote with their respective parties for inadequate legislation.
What does all this say about the parliamentary process?
A government-led committee delivered 31 unanimously supported recommendations, a Senate inquiry heard a wealth of evidence about the need to implement those 31 recommendations. Both were ignored.
This is a tragic missed opportunity – a betrayal of the people who have pushed so hard for stronger action and a betrayal of the vast majority of Australians who want an end to gambling ads. It will be a damaging legacy for the prime minister.
Despite what the PM says, this isn’t about stopping people having a punt, it’s about protecting children from being indoctrinated by what the late Labor MP Peta Murphy called a “predatory industry”.
Yet again we see vested interests put ahead of community interest. The gambling lobby, leaning on free-to-air television and the major sporting codes, have well and truly won the day with this legislation. As my independent colleague, and member of the committee that handed down the Murphy report, Kate Chaney said, it shows why politics in this country is broken.
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Australians are angry about the way our system has lacked long-term thinking and prioritising them ahead of vested interests. They are looking for anyone who will take on the establishment and deliver for the people. We have to build a better way of doing politics in this country – that makes decisions like we plan to be here for a long time and delivers legislation in line with what is good for Australians, on everything from a gas export tax to gambling.
Nordic countries have for decades operated as minority governments, which has led to a consensus culture in lawmaking that reflects the views of the community. And we seem to be pointing to their successes on everything from their sovereign wealth fund to their approach to housing. These are all things that people raise with me frequently. They also ask: how do we change this?
Australians could consider this when we next go to the polls. I’ve seen the power of a government having to negotiate. In the last term of parliament, bills had to pass after negotiation with multiple independents and minor parties. It led to much better, more robust legislation. Minority government is something we need to consider embracing rather than being mugged by the major parties’ self-interested scare campaigns if we want better outcomes for the long term.
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David Pocock is the independent senator for the Australian Capital Territory
