Politics With Michelle Grattan: Andrew Wilkie On The Need To Go Harder To Curb Gambling Advertising

Gambling is a policy area where there's a major mismatch between the public and the government.

The public and advocates want much more restriction put on gambling advertising, while the government – beset with pressure from stakeholders, including the industry itself and media companies wanting the revenue from the ads – drags its feet.

The Albanese government's currently has legislation before parliament that would, among its changes, restrict the number of gambling ads that can be played during certain hours, bans radio ads during school pick-up and drop-off times, and ban ads in sports venues and on players' jerseys.

But critics say the legislation, now before a Senate inquiry, doesn't go nearly far enough.

Since entering parliament in 2010, independent MP Andrew Wilkie, from Tasmania, has been a tireless advocate for more controls around gambling, especially its advertising, to minimise harm. Recently he put his arguments to former prime minister John Howard and reportedly received a good hearing.

He joins podcast today.

On the government's planned reforms, and its response to the report done by a committee under the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, Wilkie is scathing:

On gambling itself, Wilkie says he's for people being able to gamble but harm needs to be minimised and the problem remains overwhelming with online gambling and gambling ads:

On why the government might be so hesitant, Wilkie refers to the personal relationships some in the government – including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself – have with affected industries:

On the current legislation and the eight-week Senate inquiry, Wilike says support is growing within parliament for greater changes and he's hopeful the Greens and the Coalition might team up to demand more:

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