Growing number of Labor MPs jockey for Murphy’s law ad ban

Labor MPs are staging a rare co-ordinated campaign to jolt the government into tougher action on betting advertising after a week of intensive lobbying ended in what harm-reduction advocates described as a farcical briefing.

TV and gambling executives spent the week in Canberra trying to water down a proposed two-per-hour limit on TV ads and a digital blackout, while anti-gambling and crossbench figures lobbied ministers to enact a total ban on all platforms.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

There are divergent views about a ban among cabinet ministers, whose colleagues on a backbench policy committee heard from Communications Minister Michelle Rowland early in the week about plans to cap – but not ban – ads in response to community concerns about their saturation.

At that meeting, several MPs were adamant the government needed to strengthen its draft proposal to bring it closer to the recommendations of an inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.

Not all MPs on the committee (led by MPs Dan Repacholi and Louise Miller-Frost) expressed the same view, according to sources not authorised to speak publicly. But the forceful arguments of a group of MPs demonstrated the pressure Rowland faces after several Labor MPs went public in calling for a ban.

The backbenchers pushing for change have been energetic since this masthead published Rowland’s leaked plans last week. They are continuing to target senior figures in the government urging them to give more weight to Murphy’s report.

Harm-reduction advocates such as public health groups and religious bodies were, until Friday, not provided the details that Rowland’s office gave to gambling, sport and TV bosses two weeks ago. The industry heads were all forced to sign non-disclosure agreements, which anti-gambling figures refused to sign.

Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Tim Costello and others pushing for a ban met with Rowland’s staff on Friday after Labor finally allowed a briefing for those who refused to sign gag orders.

Costello said the meeting was a “farce” and it was obvious corporate interests had advantages not given to groups who opposed gambling ads.

The prominent social justice advocate said the officials confirmed the details of news reporting about Rowland’s proposals, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying “don’t believe everything you read in the paper” on August 5 when asked about this masthead’s revelations.

Academics questioned the officials on the evidence to support a partial ban.

“The whole thing was a farce as an exercise in consultation,” Costello said, adding that harm-reduction groups had been given one week to suggest changes before policies were finalised.

“And what’s the evidence base for their position? They admit it was a political judgment [to cap ads at two per hour].”

The Greens, teals and other left-leaning MPs have accused Labor of giving in to companies that stand to lose tens of millions of dollars if all ads are banned.

In a clear sign of Labor’s thinking, senior ministers Bill Shorten, Katy Gallagher and Murray Watt all talked this week about the need to balance the gambling controls against the financial pressures faced by media companies.

Shorten noted that Rowland was planning to enact a bigger betting reform package than had ever been attempted by a government.

“Merely because I won’t do 100 per cent of what an advocate wants doesn’t mean I’m not interested in fixing it,” he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has chastised Labor for making groups sign gag orders and for delaying its response to Murphy’s report.

On Friday, he did not clearly answer whether he would support a blanket ad ban, saying instead: “I think it’s an abomination when you sit there with your kids watching footy … the conversation’s around someone’s multi or what’s happening with the odds.

“So I think the culture that’s been driven here ... is a real problem and changes do need to be made. So we’ll see what the government has to say about how that can work, how they can work with the codes, how they can work with the free-to-air companies as well, and then we can respond from there.”

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