| The decision by the Federal Government not to proceed with any sort of ban on gambling advertising is one of the most shocking betrayals of the community I’ve seen in my 14 years in parliament. Clearly the Federal Government doesn’t give a damn about the public interest. They don’t care whether gambling ads spoil the enjoyment of watching television or being on a device and, even more shamefully, they clearly don’t care about the terrible harm caused by gambling addiction. How any member of the Government could think it OK for gambling to be so normalised, and for children to be groomed to become gambling addicts, is beyond me. It’s anyone’s guess how they sleep at night with their conscience so despoiled. But that’s what happens when you get a government scared stiff of the gambling companies, scared stiff of the broadcasters, and scared stiff of the major sporting codes who are paid every time someone lays a bet on one of their games. |
