Australian Greens plan to force vote on gambling advertising ban
13th August 2024 10:11 am GMTThe Australian Greens political party has vowed to force a vote this week on a proposed gambling advertising ban.
The Greens, Australia’s third largest political party, plan to introduce the ban as an amendment to the Communications Legislation Amendment (Regional Broadcasting Bill) 2024.
Describing the gambling lobby as “parasites”, Greens spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young vowed to force the Senate to vote on the proposed ban this week.
“Australia banned tobacco ads in this country because they did acute harm. Gambling companies profit from addiction and misery, targeting our kids and wrecking families. They must be banned too,” said the Senator.
“It’s time for Parliament to listen to the experts, respect public opinion and back a full ban on gambling ads. The gambling lobby may have deep pockets, but the public want strong action,” she added. “Our amendment will be a test for Labor and the Coalition this week.”
At the time of publication, no amendments to the Regional Broadcasting Bill had been introduced.
The Australian Greens have campaigned to ban gambling advertising since 2016.
The pledge by The Greens follows last week's open letter signed by two former Australian Prime Ministers, which claimed “there is strong evidence that gambling companies are now grooming our kids by targeting children as young as 14 through social media”.