Minister for Communications

Andrew Wilkie

WILKIE () (): I seek leave to move the following motion:

That the House:

(1) notes that the Minister for Communications has responsibility for the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and other relevant matters;

(2) further notes that the Minister for Communications has received gifts and donations from the online gambling industry while Minister, and previously when Labor spokesperson on online gambling;

(3) calls on the Minister to return to this place immediately and explain why she thinks her behaviour is acceptable and why she shouldn't resign as Minister, if that is her position; and

(4) calls on the Prime Minister to intervene if the Minister refuses to stand down by enforcing the ministerial code of conduct and sacking her.

Leave not granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Clark from moving the following motion immediately—

That the House:

(1) notes that the Minister for Communications has responsibility for the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and other relevant matters;

(2) further notes that the Minister for Communications has received gifts and donations from the online gambling industry while Minister, and previously when Labor spokesperson on online gambling;

(3) calls on the Minister to return to this place immediately and explain why she thinks her behaviour is acceptable and why she shouldn't resign as Minister, if that is her position; and

(4) calls on the Prime Minister to intervene if the Minister refuses to stand down by enforcing the ministerial code of conduct and sacking her.

There is an urgent need to deal with this matter, not just because of the seriousness of the matter but also because the minister is right now involved in consideration and work to do with the online gambling industry and online gambling companies. She can't sit in her office a moment longer, doing her work and making decisions about companies like Sportsbet, when we learned today that, in the lead-up to the last federal election, she received a gift of almost $9,000 from Sportsbet and, days before last year's federal election, she received a cash donation of $10,000 from Sportsbet. We cannot let the minister stay in her office one moment longer, making decisions about companies like Sportsbet, when we have these revelations, thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald this morning.

Today's revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. When we look at the Register of Members' Interests for the interests of the Minister for Communications, we see a pattern of behaviour which, altogether, well and truly shows that she has poor judgement, has conflicts of interest and should not spend a moment longer as the Minister for Communications. For example, while she was the Labor spokesperson on communications, intimately involved in policy development about online gambling companies, she took tickets and hospitality from Tabcorp to go to the 2020 Everest event at Randwick Racecourse for herself and a guest. On another occasion, she enjoyed tickets and hospitality from Tabcorp for the 2019 Golden Eagle for herself and a guest. On another occasion, she enjoyed tickets and hospitality from Tabcorp to attend the 2020 Star Casino Hamilton Melbourne Cup. On another occasion, she received tickets and hospitality from Tabcorp for herself and four others to go to the Randwick races. She has enjoyed tickets and hospitality from the Star to attend Hamilton.

Since becoming minister—these are much more serious matters—she has enjoyed tickets and hospitality for herself and four other guests from Tabcorp at the 2022 Melbourne Cup Carnival race day at Royal Randwick Racecourse. She has enjoyed tickets and hospitality for herself and four guests to go to the Australia versus UK rugby game as guests of Tabcorp. I could go on, but I think I've made the point. I've made the point, I hope, as clear as it needs to be made that the minister is completely and utterly conflicted. Even if she weren't so patently conflicted, she clearly has made such grievous errors of judgement that, surely, she's not fit to sit on the front bench as a minister in this government.

It is so important that the minister come in here now and explain herself. Until she explains herself and perhaps successfully persuades us that all is not as it seems, we cannot have confidence in her as minister. We can't have her stay in her office a moment longer, making decisions about Tabcorp and the other gambling companies, when this cloud hangs over her. Surely, if the government is fair dinkum and the Prime Minister is fair dinkum about restoring integrity to this place—and I believe the Prime Minister is fair dinkum about restoring integrity in this place—then he will act decisively. He will act to dismiss the Minister for Communications from her portfolio if she doesn't have the good sense and, quite frankly, the honour to come in here and resign herself. And what about this code of conduct? Is that meant to mean anything? If the government does not act on that code of conduct—if the Prime Minister does not act on that code of conduct—when there has been such a serious breach of the code of conduct, then that code of conduct is worthless, completely and utterly worthless.

In closing, can I just make a more general observation about the approach of all of us to the gambling industry. How on earth can anyone think it's okay, time and time again, to take donations and gifts from companies that prey on some of the most vulnerable people in our community? We talk about tobacco companies. In New South Wales they talk about property developers. How about we ban gifts from gambling companies, because at the end of the day they prey on the most vulnerable members of our community.

How on earth the Minister for Communications thought she was acting with integrity to take $10,000 from a gambling company, Sportsbet, days before last year's election is unfathomable. It is absolutely unfathomable that anyone could be so naive about how that looks and how it really is.

I'll wrap it up there and hopefully leave some time for some of my colleagues to contribute to this suspension motion. I'm sure they will agree with me that there's an urgent need to act on this matter. There's an urgent need for the Minister for Communications to explain herself and to step down. There's an urgent need to get her out of her office and to prevent her from continuing to make decisions about companies like Sportsbet, Tabcorp and all of the others that she has a legal responsibility to oversee and to regulate—companies that have directly funded her lifestyle and directly funded her electioneering.

Milton Dick

Is the motion seconded?

Zoe Daniel

DANIEL () (): I second the member for Clark's motion. I'd like to make the point that this is not in any way an effort to humiliate the minister or to create a witch-hunt. In my mind, this is about ethics, transparency and integrity.

There are credible reports in the press that the minister received the donations that the member for Clark has referenced. The minister was asked about this by me in question time today. The minister did not answer the question. My aspiration is to get an answer to that question for this House and also for those in our communities who are incredibly concerned about problem gambling, about online gambling and about gambling advertising. Indeed, I would say that this is one of the most hot-button issues that I discuss. Whenever I raise it I am avalanched with people saying, 'Yes, we must do something about this.'

In that context, with an inquiry on foot, it seems, at the very least, appropriate that we receive a proper explanation from the minister about these donations. Indeed, the opacity around the donations and the fact that the minister didn't have to declare them—we found out about them because of a declaration from the company that gave them, which was Sportsbet—says a lot about the system of donation transparency.

The concern, to state the obvious, is that these kinds of donations can have a potential influence on decision-making. That can be very subtle. When a member is attending the kinds of events over time that the member for Clark referenced, that can lead to personal relationships and a slippage of the kinds of ethics and integrity that I'm talking about. Is this okay? Are we okay with members of this place receiving these kinds of donations from companies who prey on the most poor and vulnerable in our community and, not only them, our young people?

I have a deep concern, and so do many members of my community, about the normalisation of gambling among our teenagers through online gambling, particularly through Sportsbet's broadcast advertising. These are the kinds of things that the inquiry is looking at. This is the kind of policy that the minister is going to have to make decisions on. Therefore, we need to get to the root of these donations and get an explanation from the minister. The minister needs to take this seriously. The minister needs to explain this not just to this House but to the Australian people.

Long debate text truncated.