The government is continuing to negotiate with the Coalition today to find a path for its changes to gambling laws, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has confirmed, as Labor seeks to pass the measures by the end of next week.
“We’re looking for this bill to be passed. We want it through the Senate this sitting fortnight, along … with some other bills, including the NDIS [changes]. So there’s a lot of work under way to see where agreement can be reached. As you know, in the Senate we don’t have, it’s not a majority chamber, so absolutely … have to reach agreement with other senators,” Gallagher told ABC Radio National.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses a Labor caucus meeting at Parliament House in Canberra yesterday. Alex Ellinghausen
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Labor caucus yesterday that he expected the changes to pass by the end of the sitting fortnight, which begins today. The government has faced pressure from Labor and Liberal backbenchers, independents, the Greens, and former prime minister John Howard to go further on gambling.
Albanese insisted he had got the balance right between acknowledging those who “have a punt on a Saturday” and protecting kids and addicts, pitching his day of deal-making as delivering “outcomes over outrage”. The government is expected to further restrict betting inducements.
Gallagher said the government deserved credit for their action on gambling, saying: “We have already, outside of this legislation, introduced a number of stronger measures around gambling, gambling advertising, and some of the support infrastructure to help with reduce the harm of problem gambling.”