I want to bring in my political panel for today. Josh Burns is the Special Envoy for Social Housing and Homelessness and a Labor MP. Paul Scarr is a Liberal Senator. Welcome to both of you.
Paul Scarr:
Good afternoon. Good to be with you.
Patricia Karvelas:
I’m going to start, if we can, with Pauline Hanson’s controversial comments around domestic violence. She says it’s a two-way street. Paul Scarr, a lot of people are very upset about these comments. They’ve received a pretty strong rebuke from some. What do you make of her contribution on this?
Paul Scarr:
I disagree. I think it needs to be said that domestic violence is still a scourge. We’ve already had more than three dozen women lose their lives this year to domestic violence.
We have to be extremely careful to avoid victim-blaming and to recognise the real barriers that can make it difficult for women to escape circumstances where domestic violence is occurring. Those barriers can be financial, cultural, or involve psychological control.
I’m not surprised that the comments Senator Hanson made today have sparked a great deal of controversy.
Patricia Karvelas:
Josh Burns, the comments have received a strong rebuke, but she also mentioned that she sees domestic violence as a scourge and that she herself was a victim of domestic violence.
Josh Burns:
Well, it’s not good enough that Pauline Hanson is somehow victim-blaming. Obviously, I don’t wish anyone to be a victim, Patricia, and no one deserves to be a victim of domestic violence.
It is unacceptable in all of its forms. It is a serious issue that too many Australian women face. Many are confronted with a terrible choice between remaining in an unsafe home or facing financial uncertainty, homelessness and all the other stresses that come with not having a safe place to go.
For someone who presents themselves as a leader in this country, I think Australia is better than victim-blaming and attempting to shift responsibility onto victims. Nobody should face an unsafe home environment.
If they do, our job as leaders and governments is to provide options, support and safety. It is never the victim’s fault in cases of domestic violence, and I think Pauline Hanson, yet again, is speaking before thinking.
Patricia Karvelas:
All right, I want to move to another topic, one that’s likely to be discussed at the Labor Party conference.
I’m actually going to start with you, Paul Scarr. Gambling law reform. Labor has put forward some legislation in Parliament. Some of your colleagues believe your side of politics should be pushing Labor for even stronger laws on gambling advertising. Do you think you should be in that camp?
Paul Scarr:
I am in that camp, PK. I am squarely in that camp.
I think gambling addiction has had a horrendous impact on Australians, including young Australians. We need to do everything we can to address the issue, and that includes being more aggressive in restricting gambling advertising.
That could include requiring opt-in arrangements rather than opt-out arrangements when it comes to access to gambling advertising. This is a real issue. It’s impacting families, impacting young Australians, and having serious mental health consequences.
I think we need to do better, and hopefully the government is open to strengthening the legislation.
Patricia Karvelas:
Okay. Well, Josh Burns, before the conference there is a proposal for a gambling regulator. That was in Peta Murphy’s report, but it’s not included in the government’s legislation.
Will the Labor conference strengthen the approach to gambling?
Josh Burns:
Patricia, anyone who’s attended a Labor conference knows that predicting the outcome of conference is a very dangerous game.
Patricia Karvelas:
All right, I’m not predicting. Let me ask a better question.
Do you think the laws should be stronger?
Josh Burns:
That’s a more direct question.
First of all, Paul sounds like he wants to come along to Labor conference. Maybe secretly he does.
But on the serious point, I agree wholeheartedly with Paul that gambling advertising is corrosive. The connection between gambling advertising and sport is a toxic one, particularly for young Australians growing up watching sport.
Tobacco advertising took twenty years to remove from Australia. Restricting gambling advertising is something we haven’t really done before.
The reforms we’re proposing would mean, for example, that my eight-year-old daughter, who loves football and watches it with me, would no longer be exposed to gambling advertising on players’ uniforms, around stadiums, during children’s programming, or across streaming services.
Most importantly, on services where parents control the account, we will be able to switch gambling advertising off. In my own home, I could effectively create a gambling-advertising-free environment.
Parents currently don’t have that power, and I think many parents across Australia want it.
Patricia Karvelas:
But that’s not really strong enough, though. It places a lot of responsibility on individuals. Is that really going to work?
Josh Burns:
Well, as a parent, I take responsibility for the content my children are exposed to. Turning gambling advertising off isn’t difficult if the tools are available.
I’m open to conversations about additional measures to further break this toxic relationship between gambling advertising and sport. But we shouldn’t lose sight of what’s already being proposed.
These reforms would represent a significant step in reducing children’s exposure to gambling advertising. I’ve never spent a cent with any gambling company and never plan to.
This is something we need to address, and we need to continue working collaboratively on it.
Patricia Karvelas:
All right. Thank you both. I really appreciate your time.
Josh Burns:
Thank you.
Paul Scarr:
Thank you.
Patricia Karvelas:
So you’re in Adelaide, Paul?
Paul Scarr:
Yes.
Patricia Karvelas:
Can I say that’s some cruel trolling on this program. Paul Scarr, you can be wherever you want to be. We have free choice in this country.
Paul Scarr:
Thank you. I’ll watch the conference from afar, PK.
Patricia Karvelas:
You’ll watch it safely from afar?
Paul Scarr:
I’ll watch it from afar, PK.
