Australia has one of the highest gambling losses per capita, with addiction destroying lives, fuelling financial hardship, and enabling money laundering. Despite clear harm, weak laws allow predatory gambling advertising and unchecked industry influence. 

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 is weak and ineffective. Parents in Bradfield tell me their kids can't watch a game without being sold a bet. The government’s gambling reform laws don't fix that.  

I'm pushing for a ban on gambling ads and sponsorships, just as we did with tobacco, to stop normalising betting for young Australians. We should implement a national cashless gambling system, ensuring pokies and online betting platforms have enforceable spending limits and self-exclusion protections. This would also help us crack down on money laundering and organised crime. 

Where I've focused 

Adopt all 31 recommendations of the Murphy Review. Alongside crossbench colleagues, I took out a full-page ad in the Herald calling for a ban on gambling advertising. The Government's response to the Murphy Report — which sat unanswered for over 1,000 days — falls well short of what our community is crying out for. Partial bans don't work, and opt-out schemes just shift the burden onto people already struggling. You can't ask someone to opt out when addiction is doing the driving.  

That's why I put the problem to the Prime Minister directly during Question Time: “Gambling harm is killing people. When will you finally take real action and keep Australians safe?”  

A complete ban — or at the very least, opt-in. The Murphy Review was clear that we need a complete ban on gambling advertising. The Government's new gambling laws fell well short of that, so I moved an amendment to at least make gambling ads opt-in. Australians should not have betting pushed at them by default. 

Treat gambling as a public health emergency. Gambling harm is killing people. Alongside crossbench colleagues, I've urged the Government to treat it as the public health crisis it is, and I've asked the Prime Minister directly in Question Time when he will finally act. 

Online gambling. I made a submission to the online gambling inquiry setting out what enforceable spending limits and self-exclusion protections should look like. 

Pokies here at home. After 60+ locals contacted my office with concerns about the proposed 200-square-metre poker machine gaming room in the revised St Ives Shopping Village, I took it to Canberra and the media. Locals welcome redevelopment - like proposals for upgraded retail, new restaurants and cafes, outdoor dining, and a seven-screen cinema.  

However, introducing pokies to a family-friendly shopping precinct is called socially irresponsible. Residents shared stories with me about the harm gambling can cause — and it’s clear that redevelopment should be about building something that strengthens our community, not exposes it to known harms.  

A redevelopment of this scale should be an opportunity to build a healthier, more resilient and more connected community — not to introduce a risk known to undermine those very goals.  

Below you'll find the work I've been doing to push for meaningful gambling reform — in Parliament, in the media, and here in Bradfield.