Communications Minister Anika Wells is under fire from a host of advocates and crossbenchers for telling a former gaming addict to encourage betting business about reforms, not her.
Kate Seselja got rid of a pokies dependency that nearly resulted in her taking her own life.
Ms Seselja said Ms Wells told her throughout a meeting in August 2025 it was not the minister who needed convincing about gambling reforms however the wagering companies, tv networks and sporting codes that created revenue from betting.
"I was flabbergasted," Ms AAP.
"To be asked if I had tried to have conferences with them, as a lived experience advocate, was dreadful.
"To have that level of detach to the reality of gambling damage dealt with by countless Australians, to suggest that individuals with lived experience go meet these predators, made me lose belief in the political system."
Fellow advocate Anna Bardsley from the Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts (GHLEE), who also attended the meeting, supported the exchange.
Ms Wells' office did not deny the remark was made, saying the minister invited the chance to meet the two supporters to listen to their experience with gambling damage.
A spokesperson indicated Labor federal government measures consisting of the introduction of the self-exclusion register BetStop, a ban on credit cards for online gaming and changes to warning taglines after ads.
"The Australian government takes seriously our responsibility to secure Australians, especially young and susceptible people, from the harms of online gambling," the representative stated.
Independent MP Kate Chaney branded the minister's remarks a betrayal of Australians experiencing gambling damage, saying they were "stunning but regrettably not surprising".
"Being informed to lobby the gaming industry yourself, after a years of steadfast advocacy and nearly losing your life to dependency, is a profound failure of leadership," she said.
Ms Seselja said staff from the interaction minister's workplace told her to keep combating for reforms throughout a subsequent conference in March.
"I in fact broke down and lost it at the staffer, because I stated to her, if you're not going to do your task, then resource GHLEE to do it," Ms Seselja said.
"People are dying and no one is stopping the carnage."
Independent senator David Pocock described Ms Seselja's recount as deeply troubling, while independent MP Monique Ryan attacked the government for failing to take responsibility for the issue or withstand vested interests.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello branded the comments and inaction on the problem "a complete failure of federal government", including he was gobsmacked the federal government had actually not reacted to a gaming damage report released practically 1000 days ago.
The landmark report into gambling harm handed down in June 2023 by late Labor MP Peta Murphy advised a phase-out of advertising, curbing temptations and an overarching national harm-reduction structure.
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Minister's Words to Gambling Reform Advocate 'Shocking'.
angelohedges87 edited this page 2026-04-12 12:01:57 +08:00