Oliver Peterson:
Do you think pollies accepting gifts from gambling companies passes the pub test? Now I’m asking you this because at least six federal Labor and Liberal politicians have disclosed that they accepted free tickets to sporting events from companies like Tabcorp and Sportsbet in the last six months. So how does that sit with you? And what does it mean for any potential gambling reform? 1300 222 720. Kate Chaney is the Independent MP for Curtin. Welcome to Drive.

Kate Chaney:
Thanks very much, Olly.

Oliver Peterson:
Kate, first and foremost, and before I get to that, what do you think about the location of the ferry terminal in Nedlands? Is it Matilda Bay or do you think it would be better to have a look at the JoJo’s option?

Kate Chaney:
I’ve spoken to lots of constituents who have real concerns about losing Matilda Bay. I’ve been having picnics there since childhood and think that it is a bit of a loss. I have been advocating to the state government to look at the JoJo’s option in more detail. And I think the community consultation on it left a bit to be desired.

Oliver Peterson:
Kate, should politicians be accepting gifts from gambling companies? And what message does this send to you?

Kate Chaney:
I think it sends such a bad message. There’s so much community support for phasing out online gambling ads like we did with tobacco a generation ago. And there’s this barrier. For some reason, nothing’s happening. And it seems to me pretty unlikely that gambling companies give expensive free tickets to politicians because they’re just nice guys and they enjoy their company. They clearly want to get something out of it. And I just can’t believe it. It’s just another way that the insidious influence of gambling companies in politics just pops up again and again.

Oliver Peterson:
Is that applying that to any tickets at all for any company that might knock on the door of a politician?

Kate Chaney:
I think so. I guess it can be difficult if there’s a big sporting event in your community and you want to go and be there and be part of that. But anything that you’re getting for free, I think you’ve got to have a good hard think about what it looks like to your community if you’re accepting that. So particularly when it’s an industry like gambling that is doing everything it can to resist being properly regulated, I think politicians just need to have a good hard look at whether it makes sense for them to accept those.

Oliver Peterson:
So it’s just not strictly against the rules, but does it match community expectation, particularly accepting tickets from gambling companies?

Kate Chaney:
It’s not against the rules. Technically, no rules have been broken. These gifts have been declared, but it still really stinks. And I think anyone who looks at it will see that, can connect the dots and realise that this is the pervasive influence of the gambling lobby. And it’s connected to the lack of action on gambling reform. I was part of a committee that did an inquiry, heard lots of evidence, put together 31 recommendations that were agreed by all parts of the political spectrum. And the government has not even responded to that. It’s now 950 days since that was submitted. And they’re just dragging their feet. And I think the gambling companies love the fact that they can effectively get the government to sit on its hands. And these sorts of hospitality gifts are part of that really grubby picture.

Oliver Peterson:
Are you losing faith then that meaningful gambling reform isn’t around the corner?

Kate Chaney:
I am very disappointed in this government.

Oliver Peterson:
The time is 16 past five and you’re on 720 ABC Radio Perth. I’m Oliver Peterson. We’re talking to Kate Chaney. Are you sick of these gambling ads? Do you believe the government is going to press the button and walk through with reform? 1300 222 720. And do pollies accepting gifts from gambling companies pass the pub test? 1300 222 720.

Kate, have you ever been offered free tickets to attend sporting events in your capacity as the Member for Curtin? And what is the test for you?

Kate Chaney:
I did go to a soccer game very early on. I think that was paid for by soccer, whatever the soccer entity is. Football Federation Australia. Football Federation. I think it was them. I went on one ticket. It wasn’t above the $300 threshold for declaration. But afterwards I did think, I’m not even sure if that was the right thing to do. And I’m now very careful about anything that I accept because I really think about how does this look and what’s the message that it’s sending. So it’s interesting. I want to be involved in community events. I want to be present and be part of those. But you’ve got to really think about what the incentives are before you make those decisions.

Oliver Peterson:
Sarah says she’s just finished her shift at the hospital where she works as a nurse and they’re not even allowed to accept morning tea from representatives from drug companies or equipment companies that come into the hospital to give them updates and education. So she thinks if she can’t take that, pollies should not be allowed to accept any gifts at all.

Kate Chaney:
I think that sounds fair enough.

Oliver Peterson:
Now, have you spoken to any of your colleagues who have accepted these tickets on behalf of gambling companies and what would your message be to them?

Kate Chaney:
I haven’t spoken to the ones from both Liberal and Labor that have declared recently, but my message is pretty consistent. Certainly a previous communications minister had accepted donations from Sportsbet and hospitality and been wined and dined and actually direct political donations as well, which I thought was awful. She then did say, I won’t do it anymore, but there are still people in both parties doing it.

They initiated this inquiry in the first place, so they obviously recognised that there was a problem. But like on a number of other issues as well, there’s just no bold action. But I think ultimately, if the community keeps saying, this is what we want, at some stage the government has to listen. And so it’s just about keeping that pressure on and making it clear that this is not an issue where we’re going to go away if they can just ignore it for long.

Parents are horrified by the fact that their kids can sing the jingles to five different gambling company ads and it’s become a normalised part of sport because every kid who watches the footy gets these ads all the time and on the jerseys and it’s everywhere. And I think people are really worried about it. They don’t like it. They’re sick of it. They’re sick of being saturated with these ads. And so we need to just keep the pressure up and make it clear to the government that we’re not going away.

So I would say you need to look your community in the eye and come clean with them about what these gambling companies get in exchange for their hospitality. Because I think that I speak to people from all over Australia who think that enough is enough and something needs to be done. So stop accepting those gifts. But it’s also insidious in other ways. The gambling industry is involved in the parliamentary sports club and there are lobbyists around parliament all the time, political donations that they’ve made to both parties, $300,000 in the last election. It’s everywhere and we just need to snuff it out.

Oliver Peterson:
Kate, thanks for your time.

Kate Chaney:
Thanks, Olly.

Oliver Peterson:
Kate Chaney, Independent MP for Curtin. Do pollies accepting gifts from gambling companies pass the pub test? 1300 222 720. And do you think that the federal government should be prioritising gambling reform? Is it an issue that you would like to see the Albanese government tackle?

Let’s head to Claremont first. Michael, good afternoon.

Caller (Michael):
Hello.

Oliver Peterson:
Michael. What do you think, mate?

Caller (Michael):
I just wanted to ring up and express publicly my disappointment in two of our sporting heroes, Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath, for their part in advertising for a betting company during a recent test series. And I’m particularly disappointed in a player like Ponting who doesn’t need the money he would get from that. And Glenn McGrath’s asking us all to donate money to cancer care patients, and yet he’s promoting gambling susceptible to young people, where the health issues associated with gambling, psychologically, economically and so on, are very severe among young people. And I just wanted to say how disappointed I am with those two role models. They’ve had to stoop so low as to take money from gambling companies in order to feather their nests when they claim high moral ground in other areas such as their foundations.

Oliver Peterson:
Thank you, Michael. Do you agree with his assessment, Ponting and McGrath, particularly as he said what they do outside of cricket and being associated with gambling companies? 1300 222 720. Gary saying no to pollies accepting donations. You’ve got too many gambling ads with television sports. Andrew Wilkie is another one of those few pollies to speak out against it. Darrell of West Swan reckons it’s very clear why the pollies don’t ban gambling. The eastern states governments make too much money from the taxes. And I was told gambling revenue is not used in the GST calculation when handing out the GST to the states. And Kim from Swanbourne says, welcome on board, Oliver. JoJo’s is a much better ferry terminal location. The local community, nearby homes are within walking distance, existing facilities are good. There’s room to expand the parking close enough to UWA for students.