Doorstop interview
E&OE
MINISTER MORRISON:
I am very pleased to announce today that the government is following through on our election commitment to undertake a review into illegal offshore wagering with the Honourable Barry O’Farrell, former Premier of New South Wales, will be leading that review over the next few months which will report back just before Christmas. It will report back to the Minister for Communications and myself and then we will prepare a response to that report for consideration at a Government level. This review is timely and it’s important. Some 2% of Australians are problem gamblers. For the vast majority of Australians having a punt is part of a recreational pass time for many generations and it is part of who we are and part of what we like to do and that’s all fine. But for 2% of Australians, more than 400,000, this is a big problem and it impacts their families, it impacts them, it impacts our society and our community. One of the fastest areas of growing gambling in this country is in the online and interactive space. Some 60% of the $1.6 billion estimated that is going on online gambling is actually going offshore, going to offshore gambling sites which are of course illegal, as well as offshore wagering sites which provide for in play betting and things of this nature.
We’ll be taking a close look at all of those arrangements and particularly looking at how technology and other measures can be used to prevent people from engaging in illegal offshore gambling and wagering. We’ll also be looking at the various measures available to help us mitigate and minimise the impacts in this growing area. We have some 30-odd operators who are running legal operations in this area, but there are more than 2,000 sites offshore that are predating upon Australians right across the country. Some reports suggest that problem gamblers are three times more likely in the interactive space. Problem gambling is an addiction, and it’s an addiction that those who suffer from this seek to hide, and the opportunities to hide that gambling addiction in the online space are obviously greater than in the social settings where gambling is far more regulated in this country. We are pleased to have this review, and Barry O’Farrell is absolutely the right person to do the work on this. He has extraordinary experience in dealing with both the policy issues and the community issues, and regulatory issues that are necessary here and I’m very grateful that Barry is taking on that role.
QUESTION:
Minister, the TV networks have been worried for a while that the advertising of online gambling would be part of the review, is that going to be looked at in the review?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Look, it’s a broad-ranging terms of reference which we will be releasing today. It’s important we look at all the measures that are necessary to protect consumers, but I think the first thing we need to look at is specifically how we can better provide protections in the gaming environment for those who are legal operators and to protect Australians who can fall prey to the offshore illegal sites. That’s the primary focus of the review, but Barry has a very broad terms of reference and there will be the opportunity for submissions to be put forward. It’s important that we look at all things that are needed to be looked at in this area.
QUESTION:
Do you intend to legislate before the next election?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I don’t intend to prejudge the review. I have no preconceived notions on this issue. I have obvious concerns, which I have expressed today, about the impact of problem gambling and the real risks that interactive gambling can have in accelerating some of those issues in this country and I think we are at an important juncture where we can hopefully get this right, and get the – frame the protections appropriately and I know that we’ll get great support and engagement from the sector and I would hope other interested parties ensuring we get the settings right. I’m talking about gambling at the moment, we can talk about politics later.
QUESTION:
On the issue of the refugee crisis in Syria, you were instrumental in implementing policies that stopped the flow of illegal people smuggling trade to Australia. Do you think now that that’s happened there is a case that we can take a special intake of refugees from Syria outside of Australia’s humanitarian intake?
MINISTER MORRISON:
We already have. In the last financial year we freed up 4,500 places within our refugee and humanitarian intake. Those are places that would not have been available, were it not for this Government’s success in stopping the boats. In particular, for Iraqis and Syrians, we were able to increase our intake last year by around about a third. We took around 4,400 and that was long before we saw the terribly distressing images that Australians have been subjected to on their screens in recent times. We are aware of this and concerned about this for some period of time and that’s why we moved over a year ago, one of the first things we did when we stopped the boats was ensured that we increased our intake out of Syria and Iraq. I’m very pleased we were able to do that. Now Minister Dutton will be engaging in Geneva with UNHCR on other responses that can be provided. Obviously what is happening on the ground and the need to provide for the most immediate needs of people in those areas would be hard on the minds for those countries, particularly in Europe, about how they can accommodate that. Equally, the Prime Minister has made it clear that we are open to considering other matters.
QUESTION:
Would you consider an extra boost in the intake over and above the 13,000, nearly 14,000 we have at the moment?
MINISTER MORRISON:
The other thing I did when I was Minister, we actually have increased the intake over the forward estimates to 18,750, and that was part of the arrangements concluded in November of 2014. What other measures, that’s a matter for the Prime Minister and the Minister and I am no longer in that portfolio. I’m sure they’ll be working through those issues. But the point I really want to stress is by stopping the boats, we freed up our offshore humanitarian program. 4,500 places had been stripped out of that program because of the carnage we were seeing on our own shores, on Christmas Island and other places, and off the coast of Indonesia. That carnage is not taking place on those shores anymore and our program today is far more effective in meeting the needs that we are able to identify. It wasn’t that long ago, it wasn’t that long ago where we were talking about the issues of the Rohingya refugee crisis in our own region. The Government hasn’t I believe forgotten about that issue as well. The Rohingya are predominantly in Malaysia and we also increased our intake of refugees out of Malaysia for Burmese refugees. So it remains that we have challenges in our own region and those challenges are just as important because they deal with the human souls that are affected in our own region as well.
QUESTION:
What about the Kosovo model, Josh Frydenberg and Julie Bishop have said that they support something like what happened in 1999, increasing the amount of people we take from a specific region outside our regular humanitarian intake. Do you support something like that?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I don’t think we should prejudge any of these things. I think there are lots of options and things that can be considered. I think Minister Dutton will be in a position to advise his colleagues and the Prime Minister in particular about the various things that could provide assistance. They are not new models, they are ones that the Government – we pursued when we were last in Government under John Howard. I think you look at all of these measures and see what is the most effective way you can make a contribution.
QUESTION:
Do you think a model whereby we take extra Syrians outside of the humanitarian intake, should be a model that is on the table for discussion?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I gave you my answer before. I mean, you don’t get to rephrase my answer. I gave it to you. That’s what I meant when I said it.
QUESTION:
The Prime Minister this morning said that he believes that voters will reward the government for sticking to the plan. Can you win just by sticking to the plan?
MINISTER MORRISON:
I think it’s a great plan. We have got a plan that is backing Australians, backing Australians who are wanting to work and work hard. Small businesses who want to work and work hard and get ahead. We have a plan which is backing families who want to be in work through our jobs for families package, backing taxpayers by getting rid of the carbon tax, by getting rid of the mining tax, by getting rid of the deposits tax, all Labor taxes that this Government abolished, and we have got a plan that has restored integrity of our immigration program by stopping the boats and ensuring that our immigration program can focus on those who can bring skills to this country, but also those who are in genuine need and come through the right processes. So it’s a good plan, it has been a good plan for Australia and will continue to be a good plan and that’s why we are so committed to it.
(ENDS)