Labor members revive push for national gambling watchdog

Labor members and unions are gearing up for fights over gambling, gas and AI at the party's national conference later this week. Anthony Albanese is facing pressure to install a national gambling regulator. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts ) Labor’s national conference is shaping up as a battleground over gambling reform, with members pushing for a stronger national regulator to oversee the industry.

Members and unions are also preparing fights on a gas tax, AI, aviation oversight, local government funding and superannuation. Delegates will debate and vote on amendments to the party’s policy platform during the conference in Adelaide this week. Labor members will reignite the push for a stronger gambling regulator at the party's national conference amid concerns the government's changes do not go far enough.

Policy fights on gambling harm reduction, a gas export tax and the impacts of artificial intelligence are intensifying ahead of Labor's 50th national conference in Adelaide this week. A stoush on local government funding is also brewing. Party powerbrokers and unions are also in talks on issues such as improving dental access through Medicare, compulsory superannuation for under-18s and the creation of an independent aviation body.

Multiple Labor sources have told the ABC efforts are underway to progress amendments to Labor's draft national platform on gambling after the suite of changes unveiled by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese earlier this year did not include the establishment of a national watchdog. One said "conversations are continuing" about regulation of the sector, potentially through a standalone national body as recommended in the landmark You Win Some, You Lose More report, or by "beefing up" the resources of the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Advocates have long argued that Australia's state-based system has produced inconsistent rules, weak enforcement and gaps that have allowed gambling harms to persist.

A Labor source said support for action on gambling beyond the clause in the latest draft of the policy platform was "very cross-factional", with the push coming from both rank-and-file members and unions. But they said it was already "significant" to have gambling harms included in the draft at all — in particular the reference to tackling so-called wagering "inducements", which the government's planned changes do not tackle. Labor members in Adelaide for the conference will also be targeted by digital ads calling for a full ban on gambling advertising.

They have been paid for by the fundraising efforts of independent Curtin MP Kate Chaney. Kate Chaney raised funds to pay for the anti-gambling ad campaign. ( Supplied: Kate Chaney MP ) Ms Chaney accused Mr Albanese of having "stitched up" the Labor Party's processes and suggested the 400 delegates voting at the conference would merely "rubber stamp" his preferred platform.

"Labor's national conference is shaping up to be a scripted mock combat performance choreographed for entertainment purposes — more intellectual WWE than UFC, she said. The triennial conference, which starts on Thursday, has been criticised for being overly "managed". Much of the blame has been levelled at Mr Albanese, who hails from the left faction that dominates the rank-and-file membership and the parliamentary caucus.

But defenders have argued that the policy negotiation process that is run through the party's National Policy Forum, which is made up of elected representatives from the branch membership, trade unions and federal Labor caucus, has simply superseded conference floor brawls. Kate Chaney has accused Anthony Albanese of having “stitched up” the Labor Party’s processes. ( ABC News ) One Labor source said the forum, which prepares the draft platform debated and adopted at the conference, was resulting in more "quality" policy.

"Conferences of the past, people would rock up on the day and write on a bit of paper. How is that considered policy? they said.

The latest version of Labor's draft platform includes a pledge to ensure the Australian people receive a "fairer return from their natural resources including through appropriate taxation arrangements". On Saturday Mr Albanese rejected reports that the wording left the door open to Labor introducing a tax on gas exports. "Have a look at what the resolution says, he said.

But expectation is mounting that the government will face far more direct pressure on the issue during the conference, with multiple amendments being discussed. One Labor source said an attempt by the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union to gather support for an amendment explicitly calling for a tax on gas to then bankroll a sovereign wealth fund had been stifled. But they said that in the unlikely event of an amendment proposing a gas tax was moved on the floor of the conference there would be a lot of delegates likely to back it "sight unseen.