Minister's Words To Gambling Reform Advocate 'Shocking'.
Communications Minister Anika Wells is under fire from a host of supporters and for telling a previous gambling addict to encourage wagering companies about reforms, not her.
Kate Seselja got rid of a pokies dependency that nearly resulted in her taking her own life.
Ms Seselja stated Ms Wells informed her during a conference in August 2025 it was not the minister who required convincing about gambling reforms however the wagering companies, television networks and sporting codes that created earnings from betting.
"I was flabbergasted," Ms Seselja informed AAP.
"To be asked if I had actually tried to have meetings with them, as a lived experience advocate, was dreadful.
"To have that level of disconnect to the reality of betting damage dealt with by countless Australians, to recommend 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, proved the exchange.
Ms Wells' workplace did not reject the comment was made, saying the minister welcomed the chance to meet with the two supporters to listen to their experience with betting harm.
A spokesperson indicated Labor government steps including the introduction of the self-exclusion register BetStop, a ban on charge card for online betting and modifications to warning taglines after advertisements.
"The Australian federal government takes seriously our duty to secure Australians, especially young and susceptible people, from the harms of online gaming," the spokesperson stated.
Independent MP Kate Chaney branded the minister's remarks a betrayal of Australians experiencing gambling damage, stating they were "stunning however unfortunately not surprising".
"Being told to lobby the gaming market yourself, after a decade of tireless advocacy and almost losing your life to dependency, is a profound failure of leadership," she stated.
Ms Seselja stated staff from the communication minister's workplace told her to keep defending reforms during a subsequent meeting in March.
"I in fact broke down and lost it at the staffer, due to the fact that I stated to her, if you're not going to do your task, then resource GHLEE to do it," Ms Seselja stated.
"People are passing away and no one is stopping the carnage."
Independent senator David Pocock described Ms Seselja's recount as deeply uncomfortable, while independent MP Monique Ryan assaulted the federal government for failing to take responsibility for the problem or withstand vested interests.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief supporter Tim Costello branded the comments and inactiveness on the issue "a complete failure of federal government", adding he was gobsmacked the federal government had actually not responded to a gambling harm report released nearly 1000 days earlier.
The landmark report into betting harm bied far in June 2023 by late Labor MP Peta Murphy advised a phase-out of marketing, suppressing inducements and an overarching national harm-reduction framework.