Husband of late MP Peta Murphy gives his verdict on Labor’s gambling reforms

Major sporting codes and media organisations have failed to uphold their social responsibilities in pursuit of commercial interests, the husband of the late gambling reform advocate and Labor MP Peta Murphy says.

Rod Glover welcomed the parliament’s collaboration on the gambling reform package that will head to the Senate on Wednesday, arguing in a time of increased distrust in politics it was important to acknowledge progress. But he said the delay to reform had caused real harm, and the legislation fell well short of the “benchmark” recommendations made in his late wife’s report.

Glover pointed the finger at the sports and media industries for lobbying the government to minimise any losses from gambling advertising revenue.

“The online gambling industry is predatory, but the failure of social leadership among some of our major sporting and media institutions is different,” Glover wrote on LinkedIn .

“Organisations with a privileged place in Australian life have continued to put their commercial interests in gambling ahead of the social responsibilities that come with the influence, standing and trust they hold.”

Murphy’s bipartisan report – her last political act before her death – recommended a total ban on gambling ads and inducements and has been invoked by advocates at every turn in the years-long fight for tougher restrictions.

Labor’s controversial reforms, which will pass parliament and become law after the government struck a deal with the Coalition on Tuesday, will introduce a yet-to-be-developed opt-out regime for gambling advertising, stop companies giving inducements to problem gamblers, and restrict when and how many ads can be broadcast.

Glover called the reforms “a breakthrough of sorts”, and cheered the advocates – including from within the major parties – who pushed Labor and the Coalition into compromising and moving forward “imperfectly, unevenly, but meaningfully”.

“That our political system ultimately found a way to make progress deserves recognition,” he said. “[The package] will reduce harm, particularly for young people and those most vulnerable to the increasingly sophisticated ways gambling is marketed and promoted.”

But the deal was met with dismay by many MPs across the political spectrum.