Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

GOSLING () (): I want to thank the member for Mackellar, and I note all the doctors that have spoken and all the doctors who are here in the chamber. I think we should be listening to them. As health professionals, day in, day out, they see the results of the harm that is done in our community by harmful behaviours. We've heard from a number of people, including the member for Macarthur, my friend, who detailed his experience of some of those harms. I won't repeat those, but, as someone who is not a health professional, I will simply reflect on my thoughts as a father. It is as a parent that I want to focus on our children and why they need protection in particular.

It should be obvious to everyone, but our children require protection from harmful advertising. Why is that needed? Because they are little sponges. Last week, here in the parliament, I and my friend, the member for Leichardt, launched the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Children's Storytelling. Why was that needed? Because our children are sponges, and they get a lot of American and British content. They get a lot of content that is not from Australia, so not only do we want to support Australian creatives but we want our kids, when they are such young sponges, to see themselves reflected in what they're consuming.

It concerns me that our children are consuming a lot more than we may think. They are consuming the gambling advertising and the junk food advertising, and that is a concern. Our children, as little sponges, need to be protected, and our government is committed to protecting our kids, both online and offline, to make sure that advertising respects the standards that the community expects that we uphold. I can tell you as a parent that parents all around this country think there is too much advertising, particularly gambling advertising but also junk food advertising, that is being sent the way of our kids, and, because they are sponges, they are taking it all on board.

All these issues have been the subject of reviews, both recent and current. Marketing, advertising and different sectors of industry need to respect community standards and respect the parents out there as well as the kids. It is the parents who look to us as their federal representatives to take action, particularly at the advertising that is directed at our children.

There is too much gambling advertising that our children are exposed to. The Australian Association of National Advertisers recently launched a review of the Children's Advertising Code to ensure the code continues to meet community standards of advertising to children on all media platforms, and an updated code is expected this year.

I mentioned before that I'm a father, a parent of our two young kids. I see what they are subjected to. Our daughter Sally turned 11 yesterday—happy birthday, darling; sorry I wasn't there—and our son Francis is 10½. Only the other day, they said something about McDonald's as we drove past. They said, 'There are healthier options, aren't there, Dad?' or words to that effect. I said that they've improved their offering in some ways a little bit. But my children know what good, healthy choices are because my wonderful wife, Kate, and I spend some time in telling them and guiding them in these aspects, whether it be about gambling or anything else, as they're— (Time expired)

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