David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I have a number of questions for the Minister for Communications, who doesn't appear to be here, so I look forward to the answers on behalf of the minister. Why has the minister taken no action in her portfolio to reduce the level of gambling advertising in more than a year? What is taking so long? Why is the policy process on gambling advertising being outsourced to a parliamentary committee? Shouldn't the minister be leading in this important policy area? If the minister was willing to take action in relation to credit cards in gambling advertising, which is supported by the gambling industry, why isn't she willing to take action in relation to gambling advertising, which is not supported by the gambling industry? Will the government support the opposition's bill in the Senate to ban gambling advertising during live sport? Is the minister willing to take on the gambling lobby? Finally, and importantly, does the minister believe that she enjoys the full confidence of her colleagues on this issue?

Artificial intelligence is an incredibly important issue. The minister is responsible for the regulation of the internet, and AI represents the biggest issue in internet regulation since the creation of the internet. Given this, can the minister explain why she is not responsible—or even, apparently, jointly responsible—for the government's policy response on AI? The minister has had very little to say on AI. Can she explain why she has been so absent from this debate? Does the minister agree that it is curious in the least that the Prime Minister has allocated this crucial task not to her but to the Minister for Industry and Science?

Now, I'm very concerned about the minister's conduct in relation to round 6 of the Mobile Black Spot Program. In that round, 54 locations were chosen to receive funding for mobile black spots. I want to be very, very clear on this, because the last thing I want to do is mischaracterise what has gone on here, so I thought that what I'd do is actually directly quote from the minister in an interview that she had on 2GB with Ben Fordham on this issue. I think it's quite illuminating, so I'll run through that. It leads to a couple of questions. Mr Fordham said:

Of the 27 sites selected in New South Wales, how many are in Labor electorates?

The minister replied:

Well, we made it very clear that in these areas we would ensure that we meet our election commitments. So there were a number in New South Wales and a number in other states as well.

Mr Fordham:

Sure. Can we focus on answers though, Minister, because there's no harm—you've pointed out that you made commitments; you're following through. So let's have a number in the answer here. Out of the 27 sites selected in New South Wales, how many are in Labor electorates?

The minister:

Well, I would know that we consulted widely in these electorates—

Fordham:

You're not answering the question, Minister.

The minister:

Well, clearly we have a list of all those electorates, Ben, and where they are—

Fordham:

Did you want me to answer the question for you?

The minister:

It's up to you, Ben, but—

Fordham:

All right. Well, I'm happy to do it. Out of the 27 sites selected in New South Wales, all 27 are in Labor electorates. That's the answer. It's 27 out of 27.

There's another really interesting section on this interview.

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