Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I am responding very directly to the question. There is no question that the cause of violence can never be excused, but it many cases that is one of the issues, along with alcohol abuse and along with so many issues, that cause violence, and people put up their hand and say that is why. The truth is it can never be excused. That's the truth. The truth is that all of us, particularly men, have a particular responsibility because, when you look at the statistics, we must all know people, whether they are our friends or our neighbours, who engage in this sort of activity. I'll continue to engage constructively.

One of the measures that we have put in place to deal with problem gambling—and it's related to people being in a cycle where they feel like they can't get out—is BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. That has seen 51,000 total registrations, of whom 38 per cent—people who feel like they can't possibly control it—have chosen a lifetime ban. That's one of the reasons why we did that. That's part of the motivation. I'll continue to work constructively with the member for Indi on all of these issues, and I thank her for the question.

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