Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (part 1 of 2)
2 August 2026
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Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Australian Parliament
14:39 - 16:37
Speaker 8
Good morning. I declare open this hearing of the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee's inquiry into the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 and the National Self-Exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026. I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to elders past and present, and I extend that respect to any Aboriginal or and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today. These are public proceedings, being streamed live via the Parliament's website, and a Hansard transcript is being made. If there are no objections, the committee authorises media and the recording of the committee's proceedings in accordance with Senate resolution three.
I remind the media that this permission can be revoked at any time and that the media must follow the direction of secretariat staff.
I remind all witnesses giving evidence to the committee that they are protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of the evidence given to a committee and such action may be treated by the Senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence. The committee generally prefers evidence to be given in public but under the Senate's resolutions witnesses have the right to request to be heard in private session. The Senate has resolved that an officer of a department of the Commonwealth or of a state shall not be asked to give opinions on matters of policy and shall be given a reasonable opportunity to refer questions asked to superior officers or a minister.
That resolution does not preclude questions asking for explanations of policies or factual questions about when and how policies were adopted. If a witness objects to answering a question they should state the ground upon which the objection is made and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer having regard to the ground which is claimed. If the committee determines to insist on an answer a witness may request that the answer be given in camera. Commonwealth officers appearing today are also reminded of the Senate order specifying the process by which a claim of public interest immunity may be raised. A copy of the order is available from the secretariat.
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