Gambling ‘not the same as tobacco’, Shorten saysBill Shorten also said that he understands the harm that gambling can do, as he has seen a family member struggle with a gambling addiction.But he maintains there needs to be balance when it comes to weighing up advertising bans, with the revenue lost to free-to-air commercial media networks.“The point about it is gambling, in my opinion, is not the same as tobacco,” he said.ShareUpdated at 02.06 CESTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureBenita KolovosThe Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has questioned the City of Melbourne’s decision to ban e-scooters, less than a month after spruiking their benefits at a joint press conference.Allan told reporters this morning the mayor, Nick Reece, joined the public transport minister recently to announce a new framework for their use. She says:
It’s only two or three weeks ago, the Lord Mayor was out there talking about the 3 million trips that e-scooters have saved across the city, and how they have a role in that public transport network. And that is why, as part of our evaluation of the trials that have been underway in different parts of the state, we’ve recognised that e-scooters have a role, but that also the safety framework needed to be strengthened. And there is a personal responsibility around how people use e-scooters, and we’ve seen from time to time that that personal responsibility hasn’t been followed to community expectations, and so we’re strengthening the safety framework around that.
She urged the council to reconsider its decision and did not rule out intervention:
There is a role for e-scooters in our public transport network, particularly for those last mile journeys, for getting cars off local roads.
And I really hope that the City of Melbourne can have a change of heart.ShareAlbanese suggests gambling ad ban would encourage offshore bettingOver on ABC TV Breakfast, Anthony Albanese was asked what the “unintended consequences” of a gambling ad ban could be. (The prime minister and government MPs have often cited “unintended consequences” as one of the reasons they are taking the go-slow approach in responding to the Peta Murphy inquiry recommendations).Albanese:
Are you aware that there’s this thing called the internet?
And the internet means that people can gamble offshore.
That means there are no, much more difficult to put restrictions on. There’s a range of issues that you need to deal with, issues which people who look at this in a sensible way understand we want to make sure that we deliver further change.
We know there’s more to do, but as I said, we’ve already done more in two years than any previous government combined.
ShareUpdated at 02.19 CESTCoalition criticises CFMEU administration bill but says it will help it passThe shadow workplace relations minister, Michaelia Cash, has said the Coalition stands “ready to help Labor clean up a mess of its own making” by helping to pass the bill to appoint administrators to the construction union.However, Cash said the current bill is not strong enough, one could “drive a truck through it” and it looks like it could have been “co-authored by the CFMEU [Construction Forestry Mining Energy Union]”.This is obvious hyperbole, because the CFMEU is fiercely opposing the bill, arguing it takes away their rights to due process, because the federal court is currently considering an application to appoint administrators.The Coalition has 20 proposed amendments to the bill. Cash is meeting Murray Watt at 10am to discuss them. Cash refused to say if the Coalition will block or delay the bill if Labor does not agree – instead she just reiterated that the bill would pass this afternoon if Labor agreed to its demands.We’ll have to wait and see if the Coalition is prepared to vote with the Greens to delay the bill, which would be a win for … the CFMEU.Senator Michaelia Cash in the mural hall of Parliament House in Canberra this morning. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The GuardianShareUpdated at 02.17 CESTAs the interview continued, the host revealed that maybe he wasn’t quite across the way visas are granted in Australia. Or the fact that the border crossing between Palestine and Egypt is now controlled by Israel (on the Palestinian side) and closed. No one is allowed out other than the most serious of medical transfers, and even that is not guaranteed. So there is a “pause” – because Israel is not allowing people to leave Gaza, even if they have a visa.People who came to Australia before the border crossing was shut did undergo security checks, including with Asio, as is standard practice. This has been confirmed by the head of Asio himself, Mike Burgess.Host: Why not refer it all to Asio?Albanese: They are.Host: Why not have Asio decide every entry, every visa …Albanese: Guess what they do? There’s security checks.Host: So you think there shouldn’t be a stop? At least a pause …Albanese:
There’s security checks. There’s security checks. What I think is important, but what the director-general of Asio thinks, who commented on this just on the weekend, is pretty important too, I would have thought.
ShareUpdated at 02.13 CESTAlbanese responds to Dutton’s comments on visa screening for PalestiniansAnthony Albanese also went on Sky News this morning, as part of the media carousel of “woohoo Olympians” that went on this morning.He was asked about Peter Dutton’s comments about not allowing Palestinians into Australia.Albanese:
Even on a day like today where we’re just celebrating and coming together as a country …
Host: Well, to be fair, I asked him about it, so he was responding to a question.Albanese:
Peter Dutton is always looking to divide. We’ll listen to the security agencies when it comes to national security, and the director-general, Mike Burgess, will play a critical role in that. And, you know, I seek to try to bring people together, not always looking for a wedge or to divide.
ShareUpdated at 02.15 CESTThe joint standing committee on treaties (yes, there is a committee for almost everything) has recommended the parliament ratify the following treaty agreements:

Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and associated side-letters (UK Accession to the CPTPP)

Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity Agreement relating to Supply Chain Resilience (IPEF Agreement),​and
ShareMelissa DaveyIs gambling really ‘not the same as tobacco’?Earlier this morning, Bill Shorten said: “The point about it is gambling, in my opinion, is not the same as tobacco”.Putting aside the fact that comparing anything to tobacco is an extremely low bar, given tobacco kills more than 8 million people each year, the reality is gambling has in fact been identified as a serious public health issue, with the industry using the same deceptive and harmful tactics as big tobacco to influence politicians and policy.As Prof Samantha Thomas wrote in an editorial for Guardian Australia, the parallels between tobacco and gambling are in fact striking. Thomas has comprehensively researched gambling marketing tactics, finding the industry intertwines itself with sporting codes, media companies and politicians.Guardian Australia has interviewed many young people affected by gambling as part of this series on youth gambling, along with teachers and parents, who told us about kids gambling before, during and after school.One of the young people we spoke with was just 10 years old when he started gambling online – an addiction that by the age of 15 would see him lose about $2,000 and grappling with addiction, embarrassment and despair.Importantly, the young people we spoke with wanted the government to ban gambling advertising. This sentiment also came out strongly among young people surveyed as part of Thomas’s research, who said they want the government to protect them from the marketing tactics of a predatory industry.ShareUpdated at 02.00 CESTCommonwealth Bank winds back fossil fuel investment in latest climate reportPeter HannamIn a move that might have some political reverberations, Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s biggest bank, has released its annual climate report which further winds back financing for the fossil fuel industry.As we noted here last month, CBA was already lending the least among the big four Australian banks to gas, coal and oil industries.Now they’ve gone further, declaring today it will halt “new corporate or trade finance, or bond facilitation” for companies in that sector beyond the end of this year unless they meet the bank’s core criteria.That criteria is based on keeping temperatures “well below” the 2C goal of the Paris agreement (not the 1.5C end of that range, mind). Still, CBA demands clients provide a “transition plan” on how they’re cutting emissions – and if the plan falls short or they don’t provide one, the funding tap is turned off.Market Forces, a lobby group, hailed what they said had been “the worst offender on climate and lending to fossil fuel companies to the first of Australia’s major banks to announce its break up with climate-wrecking clients”.Kyle Robertson, the group’s senior banks analyst, said CBA’s move stood in contrast with ANZ, NAB and Westpac which were all busily arranging a new $750m for Santos for its “massive and dangerous expansion plans”.
ANZ, NAB and Westpac shareholders, customers and staff will be furious these banks are breaking their climate promises again, and expect them to match CommBank when they release their disclosures in November,” Robertson said.
ShareUpdated at 01.58 CESTApra imposes licensing requirements on Cbus Super over CFMEU linksThe industry super fund Cbus has responded to Apra’s announcement it is imposing additional licensing requirements on the fund.The CFMEU is a shareholder of one of the trustees of Cbus (United Super).In a statement released this morning, the watchdog said it “notes the recent public allegations regarding serious misconduct within the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) and the steps taken by state and federal governments and the Fair Work Commission”.
While these allegations are yet to be tested or proven through a court or tribunal process, APRA is concerned about the potential impact on trustees.
The CFMEU is a shareholder of United Super and has appointed three directors to its 14-member board. The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Industrial Union of Employees, Queensland (CFMEU-Q), a separate legal entity to the CFMEU, is a shareholder of BUSSQ and has appointed four directors to its eight-member board, three of whom are also CFMEU officers.
Under the additional licence conditions, the trustees are “each required to engage an independent expert to conduct a review” to ensure it meets the “fit and proper” standard.Cbus Super released a statement in response supporting the authority’s announcement and says the independent review “will build on the work that Cbus has previously commenced”.
Cbus continues to work constructively with the regulator and will fully cooperate with the independent reviewer.
ShareUpdated at 01.54 CESTTelstra and Optus delay 3G network shutdownJosh TaylorTelstra and Optus have announced they’re delaying the shutdown of their 3G networks to give more time for customers to switch over.The networks were due to begin shut down at the end of August, but that has now been delayed until 28 October 2024.The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, said at the start of this month around 77,000 mobile devices, both 3G and 4G, would need to be upgraded before the shutdown to keep operating – down from 740,000 at the start of this year.But another major concern has been connected devices that use 3G like ATMs, Eftpos machines, CCTV and medical alert devices. It is estimated hundreds of thousands of those devices may still be connected via 3G.Michelle Rowland in question time yesterday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPThe two telcos are going to use the extra time to communicate with customers. The move is voluntary, but Rowland has faced calls in the past couple of weeks to use her powers to force the companies to keep 3G operating for now.The shutdown will allow 3G spectrum to be reused for 5G, allowing faster speeds and more users.ShareUpdated at 01.46 CEST