# Immigration, gambling deals and Australia’s “gayest party”

An episode of [7am](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1461999702), 14 Aug 2026, 17 min.

Audio: https://p.podderapp.com/2544644999/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/62723a1f-3e96-4fc4-882c-b25e0181da4d/1c413a6f-edb0-4c72-b0b7-b4a600486a6b/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=70f29d90-2a63-48aa-bf8f-b25e0181da70

After years of pressure to tackle gambling harm, the Albanese government is trying to get its long-awaited reforms through parliament, looking to cut a deal with the Opposition, sparking a debate over just how far the government is prepared to go to get its reforms through. Meanwhile, immigration is becoming one of the defining battles in federal politics, as One Nation’s growing support and hardline approach force both major parties to confront how they respond to its agenda. And amidst it all, Barnaby Joyce declared One Nation “one of the gayest parties in Australia”, after a former One Nation candidate called homosexuality a mental illness. Today, SBS Chief Political Correspondent, Anna Henderson, on a hectic week in parliament; the fight over immigration, gambling reform and a warm conversation between the PM and President Trump. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support. Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: SBS Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: I'm Daniel James and you're listening to seven Am. After
[0:09] Speaker 1: years of pressure to tackle gambling harm, the Albanesi government
[0:12] Speaker 1: is trying to get its longer waited reforms through Parliament,
[0:15] Speaker 1: looking to cut a bier with the opposition, sparking a
[0:18] Speaker 1: debate over just how far the government is prepared to
[0:20] Speaker 1: go to get its reforms through. Meanwhile, immigration is becoming
[0:24] Speaker 1: one of the defining battles in federal politics, as One
[0:27] Speaker 1: Nation's growing support and hardline approach forced both major parties
[0:31] Speaker 1: to confront how they respond to its agenda and imissed
[0:35] Speaker 1: it all. Barnaby Joyce declared One Nation as one of
[0:37] Speaker 1: the gayest parties in Australia after reform, a One Nation
[0:41] Speaker 1: candidate called homosexuality a mental illness. Today, SBS Chief Political
[0:47] Speaker 1: correspondent Anna Henderson on a hectic week in parliament, the
[0:51] Speaker 1: fight over immigration, gambling reform, and a warm conversation between
[0:55] Speaker 1: the PM and the President. It's Saturday, August fifteenth, and
[1:08] Speaker 1: I welcome to seven Am. It's been a week of
[1:11] Speaker 1: willing and dealing for the government, particularly on this gambling
[1:13] Speaker 1: legislation is trying to get through parliament. What do we
[1:16] Speaker 1: know about where that deal is at because at one
[1:19] Speaker 1: point the PM was actually threatening to walk away from
[1:21] Speaker 1: it all together.
[1:22] Speaker 2: Yeah, we did have that news coming out that the
[1:24] Speaker 2: Prime Minister was saying if the attempts to make change
[1:28] Speaker 2: were too significant, that he was willing to shelve this bill.
[1:31] Speaker 3: This is good reform, this is a major step forward,
[1:35] Speaker 3: and the Parliament should vote for it if they don't.
[1:38] Speaker 3: If they don't, then you do have the option of
[1:40] Speaker 3: the status quo. You do have that option.
[1:44] Speaker 2: There are different views on how serious he was on
[1:47] Speaker 2: that front, given the backbench push for something to be done,
[1:50] Speaker 2: given the amount of people in the Parliament, even from
[1:54] Speaker 2: the coalition side, who wanted to see action and were
[1:56] Speaker 2: speaking out publicly. Yeah, I hope that we will legislation.
[2:01] Speaker 4: I know that they'll get hold of them as young
[2:03] Speaker 4: adults and then who knows from there on, maybe a
[2:07] Speaker 4: lifelong customer.
[2:08] Speaker 3: These are very important questions and as Senator Hanson Young
[2:11] Speaker 3: has said, this legislation is a dog's breakfast.
[2:15] Speaker 2: So I guess some saw it as a bit of
[2:17] Speaker 2: a game of chicken, others saw it as a genuine possibility.
[2:21] Speaker 2: But in the end, I think we saw the Prime
[2:23] Speaker 2: Minister and the opposition leaders sitting down together on a
[2:27] Speaker 2: number of occasions to personally try and hash out a solution.
[2:31] Speaker 2: So the Greens are dealt out whatever they want to
[2:33] Speaker 2: see happen here in terms of some really significant structural
[2:36] Speaker 2: change to the bill is not going to be where
[2:39] Speaker 2: this lands. But certainly we're seeing leaders to leader conversations
[2:43] Speaker 2: to try and get this through the Upper House.
[2:46] Speaker 5: And it does seem like.
[2:47] Speaker 2: That matter of inducements is going to be something that
[2:50] Speaker 2: the Prime Minister is willing to really look at in
[2:52] Speaker 2: terms of making sure that that evidence, extraordinary evidence that
[2:56] Speaker 2: was heard before the Parliamentary Committee about just the scale
[2:59] Speaker 2: of legal and illegal inducements is somehow dealt with.
[3:03] Speaker 4: I would receive direct offers customized for me that basically said,
[3:08] Speaker 4: if you deposit one thousand dollars, we will give you
[3:11] Speaker 4: one thousand dollars in bonus bets.
[3:12] Speaker 5: And how would you get that message.
[3:14] Speaker 4: That was sent directly from an account manager so vip
[3:18] Speaker 4: account maage employee of the betting corporation would send that
[3:22] Speaker 4: directly to you from their company.
[3:24] Speaker 2: And you know, the idea of kind of opting in
[3:28] Speaker 2: these advertisements rather than opting out, particularly on streaming services,
[3:31] Speaker 2: doesn't seem to be resolved. And you know SBS also
[3:35] Speaker 2: takes gambling advertising. That must be something that I note
[3:38] Speaker 2: in this conversation. But we did have a situation during
[3:41] Speaker 2: the week where cross benches held a press conference and
[3:44] Speaker 2: they kind of really challenged journalists to say, you know,
[3:47] Speaker 2: most of you are collecting a paycheck that in some
[3:50] Speaker 2: way may be related to the revenues that these gambling lobbyists,
[3:54] Speaker 2: and we do think that you should really consider whether
[3:57] Speaker 2: you're doing enough reporting on this.
[3:58] Speaker 6: Governments are scared sticks of the gambling industry, scared stiff
[4:03] Speaker 6: of the major media outlets, scared stiff of the power
[4:07] Speaker 6: of the major sporting coach, and I think that's still
[4:10] Speaker 6: in the mix. I've also speculated that some in the
[4:13] Speaker 6: government or effect fellow travelers and best mates with the
[4:16] Speaker 6: leadership of gambling companies and media companies and major sporting codes.
[4:21] Speaker 2: It was interesting to see Andrew Wilkie as well decide
[4:24] Speaker 2: that he wanted to refer sort of this amorphous kind
[4:27] Speaker 2: of government or ministerial interaction with the gambling lobby to
[4:32] Speaker 2: the National Anti Corruption Commission. I don't think that necessarily
[4:35] Speaker 2: will go anywhere. He hasn't named anyone individually. But you know,
[4:39] Speaker 2: Andrew Wilkie is someone who does his parliamentary privilege sometimes
[4:42] Speaker 2: to raise allegations. It's not clear whether he has more
[4:45] Speaker 2: that he wants to put forward here. But the criticism
[4:49] Speaker 2: from the Greens from the cross bench is that the
[4:52] Speaker 2: lobbyists in this arena have had too much of a
[4:55] Speaker 2: say in where this legislation will finally land.
[5:00] Speaker 1: From an outsider's perspective, it just seems like the government
[5:03] Speaker 1: isn't going it's hard on gambling ads and inducements as
[5:06] Speaker 1: the public would like. And I seem pretty aware of
[5:09] Speaker 1: that now, given that the last two announcements about this
[5:12] Speaker 1: were buried during the Easter long weekend and then on
[5:15] Speaker 1: the Budget night eve. So how do you think this
[5:18] Speaker 1: bill and the way the government is handling it will
[5:20] Speaker 1: play with voters.
[5:21] Speaker 5: It's hard to know, because we do get this sense
[5:23] Speaker 5: when we talk.
[5:24] Speaker 2: To polling specialists, as the reality is when people are saying, like,
[5:28] Speaker 2: what is my top issue, what is the one thing
[5:31] Speaker 2: I want resolved right now? Or what are the kind
[5:33] Speaker 2: of key priorities for me that I expect the government
[5:35] Speaker 2: to deal with that Gambling doesn't necessarily register up there as.
[5:39] Speaker 5: One of those top five issues. But at the same time, when.
[5:42] Speaker 2: People are specifically polled about gambling advertising, and when you
[5:47] Speaker 2: talk to people in the community about the impacts of
[5:49] Speaker 2: say a family sitting down to watch rugby league on
[5:52] Speaker 2: the weekend and then getting gambling advertising, you know, put
[5:56] Speaker 2: to them during that process, because it's outside of that
[5:59] Speaker 2: eight thirty cut off, for example, you could start to
[6:01] Speaker 2: see that there is a sense in the community that
[6:05] Speaker 2: there are people who want something done about this. But
[6:07] Speaker 2: I think the government is banking on the fact that
[6:10] Speaker 2: it's not being seen as the top priority for voters,
[6:13] Speaker 2: as a vote changer, and therefore that they can potentially
[6:17] Speaker 2: find as the Prime minister cause it some balance, striking
[6:20] Speaker 2: some middle ground.
[6:21] Speaker 5: I think for now the strong view from the government.
[6:25] Speaker 2: And the opposition is to attack inducements and use that
[6:28] Speaker 2: as their kind of public platform to say we are
[6:30] Speaker 2: acting on where the problem lies. It'll be up to
[6:34] Speaker 2: the Australian public to decide, with two years to go
[6:37] Speaker 2: until the next election or less than whether or not
[6:39] Speaker 2: when they switch on the TV or turn on their
[6:41] Speaker 2: streaming service or they're out with their kids, whether they
[6:44] Speaker 2: think that gambling is a sort of omnipresent as some
[6:47] Speaker 2: now feel it is okay.
[6:48] Speaker 1: Well, let's go to Anthony Albanez's phone call with Trump
[6:53] Speaker 1: like this week. He was pretty growing about the conversation,
[6:56] Speaker 1: saying it was warm.
[6:57] Speaker 3: And he wanted to pass on he's best wishes to
[7:02] Speaker 3: the people of Australia, who he feels a great warmth towards.
[7:05] Speaker 1: Given how unpopular the president is in Australia. What's the
[7:09] Speaker 1: typewrote that the PM is walking here in terms of
[7:12] Speaker 1: being able to have a transactional relationship with the president
[7:16] Speaker 1: but also not being seen as being too close to him.
[7:19] Speaker 2: Well, the PM has been clear that while he wants
[7:24] Speaker 2: to have a relationship with the United States president, and
[7:26] Speaker 2: obviously this is our closest ally, our defense and national
[7:31] Speaker 2: security relationship in the Indo Pacific is completely tied to the.
[7:34] Speaker 5: US, all the while knowing that the last.
[7:37] Speaker 2: Election he did use Trumpian politics as a point of
[7:41] Speaker 2: criticism for the opposition.
[7:43] Speaker 5: So he has to tread carefully.
[7:45] Speaker 2: But when it comes to the detail, we just never
[7:47] Speaker 2: hear the detail, particularly around things.
[7:50] Speaker 5: Like the Middle East.
[7:51] Speaker 2: So the Prime Minister confirmed they discussed that that Australia's
[7:54] Speaker 2: urging de escalation, but we have such little visibility on
[7:58] Speaker 2: the tin tacks of the engagement. Does the US President
[8:02] Speaker 2: ask more help from Australia, What is the future of
[8:05] Speaker 2: this conflict and how could Australia end up being further
[8:08] Speaker 2: embroiled in it. Is there ever going to be a
[8:10] Speaker 2: request that we send more troops in We have so
[8:13] Speaker 2: little visibility on these questions and they're always brushed aside
[8:17] Speaker 2: as national security issues. And I do feel like for
[8:21] Speaker 2: people who are exercised about that conflict and trying to
[8:24] Speaker 2: work out what Australia's role could be dealing with the
[8:27] Speaker 2: rebuilding of Gaza or whether it's dealing with threats raised
[8:31] Speaker 2: by Iran, I would like to think that we.
[8:33] Speaker 5: Would deserve more information about this.
[8:36] Speaker 2: And I think it's a challenging time for Australia because
[8:40] Speaker 2: we can see things like the immigration issues in the
[8:43] Speaker 2: US very much aligning with one nation, which is talking
[8:46] Speaker 2: about potentially looking at an ICE style approach to removing
[8:51] Speaker 2: people who are in Australia legally. The Prime Minister is
[8:54] Speaker 2: now in the process of dealing with an immigration policy
[8:57] Speaker 2: in which they do want to tighten up some of
[8:59] Speaker 2: these areas of visa policy, but in no way does
[9:03] Speaker 2: the Prime Minister to want to engage with the US
[9:05] Speaker 2: in suggesting that we are going to go down the
[9:07] Speaker 2: same path that they're going down at the moment on
[9:10] Speaker 2: ice style raids.
[9:14] Speaker 1: Coming up after the break, Barnaby Joyce on why One
[9:17] Speaker 1: Nation is the gayest party in Australia and it was
[9:32] Speaker 1: still waiting on an announcement from the government on migration
[9:35] Speaker 1: numbers which are delayed last week. What do we know
[9:38] Speaker 1: about the migration policies of Labor, the Coalition and One Nation.
[9:44] Speaker 2: I just can't even explain the complexity of our migration system,
[9:48] Speaker 2: and I do want to be careful about preempting what
[9:50] Speaker 2: Labour says next week, but I do think on a
[9:53] Speaker 2: broad level we can say that the Government keeps overshooting
[9:56] Speaker 2: the net overseas migration forecast, and they've now acknowledged that
[10:00] Speaker 2: really have to try and tighten the system. Treasury is
[10:03] Speaker 2: forecasting getting to two hundred and twenty five thousand people
[10:07] Speaker 2: per year. And there are lots of arguments about whether
[10:09] Speaker 2: the net overseas migration number is the right one to
[10:12] Speaker 2: use here because it includes people returning to Australia. It's
[10:15] Speaker 2: not necessarily, I think, from the academic viewpoint, the best marker,
[10:19] Speaker 2: but it's the one that Labour's been pushed into by
[10:21] Speaker 2: the political conversation. On the opposition side, we've been waiting
[10:25] Speaker 2: for Angus Taylor to reveal what the coalition's number would be.
[10:31] Speaker 2: He hasn't done that, but Andrew Bragg on his front bench,
[10:34] Speaker 2: has taken the very proactive moderate view to sort of
[10:37] Speaker 2: suggest what he thinks should be the number.
[10:41] Speaker 1: I think Andrew, you thought he was being helpful this week.
[10:43] Speaker 5: I think he still does. I think he still does.
[10:45] Speaker 2: And he put up a figure of around one hundred
[10:48] Speaker 2: and eighty thousand people per year net overseas migration.
[10:52] Speaker 7: By averaging and on of under one one hundred and
[10:55] Speaker 7: eighty thousand people a year. A non reduction on this
[10:59] Speaker 7: goal is manageable and in line with reductions we've seen
[11:01] Speaker 7: in the past.
[11:02] Speaker 5: Is Andrew Bragg freelancing on migration policy?
[11:05] Speaker 1: Well, Andrew was sharing his personal views in his speech
[11:08] Speaker 1: to the National Press Club. We are going through our
[11:10] Speaker 1: policy development process. We're doing it carefully, doing it deliberately.
[11:14] Speaker 2: And then interestingly, you know one nation which we mentioned earlier,
[11:17] Speaker 2: they want to reduce net overseas migration dramatically. It's a
[11:22] Speaker 2: serious cut. It would potentially affect the humanitarian program. It
[11:27] Speaker 2: would affect probably every layer of migration if they went
[11:30] Speaker 2: down this policy path. Initially on their website there was
[11:34] Speaker 2: this figure of one hundred and thirty thousand per year,
[11:36] Speaker 2: but it wasn't linked to anything. It wasn't linked to
[11:38] Speaker 2: either permanent migration or net overseas migration. When I checked
[11:43] Speaker 2: with one nation this week through their media spokesperson and
[11:47] Speaker 2: asked what is that one hundred and thirty thousand figure
[11:50] Speaker 2: linked to, the response I got was net overseas migration.
[11:55] Speaker 2: So if you think about what labor is trying to
[11:58] Speaker 2: tighten their number down to its two one hundred and
[12:00] Speaker 2: twenty five thousand people a year, the coalition, thinking it's
[12:05] Speaker 2: going quite hard on one hundred and eighty one nation,
[12:09] Speaker 2: is putting forward the idea of just one hundred and
[12:11] Speaker 2: thirty thousand people are year. So an extraordinary tightening of
[12:15] Speaker 2: the system wouldn't that drive.
[12:17] Speaker 1: Us potentially drive us into recession?
[12:19] Speaker 2: Anna, Well, this is where Pauline Hanson puts up the
[12:21] Speaker 2: idea that it's up to the economic levers of a
[12:24] Speaker 2: government to work out how to create an economy in
[12:27] Speaker 2: Australia which doesn't rely on immigrants.
[12:29] Speaker 1: When I has to work out the detail.
[12:31] Speaker 2: I mean that, you know, we do have a situation
[12:33] Speaker 2: where there are just bullet points on a website for
[12:35] Speaker 2: One Nation. But to be fair, the Coalition also has
[12:38] Speaker 2: a lot of meat to put on the bone of
[12:39] Speaker 2: their policy, and so does Labor, which is why Tony
[12:42] Speaker 2: Burke's speech will be so closely watched when it finally happens.
[12:47] Speaker 1: Now, before you go out, we have to talk about
[12:49] Speaker 1: Barnaby Joyce. So this week claimed that One Nation is
[12:53] Speaker 1: the gayest party in Australia, which is a political line
[12:56] Speaker 1: that we haven't heard before.
[12:58] Speaker 3: I don't say it, but I think we're one of
[12:59] Speaker 3: the gayest part in Australia when you actually go.
[13:01] Speaker 1: Through trying to come out to me Banna bit, how
[13:05] Speaker 1: does one judge the gayness of One Nation? And is
[13:09] Speaker 1: that a good selling point? Do you think from a
[13:11] Speaker 1: one nation perspective to fly that particular kite look.
[13:15] Speaker 2: It felt like an off the calf response from the
[13:19] Speaker 2: human headline that is Barnaby Joyce. And I think he
[13:24] Speaker 2: has kind of come forward as the sort of chief
[13:27] Speaker 2: speaker to the broadcasters who maybe aren't getting a chance
[13:31] Speaker 2: to question Pauline Hanson.
[13:32] Speaker 5: Directly on policy. But it came from a really serious beginning.
[13:36] Speaker 2: It came from a story about a WA former One
[13:39] Speaker 2: Nation candidate who had made comments that were extremely problematic,
[13:44] Speaker 2: and that's admitted to by many within One Nation as well.
[13:48] Speaker 8: There is a three sex male female and mentally.
[13:53] Speaker 2: Ill and I think Barnaby Joyce successfully kind of flipped
[13:56] Speaker 2: a switch around that potentially to change the conversation to
[14:00] Speaker 2: be once again about a pronouncement by him. But it
[14:04] Speaker 2: belies a reality that within One Nation there are real
[14:07] Speaker 2: questions about how that political party does look at people
[14:10] Speaker 2: who have a different view of what is marriage or
[14:15] Speaker 2: what is a relationship than perhaps some within One Nation.
[14:18] Speaker 2: You know, Corey Bernard's made some pretty strong criticisms and
[14:23] Speaker 2: being roundly condemned for some of the things he said
[14:27] Speaker 2: about saying sex relationships and some.
[14:29] Speaker 8: Creepy people out there and who say that, you know,
[14:31] Speaker 8: it's okay to have consensual sexual relations between humans and animals,
[14:39] Speaker 8: and you know, is that will that be a future step?
[14:42] Speaker 8: Will that be one of the things that say, well,
[14:44] Speaker 8: you know, these two creatures love each other, you know,
[14:48] Speaker 8: maybe they should be able to join in the union.
[14:50] Speaker 2: He's the leader of One Nation in South Australia, so
[14:54] Speaker 2: while you know, I guess it's got a laugh in
[14:56] Speaker 2: the moment, it sort of isn't really reflect of some
[15:00] Speaker 2: of the One Nation candidates or members of different parliaments
[15:04] Speaker 2: and their views in this issue. And it also, I
[15:08] Speaker 2: guess the most people who might read beyond the headline
[15:11] Speaker 2: has probably led more people to potentially learn a bit
[15:13] Speaker 2: more about some of the One Nation candidates and how
[15:16] Speaker 2: they have in fact put themselves forward in this policy area.
[15:20] Speaker 1: Well, I know there's so many complex and substantial issues
[15:23] Speaker 1: happening in our national debate at the moment. Thank you
[15:26] Speaker 1: so much for coming on seven AM and talking to
[15:28] Speaker 1: some of them through with us.
[15:30] Speaker 2: Look, it's a pleasure. I hope there's more clarity next week.
[15:32] Speaker 2: We can only hope for some policy detail.
[15:46] Speaker 1: Seven Am is a daily show from Solstice Media. It's
[15:49] Speaker 1: made by Annigus Basto, Chris Dengate, Crystal Keller, Renei Auckland,
[15:54] Speaker 1: Ruby Jones, Travis Evans, Zoltenfecchio Junior and Me Daniel James.
[16:01] Speaker 1: Our theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan
[16:03] Speaker 1: of Bonbelo Portio. And if you'd like to support seven
[16:06] Speaker 1: Am in bringing you the news independently, and without fear
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