Independent ACT Senator and former Wallabies captain David Pocock has been booted from a parliamentary sports club after raising concerns it was sponsored by the gambling industry.
The Australian Parliament Social Club organises social games between politicians and journalists in Canberra, and is sponsored by Responsible Wagering Australia (RWA), Australia’s peak body for the gaming industry.
Pocock was one of several crossbench MPs who criticised the RWA’s sponsorship of the club last month, arguing it was nothing more than a way for the gambling lobby group to gain access to politicians and influential journalists.
He again raised his concerns about the link between gambling and sport in Senate Estimates this week, saying he had “serious concerns” about “young Australians who are being advertised [to] to the point that they think gambling is just a normal part of watching sport”.
As a result, he’s been kicked out of the social group and removed from the group chats. Pocock’s removal coincided with his membership being up for renewal, per the ABC.
“It’s a pretty bizarre thing to be booted from a parliamentary sports club where the extent of your involvement is casual touch footy and soccer on a Wednesday and Thursday morning,” Pocock said.
“Being kicked out of the club for raising concerns around gambling lobbyists buying access to the club shows the influence vested interests have here in parliament and just how normalised this has become,” he added.
For his part, the club’s chief executive Andy Turnbull confirmed he had texted Pocock to inform him of the decision, and claimed he reached out to Pocock privately to resolve the issue before it was raised publicly in Senate Estimates.
“You can’t lob bombs at an apolitical organisation and not expect consequences,” Turnbull said. He also rejected claims that Responsible Wagering Australia is granted lobbying access through its involvement in the sports club.
“There is an unwritten rule that no one talks business on the sports pitches. It’s the only time the parliamentarians get any time to relax and not do business, and I work very hard to ensure this is the case,” Turnbull said.
“I have always been of the view that the larger the organisation involved, the less likely they are to ‘use’ the club in an inappropriate way,” he added.
Fellow independents Allegra Spender and Monique Ryan had already quit the club over its links to the gambling industry, with Spender saying in a statement that the club is “operating as a front for a gambling industry that spreads so much misery”.
Responding to concerns last month, Responsible Wagering Australia’s chief executive, Kai Cantwell, said it did not use the club to lobby politicians and that the club was “simply to enjoy exercise and socialising”.
“RWA’s work on regulation and harm reduction happens through the proper parliamentary and regulatory processes, not on the sporting field,” he added.
Lead images: Getty Images
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