Antisemitism in universities and gambling ad ban among ignored reports

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A report tabled in February urging closer scrutiny of antisemitism complaints in universities and tougher penalties for racial discrimination is one of 67 bipartisan reports to which the government has failed to respond, despite the requirement to do so within six months.

As the Albanese government comes under fire for its slow response to a separate report from its own antisemitism envoy after the Bondi massacre, and continues to refuse to establish a royal commission into the attack, an audit of committee recommendations shows the government has failed to reply to a swath of reports on several issues.

The late Labor MP Peta Murphy led a bipartisan inquiry into gambling harm.

The inquiry into antisemitism in Australian universities, tabled 11 months ago, made several non-binding recommendations to higher education organisations to improve their complaints processes and called for the government to consider launching a judicial inquiry if progress was insufficient.

Among other unanswered reports are recommendations to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure Australia’s future food security, expand protections for victims of financial abuse, and late MP Peta Murphy’s call to ban gambling advertising, according to the latest speaker’s report into the progress of committee recommendations.

Only four reports were responded to in full and on time in the year to November 21, 2025, including a cybersecurity legislative package and a transport sector security amendment.

Just one report had been tabled since the May election, into strengthening oversight of the national intelligence committee. This masthead revealed in October that most Labor MPs who got a $26,000 pay bump to run House committees had not launched inquiries since being appointed.

Manager of opposition business Alex Hawke says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has become arrogant.

Murphy’s recommendation that the Albanese government should ban gambling ads, finalised months before her death in 2023, has sat unanswered for 2½ years, drawing condemnation from the Coalition and increasing dissent from Albanese’s own backbenchers.

Manager of opposition business in the House Alex Hawke said Labor’s super majority in the House had made Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrogant.

“Labor is treating the parliament with contempt, leaving a staggering number of committee reports unanswered,” he said.

“It is a great stain on the prime minister’s record that his government is yet to even respond to the late Peta Murphy’s online gambling report – a fact which is not going unnoticed by the Labor backbench.”

A government spokesperson said ministers and departments took the necessary time to provide substantive responses to significant policy matters, and Labor had cleared “a significant backlog of committee reports left over from previous governments”.

Asked about the delay in responding to the antisemitism in universities inquiry, they pointed to the antisemitism education taskforce launched following the Bondi massacre, which addresses recommendations made in the antisemitism envoy’s July report.

“We’ll introduce legislation to strengthen the powers and penalties available to the higher education regulator where universities fail to act,” they said.

Governments are not bound to implement inquiry reports, but Murphy’s final recommendations on gambling ads have gathered support across the political spectrum since her death.

Labor backbencher Mike Freelander said in late November that if MPs were allowed a conscience vote, the reforms would pass.

“I’ve got no doubt we’d be able to ban gambling advertising, because I think there’s a general consensus we need to act on it, that it does cause a lot of harm,” Freelander told the ABC.

Labor MP Mike Freelander (back) said a gambling ad ban had widespread support.

The prime minister rejected this stance during one of the final question times for the year when, under repeated questioning from independents on whether he would allow his MPs a conscience vote, he said Labor voted as a caucus.

Albanese said he led “a political party, not a bunch of individuals”, which Coalition MPs took as a slight to the autonomy of Labor backbenchers.

“Peta Murphy was a Labor member,” Nationals backbencher Pat Conaghan shouted.

Labor backbencher Jerome Laxale backed the prime minister’s response, saying reform should go through the usual caucus process, but vowed to keep agitating for greater action.

“I’ve been one of many Labor backbench MPs discussing this internally,” he told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing. “Personally, I see gambling reform as unfinished business for the Labor government, and I’m hopeful for some positive action.”

Labor had committed to acting on the inquiry’s recommendations but paused its plans to ban online ads and cap TV and radio commercials following concerns raised by media and sports companies about the impact of lost advertising revenue.

Labor MP Jerome Laxale has been advocating internally for greater gambling reform.

Bipartisan committees scrutinise legislation and research issues before making policy recommendations to government. The government is required to respond to House and joint standing committee reports within six months, while Senate committee reports should be addressed within three.

The most recent committee report audit covers a 12-month period rather than the usual six months because the parliament was dissolved in March for the election. The report is a snapshot of the year and is not a comprehensive review of the government’s response to reports across terms.

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