Australia Advances Gambling Ad Reforms, Scrutinizes Fuel Prices, and Adjusts Tech Tax

A former professional rugby league player says inducements need to take centre stage in any tightening of gambling advertising legislation.

The government is pushing ahead with gambling advertising reforms, which are a watered-down version of what a Labor-led inquiry recommended.

Under the draft legislation, gambling advertisements would still be permitted during half-time breaks and weather delays in sporting broadcasts after 8:30pm.

A Senate committee into the government's gambling advertising bill will hold a hearing in Canberra today.

Luke Bateman, now a gambling reform advocate, suffered from a gambling addiction while competing professionally.

Speaking to ABC's AM program, Bateman says gambling advertising needs to be limited because it normalises gambling. He says inducements should also take priority.

"It doesn't give people gambling addictions, but what it does is it allows that gambling to take root once they're older because … it's just the same as breathing to them," Bateman says.

"The inducements are encouraging and normalizing harmful behaviors. Like they are coaxing people into doing these harmful behaviours and creating harmful patterns."

Today, Australians woke up to a higher price at the bowser after the last of the government's fuel discounts ended yesterday.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he's written to the ACCC, asking the watchdog to "increase scrutiny" of fuel prices as the fuel excise returns to normal settings.

"Any price that can't be explained will face serious scrutiny from the ACCC," he said.

"Servos and suppliers are on notice. The regulator will be watching them like a hawk."

Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino says artificial intelligence companies will remain exempt from the government's News Bargaining Incentive.

The government has made some adjustments to its News Bargaining Incentive draft legislation, increasing the tax rate to 2.5 per cent.

Under the changes, Labor will push to tax the revenue of big tech companies rather than the company's entire revenue stream.

Speaking to ABC's AM program, the assistant treasurer says taxing advertising revenue will target the part of the business that uses news.

"We don't want to discourage those large tech companies from having a growing footprint in Australia," Mulino says.

"What we do want, though, is that part of their business which is using news to be fairly compensating the producers of that news."

Platforms like Microsoft, Snapchat and OpenAI have been excluded from the tax and from coming to agreements with publishers.

Asked if artificial intelligence companies will now fall under the incentive, Mulino says they still remain exempt.

"The prime minister's speech delivered a week and a half ago made very clear that he was going to implement a series of processes to look at things like copyright to make sure that creative producers are protected," he said.

Tech companies will be forced to pay a 2.5 per cent tax on digital advertising revenue if they don't reach deals with media companies.

The government has concluded consultation on its News Bargaining Incentive legislation, which will soon be introduced to parliament.

Under the initial draft legislation, companies were meant to pay 2.25 per cent tax, but under the new proposal that will rise to 2.5 per cent.

Labor will also increase the offset for deals with small publishers from 170 per cent to 200 per cent and expand the number of deals needed to fully acquit tech companies from tax from four to six.

The changes also include narrowing the charge base to digital advertising revenue attributable to Australia.

Media companies say the legislation is a "critical step" towards securing the future of Australian news content.

But big tech companies have criticised the draft legislation, saying the tax won't deliver a sustainable news sector.