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Politics199 words2 min read

Australia: Independent MP Criticises Gambling Reform Deal

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Photo by Stephen Tafra on Unsplash
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Listen to the story

Australia's two big political parties are making a deal on gambling. The parties are called Labor and the Coalition. They talked about new rules for gambling. These rules are called a bill. A bill is a new law that parliament must agree on.

An independent politician does not belong to a big party. Her name is Sophie Scamps. She thinks the new gambling rules are not good enough. She called the plan "weak" and "pathetic". These words mean the plan is not strong and not good.

Sophie Scamps also said the plan is "piecemeal". This means the plan only fixes small parts of a problem. It does not fix everything. She wants stronger rules on gambling advertising. Advertising means ads on TV or online.

Many people worry about gambling in Australia. Gambling ads are on TV very often. Some politicians want to stop this. Labor and the Coalition are talking in their party rooms today. A party room is a meeting of all politicians from one party.

People expect a deal soon. This story is part of Australia's daily political news. Many topics are talked about, like artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres too.

Vocabulary8 words

deal
an agreement between people or groups
Coalition
a group of political parties working together
bill
a new law that parliament is talking about
independent
not part of a big political party
piecemeal
done in small parts, not all together
advertising
ads that tell people about products
party rooms
meetings of politicians from the same party
artificial intelligence
computer systems that can think like humans

Quiz

1. What is Sophie Scamps' job?
2. What did Sophie Scamps say about the gambling plan?
3. True or false: Labor and the Coalition are two different political parties.

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

Australia's two big political parties are making a _____ on gambling.

The parties are called Labor and the _____.

They talked about new rules for gambling, called a _____.

An _____ politician does not belong to a big party.

She called the plan "weak" and "_____".

Sophie Scamps also said the plan is "_____".

She wants stronger rules on gambling _____.

Labor and the Coalition are talking in their _____ today.

People expect a _____ soon.

Many topics are talked about, like _____ and data centres too.

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