The incredible amount of money being lost by South Australians to poker machines has exceeded $1 billion for the first time ever.

I asked Parliament to vote in measures to tackle the scourge of problem gambling. Sadly, when it comes to gambling revenue, the major parties have shown once again they are hopelessly addicted.

And 14 years on from the tragic death of a neglected four-year-old child, Chloe Lee Valentine - the subject of more than 20 notifications to Families SA - social workers remain unregistered and unregulated in this state.

I could go out tomorrow and get myself a social worker's job without any qualification and be responsible for the most vulnerable people in our community. I might be good at it. I might not. This simply has to change.

Yours truly slams parties over failure to address problem gambling crisis

Last week in Parliament I slammed both the State Labor and Liberal parties for shutting down two of three proposed Bills seeking to rein in the social devastation caused by problem gambling in this state.

You can’t rely on the Government and Opposition to come together on most things - but you can bank your house on them opposing sensible and modest reforms aimed at reining in the scourge of poker machines.

The Premier pushed the agenda of taking money out of politics during his political donations reform.

But his Government’s actions show the political influence of the gambling lobby is alive and all powerful.

This is a Government and an Opposition addicted to the huge revenue gambling and poker machines pull in – $453.7 million from the pokies alone last financial year - despite the incalculable damage it does to families shattered by the grip of gambling addiction.

Gambling destroys families, it destroys lives. There is research which suggests 20% of all suicides is gambling related.

And yet two Bills aimed at addressing this state and national crisis are shot down in flames with little thought or rationale given and for no good reason.

A Bill to legislate extended restrictions on gambling advertising on television and radio successfully passed the Legislative Council on Wednesday, October 29.

The Bill, introduced by myself, seeks to ban gambling advertisements on free-to-air and streaming services, both radio and television, during times when children are most likely to be listening and watching - between 5am and 8.30am and again from 4pm to 8.30pm.

The ban currently applies for authorised betting operators to the hours of 6am and 8.30am for radio and 4pm to 7pm for television.

The Bill is now due to be considered by the House of Assembly.

Sadly, my parliamentary colleagues voted for the defeat of my two other gambling Bills: a Mandatory Pre-Commitment System Bill that caps the amount of money a person can spend on poker machines within a set period, and a Bill restricting advertising signage and to ensure poker machines are turned off in all venues, including the casino, between the hours of 2am and 8am when people are most vulnerable, plus a further six hours for gaming venues.

Both Bills were quickly shut down with the exception of support from myself, the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Robert Simms.

This despite the fact that last financial year South Australians lost, for the very first time, in excess of $1 billion - $3 million a day – on poker machines. This included $24 million lost in Mount Gambier alone and $20.7 million in Whyalla.

That is kids and families across the state going without food, off the back of poker machine addiction.

Let's be clear: the majority of the losses that we are talking about do not come from recreational gamblers; they come from problem gamblers with gambling addictions. They come from our most vulnerable socio-economic areas across the state. $21 billion dollars over 30 years; that is what poker machines have cost South Australians.

The public sentiment on this issue is not on the side of the Government, and it is certainly not on the side of the Opposition. These things are on the nose in the community, and there is one thing and one thing alone that keeps them in our community, and that is the Government’s addiction to the revenue they bring in.

The lack of appetite of the Government and the Opposition to do something about poker machines is at odds with every sentiment out there in the community.

Surely it is time our elected representatives began listening to their communities and not the self-serving greed-fuelled rhetoric of the gambling industry – one which values profits over people, profits over families, profits over lives.

Almost 14 years later, South Australia fails little Chloe Valentine again

Last week in Parliament I hit out at government inaction on child safety almost 14 years after the heart-breaking death of four-year-old Chloe Lee Valentine.

Despite millions of dollars having since been spent on implementing a key recommendation of the Coroner a decade ago, namely the establishment of a scheme for the registration and regulation of social workers, that scheme remains inactive.

Chloe died in hospital in January 2012 from injuries sustained after repeatedly falling off a motorbike she was forced to ride.

Little Chloe was the subject of more than 20 notifications to Families SA from people concerned for her welfare.

The story of Chloe’s consistent neglect from birth, and ultimate death, is one that will live in the consciousness and nightmares of many South Australians. She and her family were undoubtedly let down by the state in a myriad of ways.

The government of the day fully accepted 19 of the Coroner’s 22 recommendations handed down in 2015 - including the registration scheme for social workers - and gave in principal support of another.

Unlike other professions, social workers are unregistered and unregulated in this state. That means there are fewer safeguards in place to protect both the workers and the often vulnerable people they care for.

In September 2018 the Social Workers Registration Bill 2018 was introduced into the Legislative Council. The Bill made provisions for the registration of social workers and for the establishment of a Social Workers Registration Board, which would perform a regulatory role.

The Bill was assented to in December 2021 and has since been delayed for four years already, with no firm commitment that it will ever see the light of day.

The office of the Social Workers Registration Board was established in mid-2023 with a staff of approximately 12 to 14 people to prepare the scheme for its go live date.

In March this year, the Budget and Finance Committee was told by the board’s director that a live commencement date of July 1 was achievable and on track.

Then in mid-June an amendment Bill was introduced into the Legislative Council to postpone the commencement of this scheme.

The Government’s efforts to indefinitely mothball this scheme were successful - with the full support of the Opposition.

The most important and pressing issue at play here is that children remain vulnerable and the Government seems content to roll the dice on that - whilst the Opposition is sleeping.

In the 2022-23 State Budget papers $4.7 million was allocated to establish the Board and its office over four years. It was always intended that from its go live date the Board would be self-funded from registration fees.

I can only assume that now that it has not happened, that the Government is continuing to fund this non-operational Board and intends to do so for the period of indefinite delay.

None of this is a reflection on the Social Workers Registration Board or its director. I have no information to suggest that they have been anything but diligent.

On Wednesday, October 29, in Parliament I asked the Government for some transparency and honesty about their intentions.

Does the Government intend for the Social Workers Registration Board to become operational and if so, when? If the Government does not, then for how long are they prepared to waste public money in funding this charade?

And what would they say to Chloe’s family – and to any family who in the future finds themselves in a similar nightmare, after having been let down by the state?

It's time to stop short-changing victims of crime

I am urging the State Government to reconsider its position and support a bill to fairly compensate victims for financial losses and suffering incurred by criminal acts against them.

It comes after the Auditor-General's Report for 2024-25 revealed that the South Australian Victims of Crime (VOC) fund has grown to $251.2 million and yet continues to cut compensation payouts by 25 per cent for those who apply for financial relief.

I introduced a bill to amend the Victims of Crime Act 2001 back in August 2023 and I have steadfastly refused to let the Government off the hook.

The bill seeks to repeal Section 23(a)(i) of the Victims of Crime Act, which limits an order for statutory compensation to only three-quarters over any amount that exceeds $2,000.

This means that a victim has to make up the shortfall or, perhaps more concerning, not be able to access important follow-up medical or other treatments they need because they simply cannot make up the shortfall.

The bill also seeks to implement a second key reform to enhance the capacity of victims to seek compensation by prescribing a fair increase in costs to legal practitioners, which at present is a mere $1,400, indexed.

“I challenge anyone in here to find a lawyer who would be able to do that based on those rates,’’ I told Parliament at the time. The bill proposes to increase the cap on costs payable to legal practitioners from $1,400 (indexed) to $2,500 (indexed).

The bill has received the strong support of The Law Society of South Australia which stated in a media release issued back in February 2024 that the “proposed amendments to the Victims of Crime Act that are currently before Parliament are likely (to) have such a profound impact to victims that the case for reform cannot be ignored’’.

Unfortunately, these amendments continue to be ignored by the Government for no good reason.

The Law Society said the bill ‘proposes modest changes to the scheme which the Society considers would not jeopardise the health of the fund, but would at least cover direct costs of medical treatment or loss of wages, even if the scheme could never compensate for the lifelong trauma that such victims go through’.

The Law Society has made the very valid point that the current $1,400 fee indexed vastly undervalues the work required to properly run a victims of crime claim.

It has documented incidents where victims of violent and brutal crimes have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket.

The Law Society also stated that many victims who apply for compensation under the scheme are domestic violence victims, often who have suﬀered sexual abuse, people with disabilities who have been violently exploited, and others who will endure lifelong physical and psychological trauma as a result of oﬀences committed against them.

It is completely unjust and quite frankly ridiculous that a scheme designed to compensate victims delivers significantly little monetary relief despite $251.2 million now being available in funds.

This was a $27.3 million increase on the previous financial year's total. The VOC fund income for 2024-25 was $71.1 million with VOC levies at $46.3 million.

However, total victim compensation and legal payments for 2024-2025 amounted to just $29.2 million.

As I’ve said all along, this is a simple bill and it falls into the category of no-brainers.

The bill is still before the Parliament and I’m appealing to the Government to reconsider its position in the wake of this latest revelation of $251 million sitting in the VOC kitty.

I simply cannot fathom this Government’s reluctance to act. To short-change victims of crime is just adding trauma to trauma.

The Attorney-General Kyam Maher was quoted by InDaily last year as saying the Victims of Crime scheme, as set out in the legislation, is intended to be a compensation scheme of last resort.

“The scheme is not, and has never been, intended to fully compensate all financial and non-financial loss,” Mr Maher was quoted.

It would appear the Law Society begs to differ.

It has publicly stated that "this scheme should not be described as a scheme of last resort. For victims who apply for compensation under the scheme, it is the scheme of only resort,'' the Law Society said.

The Victims of Crime Bill will go to a vote on November 12.

New laws to combat the sinister side of AI

New nation-leading laws to combat the use of deepfakes to create violent or sexually degrading images or videos came into effect last Monday.

Under the laws, people who solely use artificial intelligence or other digital technology to create invasive, humiliating or degrading images that either closely resemble, or purport to be a real person could face fines of up to $20,000 or four years imprisonment.

People found guilty of an offence could also be required to surrender any records and equipment used to create the deepfakes.

I was proud to successfully introduce pioneering legislation last year mandating new offences for the creation and distribution of deepfake invasive images through the editing or manipulation of real images, now punishable by heavy fines and prison sentences.

The new laws will ensure that deepfake images that are generated entirely by AI or other digital technology will also be captured as an offence.

The eSafety Commissioner has stated that explicit deepfakes have increased on the internet as much as 550 per cent year on year since 2019.

Current estimates suggest that up to 95 to 98 per cent of all deepfakes are nonconsensual pornography, and 99 per cent of victims are women and girls.

It is becoming one of the most serious threats facing women and young girls online and, even more frightening, it is happening in our schoolyards. That is because what two or three years ago was very much in the realm of hackers and the underworld of the internet is now mainstream.

It is being used to harass, to shame, to intimidate, to extort and to violate young women and girls with devastating psychological impacts and, worse still, suicides.

Sadly, it is perpetrated in the main by men and reflects broader cultural attitudes around power, control and entitlements over women's and girls' bodies.

The new laws passed Parliament earlier this year in a joint effort between the Government and myself.

These laws make it clear that we will not stand by while technology is weaponised to humiliate and harm anyone.

Deviants exploiting loopholes in child sex doll laws

The ABC last week reported that child sex abuse doll torsos and disembodied heads are being offered for sale on Chinese-based online marketplaces Temu and Shein in a bid to get around laws forbidding the importation of sex abuse material.

Under Australian law possessing, advertising, ordering and importing child-like sex dolls is illegal.

But in addition to advertising them on mainstream platforms, sex abuse campaigners say Temu and Shein will ship them to Australia, the ABC reported.

Child sex dolls are three-dimensional dolls which resemble children and they have imitation orifices and are intended to be used for simulating sexual intercourse with children. It is extremely disturbing that these dolls are available on the market.

The dolls normalise abusive behaviour towards children, encourage the sexualisation of children and increase the likelihood that a paedophile will engage in sexual activity with or towards children.

In 2019 I successfully introduced a bill for a ban on child-like sex dolls. People found in possession of child-like sex dolls can now be jailed for up to 10 years.

There is a strong link between child-like sex dolls and the potential for sexual abuse perpetrated against children.

It is frightening to know even the seemingly innocent act of sharing a child's photo online can unwittingly expose them to untold risks. Predators can take those photos and make child-like sex dolls that resemble one of our children.

This is one of the reasons why penalties for such offences need to be severe.

The ABC says the dolls are advertised by Temu and Shein on global platforms, such as Instagram and X.

The national broadcaster quoted Caitlin Roper, a campaign manager for Collective Shout, an activist group that fights against the sexualisation of girls in media and popular culture.

She says sellers are finding ways to get around restrictions and laws. "[They can] buy [the doll] in parts, buy child heads separately, so then they can claim that it wasn't supposed to be a child sex abuse doll," Ms Roper told the ABC.

"In some extreme cases, a manufacturer said: 'I'll run a tutorial for anyone who is interested, I'll send you out a doll or parts and then I'll teach you how to make the penetrable orifices yourself'."

The ABC cited examples of deliberately misleading listings of life-size child head replicas as adult hairdressing and makeup mannequins as a means of obscuring what is unquestionably the advertising of child sex abuse material.

Given that SA has some of the most stringent and toughest child exploitation laws in the nation, will the Government commit to reviewing our current child exploitation material definitions and provisions to ensure that any such loophole that allows disembodied torsos to be subject to some sort of legal loophole that may exist is addressed as a matter of urgency?

It is an issue I raised in Parliament last week to ensure we are doing everything we can to stamp out this appalling depravity.

The good news is that this week Shein announced a global ban on sex dolls and sex doll products after fierce backlash from multiple countries condemning their resemblance to children.

We must now pressure Temu to do likewise and promptly.

For millions of Aussies, pharmacists are first port of call

I love pharmacists. Honestly, without my local pharmacist, I wouldn’t survive winter.

They’re the reason I can find cold and flu tablets on a Sunday afternoon, and the reason I don’t accidentally mix my cholesterol meds with something that would make me glow in the dark.

So I was delighted The Pharmacy Guild of Australia (SA Branch) invited yours truly to attend the 2025 SA Member Dinner and Awards Evening at the Hilton Hotel last week.

The event bought together SA members and key stakeholders and recognised the significant contribution of outstanding community pharmacy leadership.

For millions of Australians, pharmacists are the first port of call when health issues arise and their expert advice and guidance is key to keeping the community healthy and reducing waiting times at our medical clinics and hospitals. Australians visit community pharmacies on average 18 times a year – which equates to around 485 million visits annually.

I have long advocated for trialling and implementing new services offered by pharmacists following the proven success of expanding their scope of practice.

As health professionals gain new training and skills, their scope of practice can change. Regardless, they have to be competent and authorised to perform these new practices.

An example of this is community pharmacists are extensively trained to provide expert guidance on oral contraception (the pill) and are able to offer resupply for approved pills without needing a new prescription from a doctor.

South Australia is subsidising training for up to 120 pharmacists over the next three years as they prepare to offer more services. The Pharmacy Guild continues to support the South Australian Government in developing and implementing scope initiatives, including through new clinical guidelines and upgraded clinical software.

The day Greek courage changed the course of WWII

Oxi Day – Greek National Day - is celebrated by Greeks and Cypriots around the world – a day which altered the course of World War II.

On October 28, 1940, Greek leader Ioannis Metaxas rejected Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s ultimatum to surrender.

Metaxas's simple response was “Oxi” (No). The rebuff resulted in Italy’s invasion of Greece and the birthplace of democracy being catapulted into World War II.

Despite being outnumbered and out-equipped, the Greeks mounted a heroic resistance – repelling the Italian army and prompting Nazi Germany to intervene. In doing so, Hitler was forced to delay his planned invasion of Russia. That delay exposed 3.8 million ill-prepared German troops to a crippling Russian winter.

The Nazi advance into Russia was halted, freeing up the Eastern Front and ultimately sowing the seeds for the defeat of Nazi Germany.

DAY TO REMEMBER: Celebrating Oxi Day with friends.

So I was very honoured that the Greek Orthodox Community of South Australia invited me to lay a wreath at the Commemoration of Greek National Day at the Cathedral of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, marking the historic world-changing events of October 28, 1940.

The Greeks’ defeat of Italy earned the admiration of the world. No one expected such a small nation to resist the seemingly unstoppable Axis juggernaut.

The courage, resilience and resolve of the Greeks moved British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to say: “Hence we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks’’.

Breast density linked to higher breast cancer risk

High breast density is directly linked with increased breast cancer risk.

So, it was a pleasure to meet with Georgia Harris, a registered nurse and health and medical science honours student at The University of Adelaide, and her supervisors Associate Professor Wendy Ingam and Associate Professor Shona Crabb at Parliament House this week to learn of their work in the breast density field and of measures we can take to save lives.

A/Profs Ingam and Crabb, alongside Georgia, are advocating for patients whose high breast density puts them at greater risk of breast cancer to have better systems in place to notify, educate and support these women and their healthcare providers.

Not many women know if they have dense breasts and high breast density can make it harder for doctors to detect breast cancer on a mammogram.

HERE'S TO GOOD HEALTH: Yours truly with Wendy, Georgia and Shona.

In addition to public awareness campaigns, they would like to see supplementary screenings such as MRI and biopsies publicly accessible to high-risk patients.

The two professors have developed a website to share information about breast density with the Australian community: https://informd.org.au/

Anything we can do to further safeguard public health and wellbeing is a good thing. So, watch this space.

We are women, hear us roar

In the last decade Pathways to Politics for Women has helped hundreds of women run for office, with 88 electoral successes nationally at all levels of government.

The non-partisan programs are designed in collaboration with leading universities across Australia including the University of Adelaide and provide comprehensive practical training, mentoring and career-long support.

The program is designed to empower more women to take their rightful place in politics, and judging by the sky-high quality of the latest 15 candidates in SA our state’s future is in very good hands.

All 15 women delivered powerfully eloquent and emotive speeches in the House of Assembly today, outlining their desire for change and what their lived experience will bring to politics.

As an ambassador and proud member of the Pathways to Politics Steering Committee, I was delighted to again be invited to sit on the judging panel, along with former Democrats leader Natasha Stott Despoja AO and
Sarah Buckley from the Trawalla Foundation, which initiated the program.

Hosted by FIVEAA broadcaster Stacey Lee, what followed was a series of compelling heart-felt speeches which filled me with hope for our future.

Their conviction, willingness, courage and determination to make a better world and their strong connection with their communities is the essence of what politics should be about.

It’s also why I am so glad to be in a privileged position to do what they aspire to do – and by that I mean helping people.

So should any of the names below pop up on a ballet box near you at some point, you know you’re on to a good thing.

To Tammie Sinclair, Megan Pichler, Simone Bailey, Keri Hopeward, Khuyên (Quin) Tran, Sarah Luscombe, Katie McRae, Ash Robinson, Jenn Tranter, Bel Quick, Katie Hannan, Sam Bywaters, Misty Norris, Georgia McDonnell and Diana Mislov;

Your passion so articulately expressed was truly inspiring.

Stand Up, Speak Up, Step Up: Spring Edition