MEDIA CALL: Gambling reform: Wesley Mission steps up campaign as trust in government plunges

Wesley Mission

Media call

Tuesday 20 October 2026 | 9.30am NSW Parliament House

Gambling reform: Wesley Mission steps up campaign as trust in government plunges
GambleAware Week launch comes as just 16% trust government to stand up to gambling industry

Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron, will be joined by NCOSS CEO Cara Varian, lived experience and gambling reform advocates Kate Seselja and Nelson Nghe, independent MP Alex Greenwich and fellow MPs at NSW Parliament House on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

Together with community and faith leaders, they will launch a strengthened Put Pokies in Their Place campaign, backed by a growing coalition of more than 50 organisations and councils.

The expanded platform includes a new demand for a legislated share of poker machine tax revenue to be returned directly to communities, stronger community protections and a mandatory midnight–10am poker machine shutdown.

The launch follows new survey findings showing public trust in the NSW Government to stand up to the gambling industry has more than halved, falling from 35 per cent in May 2025 to just 16 per cent in September 2026. Half of respondents believe the gambling lobby has too much influence on NSW politics.

Available for interview
● Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron
● NCOSS CEO, Cara Varian
● Lived experience and gambling reform advocates, Kate Seselja and Nelson Nghe
● Independent Member for Sydney, Alex Greenwich MP
● Fellow MPs, community and faith leaders
● Frontline workers

WHAT: Wesley Mission’s Parliamentary launch of its strengthened Put Pokies in Their Place campaign as part of GambleAware Week

WHEN: Tuesday 20 October 2026, 9.30am

WHERE: Preston Stanley Room, Level 7, NSW Parliament House, 6 Macquarie Street, Sydney

MEDIA CONTACT: Anne Holt | 0418 628 342 | [email protected]

ENDS