‘Muzzling’ advocates: the Albanese government’s reliance on NDAs

7am

In more than 30 years of lobbying for gambling reforms, Tim Costello says no government has tried to silence him through the use of a legally binding non-disclosure agreement.

That’s until the Albanese government asked him to sign an NDA as part of lobbying the government on new gambling advertising laws.

The chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform says he believes its purpose was to “muzzle” the group.

It’s part of a growing government trend to use non-disclosure agreements as a condition of consultation on reforms, even threatening advocates and social welfare groups with imprisonment if orders are breached.

Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, on the impact these NDAs have on meaningful consultation and how the government justifies its turn towards secrecy.

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Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Karen Barlow.