Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have a major problem with illegal tobacco trade in Australia. It is putting lives at risk, increasing smoking rates, driving profits to organised crime and short-changing the Australian Taxation Office. Today marks yet another increase of five per cent on legal cigarettes, which are already taxed at among the highest levels in the world. The policy intention on excise tax is to reduce the number of people, particularly young people, who take up smoking, because of the financial impost. All of us in this place want to see a reduction in the number of people smoking and the number of people who take it up. The unintended policy consequence has been a surging black market of illegal tobacco.

At the same time as the tax on cigarettes is going up, the associated government revenue has plummeted. The government cites figures that shows smoking rates among people 14 and above have gone down from 13.8 per cent in 2017 to 8.3 per cent. But as Jon Kaila writes in today's Herald Sun, the latest Australian Criminal Investigation Commission waste water report shows an uptick in nicotine rates.

The ABC has reported that violent robberies in Victoria have grown by more than 150 per cent since February 2024 owing to tobacco related crime. I've spoken to a number of retailers about their concerns. They pay tax, they adhere to the regulations, and they are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of their staff. I call on the federal Labor government to urgently review all available options to address this crisis from taxation to law enforcement. (Time expired)

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