Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Digital Economy) | Hansard source

The Combatting Illicit Tobacco Bill 2026 is an important bill to speak on. As a Victorian, I know, and every Victorian knows, firsthand the challenges that we face with the crime crisis in Victoria. Many states are dealing with illicit tobacco, but what cannot be denied is that a lot of the crime crisis is being fuelled by the profits gained by organised crime from illicit tobacco. As Victorians, we are now seeing this move into illicit alcohol as well. Organised crime is pushing into the hospitality industry and we are seeing venues being firebombed. And let's not beat around the bush, these things are linked. The illicit tobacco crisis, the illicit alcohol crisis and the crimes that they are fuelling are linked. They are bankrolling organised crime. There is such a disparity now in the price of illicit tobacco and illicit alcohol versus legal tobacco and legal alcohol, because of the excise, that it is fuelling this crime crisis.

Combined with a complete lack of consequence for those who break the law, it is lower risk for organised crime to import a shipping container of illicit tobacco and make more profit than if they are looking to import illicit drugs. That is the reality. That is the mathematical reality for organised crime. And we need to do more, because it's not just criminals who are impacted. It is every community, it is innocent shop owners, it is those looking to do the right thing.

Let me share a story from my community about the impact of the crime wave linked to illicit tobacco. On 11 February 2024, a tobacconist in Seville was firebombed. I want to pay tribute to Seville CFA, Wandin CFA, Hillcrest CFA and many other CFAs across the upper Yarra and the Yarra Valley that were quick to turn out to get that blaze under control in the dead of the night. But, despite their work, the impact was profound. The much loved restaurant and family business next door, Branded Burgers and Bar, as well as the local dentist and medical centre—they were all impacted by substantial smoke, heat and water damage. In fact, Branded Burgers and Bar had only just changed hands. The new owners, Lyshea and her partner Chris, were in the early days of opening the business at the time. The business had to close for 10 months as they dealt with insurance and the renovations.

I worked with them in this time to support them as much as I could. It was causing hardship and stress for them, as the owners, and for the team of locals that they employ, their families and the wider community. It was great to be there when they opened up again and to see them now continuing to thrive. They survived that tough 10 months, but they were impacted through no fault of their own. Their business copped the damage of the criminality. This is just one story I share, but we know there are hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of stories across the community of small businesses and people impacted by these firebombings, by this crime. There is no doubt that the impact is profound, and that's why it is so important that more is done to stamp this out.

Like so many government bills, it has an impressive-sounding name—Combatting Illicit Tobacco Bill. Of course we want to combat illicit tobacco. The coalition are supporting this bill because something is better than nothing, but let's be up-front here. This is partial. It's inadequate. It is not going to make a significant difference to the illicit-tobacco crime crisis that we face. In fact, astonishingly, in the explanatory memorandum, the government's own words confirm that this is a wet lettuce. They say:

The Bill does not introduce substantial new powers, rather seeks to clarify, streamline or strengthen existing information-gathering and confiscation mechanisms, to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement outcomes.

So at a time when crime is out of control in Victoria and is being fuelled by the profits from illicit tobacco, and when the current system is not working, the government, in their own words, bring in a bill that is not going to make a difference. There are no substantial new powers for any enforcement agency to hold these criminals to account.

This is legislation at its worst. This is this government at its worst. Member after member and the minister will stand up and say: 'We've made a difference. We're combating illicit tobacco. It's a scourge. We've got to do something.' They've got a headline and they will pretend that they're doing something, but, in their own words, it's not going to make a difference. My community, all Victorians and every Australian is sick of this government talking a big game and failing to deliver.

If there is one hallmark standout from this prime minister, the legacy of this prime minister will be a prime minister that misleads the Australian people and a prime minister that grandstands and thinks that introducing a bill and making a statement in the house of parliament is job done. It's not because the criminals in Victoria and the criminals across the country do not care about the political games of this prime minister. They are not worried about the consequences unless they are profound. This government has shown, in their own words, that this is not going to make a difference.

We are seeing this play out in so many ways. We are seeing the gap widen as illicit tobacco increases and more people are going to illicit tobacco stores. Retailers are shutting down. Many are not even offering cigarettes anymore. I don't smoke. I never have, and I never will. It's not for me. I'm not going to judge those that do. It's up to them. I think it's a dangerous habit that health professionals have shown shouldn't be there, but people are free to live their life. No wonder people are turning to illicit tobacco when they can get a packet for $20 and they walk into a retail store it's $80. That's human nature, and I don't judge those for doing that. There are unintended consequences of these decisions for hardworking businesspeople. Retailers and their staff are getting abused by consumers in their stores because a consumer is walking in and going: 'Why are you charging me $80 for my cigarettes when I've been paying $20? You're ripping me off.' Most consumers that walk into a tobacconist don't actually comprehend or understand that they're technically breaking the law. They just walk in to buy those products because that's their shop and they think that's the price. They walk into a larger retailer that's doing the right thing and they think they're ripping them off and they abuse them.

The other perverse impact of the illicit tobacco crisis is that smaller retailers in particular—corner stores, milk bars, convenience stores, service stations—are being faced with a choice. Sometimes they don't get given a choice, and there are lots of reports about this. Organised crime are walking into their stores and telling them, 'You will sell illicit tobacco or will be back.' Some have gone to the police and they've faced the consequences of those criminals coming back. Others have had to accept them for their own safety. But if they refuse to stock illicit tobacco, they'll go broke. If you've poured your life savings and you've put everything into your business, you then have a choice: do you shut down your business and fail to feed your family, or do you start stocking this illicit tobacco like everyone else so you can put food on the table? That is the choice many small business owners are having to make across the country, and that's heartbreaking for them. That's how big this issue is.

And what do we get from this government? In their own words, 'No consequential changes, no substantial new powers.' Essentially, it's a wet lettuce that is not going to change something that is out of control. It's even worse in Victoria, because we have a premier, Jacinta Allan, and a state Labor government that refuse to be tough on crime. They refuse to hold to account those that commit the crimes. We hear time and time again about these criminal organisations paying young people as little as $1,000 to firebomb a hospitality venue or a tobacconist. Then, when the police catch those kids, in many cases they're back out on bail and they do it again. We have this amplification in Victoria of failures at the federal level to address illicit tobacco—and, now, illicit alcohol—and failures in Victoria at the state level of Jacinta Allan and this weak Labor government to actually hold these criminals to account. Add both together and you have chaos in the streets. You have hospitality venues closing down or having to employ security at their own cost 24 hours a day; hospitality owners being threatened with their lives; retail workers being threatened and having to move out, and nothing from the federal government or the state government.

However, it's 2026 and there is hope, and that hope comes in the form of Jess Wilson and the Liberal Party. Jess has made it clear that she has a plan to restore safety to Melbourne's vibrant nightlife by recruiting 3,000 more police officers, expanding 'adult crime, adult time' sentencing and implementing a one-strike bail rule for serious offences. You do the crime and you will do the time. Under the Labor government, under Jacinta Allan, that's not the case. You do the crime and you get let off. You do the crime again and you get let off again. You do it again and you get let off—and we wonder why there are no consequences.

I know, from talking to many in Victoria police, they know it's time for a change. They are frustrated time and time again by the lack of consequences for young people. This is how disastrous it has gotten in Victoria. I was talking to two police officers in my community about a criminal that they arrested, and they literally got sledged by that criminal. They said: 'Yes, lock me up, I don't care. By the time I get to the magistrates, I'll get bail. I'll be back here in 24 hours and there's nothing you can do about it.' And what did that criminal do? Exactly that. They got bail, came back to the police station and laughed at the police officers. That's the real-world consequences of Victorian crime under this Labor government.

Let me go back to this point. This bill will not make a difference to what we are seeing because very rarely, if ever, are tobacconists being shut down and, if they are being shut down, they're opening up again within 24 or 48 hours because the profit margins are so huge that it is nothing. It is a blip for their stock to be taken away from them. It is a blip to have even a shipping container intercepted because of the profit they make on everything else. Every year it gets worse under this government. It gets worse because the excise continues to go up. It provides a differentiation such that there are now reports that there will not be legal tobacco sold in this country in the next four to five years. Different reports have it that between 60 and 80 per cent of all tobacco in Australia is now sold illegally.

Let's not kid ourselves that the smoking rates are going down. As I said, I wish we lived in a world where no-one smoked. It's not a habit I support at all. But we live in the real world where more people are smoking because it is so easy and accessible. That's before we even talk about the impact on young children. Let's be honest. These illicit tobacconists don't care if they're selling to a 10-year-old, 12-year-old or 15-year-old. They're criminals, and it's every Australian that pays the price. (Time expired)

See this speech in context