House debates Questions without Notice
Tobacco Control
Jim Chalmers Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
2:51 pm
I began my answer by pointing out that the government is not focused on that change. We're focused on increased resources for compliance and enforcement because that is the best way to get at this very substantial law and order challenge that we have in our communities. When it comes to the excise, we have taken the view in the past similar to, for example, Senator Cash in the other place, who was a cabinet minister and said:
… increasing the price of cigarettes via taxation is one of the most effective ways of reducing tobacco consumption.
Senator Anne Ruston, Senator Dean Smith, Senator Bridget McKenzie, Senator Jonno Duniam—all of these coalition figures have pointed it out in the past when the coalition was substantially increasing the excise.
This government is focused on compliance. We're focused on enforcement. We're working very closely together to make sure that we make progress against this very substantial problem that we have, in communities right around Australia. And, whenever we consider next steps here, on enforcement and compliance, or in other ways, we will take—unlike those opposite—the advice of the experts and not the advice of the One Nation party.
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