Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, I rise to present this statement and discharge the committee's obligation to report on the Customs Amendment (Smuggled Tobacco) Bill 2012. On 28 June, the House Selection Committee, in their wisdom, referred this bill to our committee. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee was referred the very same bill by the Senate for inquiry. The Senate committee tabled its report on 14 August 2012. This committee commends the Senate committee's inquiry into the bill and its report. This committee agrees with the Senate committee's observation that smuggled tobacco undermines the government's ongoing efforts to reduce the harm from smoking in Australia. The Senate committee noted that submissions to its inquiry from both the tobacco industry and anti-smoking organisations were supportive of the bill and recommended that the bill be passed.

Given that the Senate committee has inquired into the bill in consultation with the public and interested stakeholders, this committee does not wish to duplicate this work and considers that there is little value to add by conducting another inquiry into the same bill. As expressed previously, the committee considers it an inefficient use of committee and Department of the House of Representatives resources to conduct concurrent inquiries into identical bills.