Ben Small (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prohibition didn't work in 1920s USA, and taxing ciggies out of existence simply won't work in today's tech enabled world. I'm referring to the catastrophic failure of government policy to control illicit tobacco sales that is burning a hole in our national budget, seeing local shops firebombed and undermining children's health. For decades, Australia was a global leader in tobacco control, yet today we have simply become the world's most lucrative market for organised crime. Excise has increased by 282 per cent since 2013. By refusing to acknowledge basic human behaviour, the Albanese government is allowing tobacco policy to go up in smoke, and organised crime is holding the match.

I've met a local IGA owner in the South West of WA for whom it is cheaper to buy black-market cigarettes on Facebook Marketplace, delivered by none other than Australia Post, than it is for a wholesale IGA to buy them. That means $8½ billion in excise revenue that is now funding gang warfare, not our schools and hospitals, in Australia. Excise should be dramatically cut, making lawful cigarettes cost-competitive with the black market. But, before the health set start, the thing to remember is that these unlawful cigarettes are not branded and do not carry the requisite warnings under Australian law. The price difference is stark. We simply need to understand reality whilst beefing up enforcement.