Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister. I just want to try and crystallise this issue. In terms of the existing health surveys with respect to smoking—and I thank the minister for his answers in relation to this—is there any proposal to find some extra funding out of this $5½ billion that the government will be raising in the next four years to undertake any further, more forensic surveys so that government policies to help people to quit smoking will be better targeted? There is an enormous amount of revenue. There is a great opportunity here to ensure that we can bring smoking rates down as quickly as possible and also provide assistance to smokers. How will we know whether the program’s $27.8 million is being most effectively spent? I agree with the government’s intent, but how do we know that the implementation will be such that it will make a real difference, as deeply as possible, to reduce smoking rates?