Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has released the Coalition’s comprehensive plan to combat the illicit tobacco trade. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The tobacco excise would be cut by 80 per cent to help fight the trade in illegal cigarettes, under a just-released Coalition proposal.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said on Thursday (3 September) that slashing the excise would price legal cigarettes cheaper than the illicit ones and remove much of the incentive to buy illegal tobacco products.
He described “Australia’s tobacco wars” as a “national organised crime crisis” that calls for a major law and order policy move to crush the gangs making billions of dollars from illegal cigarettes and vapes.
“Our plan will stop the fire-bombings, extortion and violence on Australian streets which is helping to fund drug trafficking, scams and money laundering,” he said.
The Coalition’s policy, if implemented, would reduce the excise on a standard packet of 20 cigarettes from about $30 to just $6, dramatically removing the price advantage currently enjoyed by the black market.
Currently, a legal packet of cigarettes costs around $50, with more than $30 of that coming from tobacco excise, while illegal packets can sell for just $15 to $20.
The rate would be reviewed after two years, Mr Taylor said, with a view to ensuring the illegal market cannot rebuild.
Other components of the plan include a $200 million nationwide law enforcement surge to back more raids, arrests and seizures, as well as the interception of more illegal tobacco at the border.
Border Force, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and AUSTRAC would be given stronger orders to target gangs and their supply chains.
Vapes and nicotine pouches would be legalised and taxed for adults, replacing Labor’s pharmacy-only vape model and total ban on nicotine pouches.
And a $60 million, three-year national public awareness and education campaign would accompany the measures to warn Australians where the money from illegal products ends up.
“Organised crime is waging a campaign of economic terrorism on Australians,” Mr Taylor said.
“They’re making billions from illegal tobacco and vapes, using those profits to fund fire-bombings and killings on our streets, while expanding their criminal empires into drug trafficking, scams and money laundering.
“This isn’t just a black-market tobacco problem. It is a major organised crime business that is making our streets less safe and ripping billions of dollars from taxpayers.
“Our strong plan will attack the gangs where it hurts by taking away their massive price advantage, taking away their customers, and taking away their profits.”
The Opposition Leader said organised crime won’t be brought “to its knees” by protecting its business model – it has to be destroyed.
He said the 80 per cent excise reduction figure was determined after examining modelling by the Parliamentary Budget Office and other experts.
“Labor has allowed a criminal industry to thrive on our streets. We will take back control. We will shut it down,” Mr Taylor said.
The 80 per cent figure is similar to One Nation’s policy to reduce the tobacco excise by the same amount.
But the Federal Government has so far ruled out cutting the excise, saying its focus is on law enforcement.
The Public Health Association of Australia has criticised the plan, saying the Coalition has walked away from decades of bipartisanship in tobacco control policy.
“There is no evidence an 80 per cent cut will eliminate the illegal market,” it said in a statement.
“It won’t raise revenue, and won’t fight nicotine addiction. If tobacco importers did lower their product prices, and the criminal sector followed suit, the result could be disastrous.”
Cancer Council Australia warned that any plans to make cigarettes and vapes more accessible and affordable risk creating a new generation of nicotine addiction.
“Australia now has the lowest smoking rates we’ve ever seen. This is not the time to abandon the measures that have delivered those results,” director of cancer control policy David Martin said.
The Quit campaign’s medical lead, Liam Egan, said proposals to legalise and commercialise vaping products also risk driving smoking rates back up.
“Quitline receives calls from young people addicted to vaping and pouches, and struggling to quit,” Dr Egan said.
“ We don’t want to make these harmful, addictive nicotine products easier to access at the very moment we should be doing everything possible to prevent another generation becoming hooked.
“These proposals go against hard-fought public health wins.”
The Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH), which includes Australia’s major health organisations, said it was “deeply concerned” the illicit tobacco crisis was being used as a justification to wind back decades of successful tobacco control measures.
Chief executive officer Laura Hunter said slashing tobacco excise and expanding commercial vape sales will not stop criminal networks from importing, distributing and selling illicit products.
“What we do know is making cigarettes cheaper will mean more smoking and fewer quit attempts, particularly among young people who are highly sensitive to price,” she said.
Original Article published by Chris Johnson on Region Canberra.
