Police ministers blast Labor’s denial over tobacco black market explosion
Ahead of Thursday’s police ministers conference, the states are warning the Albanese government’s tobacco tax hikes have fuelled the black market, but federal Labor denies responsibility.
The nation’s police ministers have accused the Albanese government of fuelling Australia’s surging black market tobacco trade through relentless tax hikes, demanding Canberra take responsibility for a “national problem” ahead of Thursday’s meeting of state and territory ministers.
At Thursday’s meeting of the country’s top law enforcement ministers, attention is expected to centre on the “exploding” illicit market, with several states warning that federal excise hikes have handed organised crime a lucrative new revenue stream while leaving state police forces to shoulder the burden.
In an extraordinary show of bipartisanship, Labor and Liberal state governments lashed the commonwealth’s repeated tobacco tax increases, warning they had failed the nation by creating a windfall for criminal syndicates.
As part of The Australian’s investigation into the underworld trade that has morphed into the nation’s most significant threat to public health since the pandemic, it can be revealed that state police ministers from NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria will use Thursday’s annual conference to pressure the Albanese government to “step up” and take “responsibility” for allowing the tobacco market to thrive.
The call to address the tobacco black market comes as Jim Chalmers warned against making cigarettes cheaper, saying the move would not solve the illegal trade.
Speaking in Canberra as he revealed the final budget outcome was $18bn better off, the Treasurer also revealed tobacco tax revenue was up by $441m.
Despite concerns that smoking rates had remained stagnant in recent years – with traditional methods of collecting data not capturing the thousands of Australians smoking illegal cigarettes – the Treasurer said the drop in the tax take was due to people giving up smoking.
“But we’re under no illusion. We know that there is a challenge here,” he said.
“We don’t believe that cutting taxes on tobacco will stop illegal activity in this market that has developed over a longer period of time. But we do think compliance is a big part of the story and that’s why we’re finding room for so much new investment in compliance for the police.”
Tasmanian Police Minister Felix Ellis said Australia needed a “smarter policy approach”, adding the current federal plan has “been a gift to organised crime”.
“The Albanese government needs to step up to take responsibility for policing a national problem, which has been caused by their continual hikes to the tobacco excise,” Mr Ellis told The Australian.
“We all want to see smoking rates fall but the current approach has been a gift to organised crime. We need a smarter policy approach that drives better public health outcomes and supports community safety.”
In NSW, new laws set to target landlords who knowingly lease premises to retailers selling illicit tobacco and illegal vapes are expected to soon be enforced.
NSW Police and Counter-terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley also attributed the rate of tobacco excise as a key factor in driving the illicit trade, a claim federal Health Minister Mark Butler denied last week.
“The NSW government has been clear – the tobacco excise is at such a rate that it’s driving the illicit market and the states have been left to deal with the problem,” Ms Catley said.
“The NSW police are doing everything they can do to address the issue. Just last week officers seized more than $230,000 worth of illicit tobacco and vapes in the state’s south.
“Earlier this year, the Marine Area Command seized 240 tonnes of illicit tobacco, and Traffic and Highway Patrol are seizing large quantities on the Hume Highway.
“On the (state) government’s part, we’ve introduced some of the toughest penalties in the country – fines of up to $1.5m, jail terms up to seven years and closure orders up to 12 months for those caught selling illicit tobacco.
“And from October 1, a tobacco licensing scheme will take effect to make it easier to identify bad actors.”
Queensland’s acting Police and Emergency Services Minister, Ann Leahy, also said the federal Labor government had failed to address the rapidly growing black market, and that it was driven by high excise rates and porous borders.
“Cracking down on illegal tobacco is a priority for the Crisafulli government,” Ms Leahy said.
“Since coming to government 10 months ago, we’ve introduced new laws that are the toughest in the nation and conducted operations and seizures to crack down on the illicit trade.
“The federal government should be pulling every appropriate lever to stop illicit products from getting into the country in the first place.
“The commonwealth has failed to keep pace with an exploding black market that’s being fuelled by high tobacco excise and weak borders, while the former state government sat idle allowing organised crime gangs to infiltrate local communities.
“I look forward to the opportunity to have constructive discussions with state and federal counterparts about a co-ordinated multi-agency approach to this significant issue on Thursday.”
While Victoria’s Police Minister, Anthony Carbines, did not directly respond to a request for comment, a state government spokesperson confirmed the illicit tobacco market will be a key focus of Thursday’s meeting.
“While we’re taking action on illicit tobacco, this is a national issue that would benefit from a national approach. This will be a focus for us at this week’s police ministers meeting,” the spokesperson said.
The Police Ministers Council on Thursday will be attended by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, alongside police ministers from every state and territory, and New Zealand Police Minister Mark Mitchell, bringing the total number of representatives to 10.
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