Police ministers unite on illicit tobacco crackdown, urge national framework
At the Police Ministers’ Council, state leaders warned illicit tobacco is Australia’s ‘biggest policy disaster,’ pressing Tony Burke to fund a unified national crackdown and framework.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has come under pressure from the nation’s police ministers to bankroll state forces bearing the brunt of Canberra’s war on illicit tobacco, with one warning it has become the “biggest public policy disaster” facing the nation.
The plea for urgent funding was made at Thursday’s meeting of law enforcement ministers, which Mr Burke chaired.
A communique after the meeting said the council had recognised the “urgent need” for a national, multi-agency crackdown on the booming illicit tobacco and e-cigarette market, citing its growing impact on the economy, public health and community safety.
It also acknowledged there was substantial work already under way to target organised crime groups driving violence and intimidation.
Members also agreed the fight against illicit tobacco required a collective approach, with the Illicit Tobacco and E-Cigarette Commissioner central to the effort.
The meeting comes after The Australian revealed how the nation’s police ministers accused the Albanese government of fuelling Australia’s surging black market through relentless tax hikes.
Labor and Liberal state governments had lashed the commonwealth’s repeated tobacco tax increases and warned that they had failed the nation by creating a windfall for criminal syndicates.
Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner Amber Shuhyta has now been directed to develop a framework ahead of the next council meeting to ensure that all jurisdictions work in step.
At a press conference on Thursday, Tasmania’s Police Minister, Felix Ellis, said the state’s police commissioner, Donna Adams, had attended the conference in Canberra on his behalf.
Mr Ellis said the illicit tobacco issue was the “biggest public policy disaster” in his view.
“We’ve definitely made our views really clear with the feds (federal government). And it (illicit tobacco) is on the agenda. And there are a number of states that share the same position as Tasmania,” he said.
“Honestly, it’s one of the biggest public policy disasters, to tell you the truth, as far as the outcome.”
NSW Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley told The Australian “this was not a problem any one state can solve alone”.
“When one option is cheaper than another, it’s no surprise which people will choose but illicit tobacco funds crime and undermines our laws,” Ms Catley said.
The NSW government has already introduced some of the toughest laws in the country to tackle the underworld trade, with fines exceeding $1m, prison terms of up to seven years and the power to shut down stores.
The same measures were not implemented in Victoria, which has become ground zero for the illicit operations.
Ms Catley said there needed to be a framework for the nation to “get it right”.
“Today’s council meeting was key to making sure we get it right and build a framework that we’ll use going forward,” she said.
“The Illicit Tobacco and E-Cigarette Commissioner will choose a framework before the next Police Ministers’ Council meeting so every jurisdiction is pulling in the same direction.”
The members of the council also agreed to provide existing data to support the establishment of the first phase of the National Hate Crimes and Incidents Database by the end of 2025.
The council further noted the need to roll out the National Firearms Register following recent police killings in Porepunkah and Wieambilla, endorsed a national crackdown on machetes after bans in Victoria, and agreed to develop new drone security laws.
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