MATTERS OF URGENCY

Senator STEWART (Victoria) (16:46): It should come as no surprise to anyone that I rise to oppose Senator Cash's motion. As the deputy chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, I heard evidence on this exact issue, and there seems to be an awful lot of convenient leaving out of facts. The illicit tobacco market did not begin in 2022 when we took government, but it seems like that's the framing we've got in here today.

If we want to get into the business of finger pointing, the illicit tobacco market has been growing for years, and it grew because enforcement was allowed to fall behind on the coalition's watch. If those opposite are looking for somebody to blame, all they need to do is look in the mirror. What this government inherited was an absolute mess, and what we have done over on this side is act.

The Albanese Labor government has committed more than $365 million since 2024 to crack down on illegal, illicit tobacco before it arrives, when it arrives and after it arrives in the country. We are seeing the impact of that work. More tobacco and vapes are being seized at the border, more stores are being shut down and more criminals are being convicted.

We know that states and territories have a role to play too. They need long-term closure orders and landlord penalties. When states have these powers, that can have a real impact in this space.

What we are seeing is that states and territories with strong rules and effective powers to shut down illegal sellers are having success. For example, in Queensland and in South Australia, more than a thousand shops have been shut down thanks to their robust enforcement regime. The government is also working with states and territories to tackle the problem.

That is why Minister Burke has taken a range of actions, including creating the Illicit Tobacco National Disruption Group to combat the illegal tobacco trade. The NDG, led by the Australian Border Force, uses intelligence and enforcement powers from various federal, state and territory agencies to target the entire supply chain, from importers and distributors to street-level sellers.

We also continue to strengthen legislation to combat the illicit tobacco trade. Senator O'Sullivan's in here asking what we've done. Last month—he might have been asleep—the government passed the Combating Illicit Tobacco Bill, which increased penalties for importation, possession, buying, selling, supply, production or manufacture of illicit tobacco and strengthened powers for law enforcement and intelligence agencies to investigate illicit tobacco related offences.

That sounds awfully a lot like action to me, and that is exactly what we've been doing. We will continue to introduce legislation that cracks down on the illicit tobacco trade, including increasing monetary and imprisonment penalties, nationally consistent protective order powers for restraining order applications, and expanded law enforcement powers to target proceeds of crime, unexplained wealth and tainted property.

But those on the opposite side must also remember that this issue is about more than just illicit trade; it is also about public health, community safety and protecting Australians, particularly young Australians, from nicotine addiction. This government will not surrender our health policy to organised crime and we will not surrender it to the tobacco industry either.

The coalition and One Nation have tried to suggest that one way to solve this problem is to reduce the tobacco excise. There was not a single piece of evidence, no clear evidence, that suggests that reducing excise actually leads to reduced crime in illicit tobacco—zero. With that policy, any shred of credibility the Liberals and the Nationals claim to have has gone up in smoke.

Excise used to be a bipartisan policy. Let's not forget that the coalition raised the tobacco excise by over 215 per cent while in government. The best way to crack down on the illicit tobacco trade is through compliance and enforcement, working closely with the states and territories.

That is exactly what we are doing. (Time expired)