QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Dr MULINO (Fraser—Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services) (14:42): I thank the honourable member for the question, but I say from the outset that I did answer the question this morning and I answered it responsibly. I'll explain why it's important not just to have a responsible policy in relation to this complex issue but to deal with incidents like this morning responsibly.
There was an incident this morning, but what would have been irresponsible was for me to speculate on live TV about what actually happened this morning and what might have driven it. That would have been highly irresponsible. What I can say is that the police have issued a statement that they are still investigating the incident and that no arrests have been made.
For me to go beyond that would have been irresponsible. What I did say in answering the question was that I do not want to see criminal incidents occurring in my electorate or anywhere, but what I also made clear was that our approach is the one that is going to reduce the likelihood of that. I quote the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner: Lowering tax on its own is unlikely to resolve the criminal side of this market.
It may compress price gaps to some extent but it does not remove demand, eliminate supply [or] underlying profit opportunities. They— organised criminals— can undercut prices no matter where we see the excise. What we have said repeatedly is that a responsible approach to this is to continue our priority on enforcement, and that is delivering results.
We have invested $365 million, and, as I said at the Press Club, we are working with other jurisdictions and we will continue to do so. We have seen ABF officers recently seize over 3.4 million illicit cigarettes, representing evaded duty of $5.3 million, and the Illicit Tobacco National Disruption Group recently targeted over 100 servos across six jurisdictions.
This is a complex issue, and we are dealing with it in a responsible way. Those opposite should have a responsible policy, and those opposite should deal with individual incidents responsibly and not deal with them in the way that that question did. The SPEAKER: The member for Gippsland is seeking leave to table a document.
Mr Chester: Thank you, Mr Speaker. In his answer, the minister referred to a Victoria Police statement. I seek leave to table the statement 'Police investigate Sunshine Tobacco Shop fire'.
Leave not granted.