Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The government is committed to combating the illicit tobacco black market. In particular, a range of complementary measures were introduced in the Black Economy Package—Combatting Illicit Tobaccoas part of the 2018-19 budget.

The black economy package seeks to disrupt illicit tobacco supply chains and deny criminal groups access to illicit profits that fund their other criminal and black economy activities. As part of this package, it is proposed that from 1 July 2019 tobacco products will be a prohibited import and will only be allowed to enter Australia with a valid import permit, with limited exceptions. Any tobacco that is detected at the border without a valid permit will be seized.

The Customs Act 1901 currently requires seized prohibited imports to be stored for a minimum of 30 days before destruction. This storage requirement, together with legislative and administrative requirements for prohibited imports, will impact upon border operations and limit the ability of the government to regulate and manage illicit tobacco effectively.

This bill will amend the Customs Act to empower the Comptroller-General of Customs to deal with seized tobacco products in a manner he or she considers appropriate, including immediate destruction of the goods. Similar controls already exist for other prohibited imports, including seized psychoactive substances and prohibited serious drug alternatives.

These amendments will improve the handling of seized illicit tobacco, resulting in effective regulation of tobacco permit conditions and enabling greater focus on targeting of illicit tobacco. This bill will improve financial outcomes for the government and it will also enhance the implementation of the new tobacco measures.

Debate adjourned.

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