Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to thank members for their contributions to the debate on the Customs Amendment (Immediate Destruction of Illicit Tobacco) Bill 2019. The black economy package combatting illicit tobacco introduced in the 2018-19 budget seeks to disrupt illicit tobacco supply chains and deny criminal groups access to illicit profits that fund criminal and black economy activities. As part of this package, from 1 July 2019 most tobacco products are a prohibited import. These products will only be allowed to enter Australia with a valid permit, with some limited exceptions such as for individual travellers who bring tobacco with them. Tobacco that is detected at the border without a valid permit will be seized.

The Customs Act 1901 currently requires goods that are seized as 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, impacts upon border operations of the Australian Border Force, which serves as Australia's frontline customs service. While these existing arrangements are appropriate for the moderate volumes of most prohibited goods detected at our borders, they were not designed to manage high-volume commodities such as tobacco. Applying the storage and administrative requirements to seized prohibited tobacco limits the ability of government to regulate and manage illicit tobacco effectively.

The bill will amend the Customs Act to empower the Comptroller-General of Customs, who is the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force, to deal with seized tobacco products in an appropriate manner, including immediate destruction of the goods. Similar controls already exist for other prohibited imports, including psychoactive substances and prohibited serious drug alternatives. The bill will ensure the ABF is able to respond in a dynamic and timely manner to increasing volumes of tobacco and tobacco related seizures. It will improve outcomes for the government and enhance implementation of the new tobacco measures. Full details of the measures are included in the explanatory memorandum. I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context