Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. What progress is being made to implement the important reform of plain packaging for cigarettes? What reaction has there been and what is the government's response?

Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Banks for his interest in this topic. Members know that two pieces of legislation have been introduced into this House that will deliver the world's first plain packaging for tobacco products here in Australia. This is likely to be debated in the House next week. Of course, it was with interest that we read reports today that the Liberal Party have made a decision formally within their party room that they will support one of those bills, but they will not support the other bill. I am disappointed to hear this.

This reform is about the public health impact of smoking—that is, that we reduce the number of people in this country who smoke as much as we can and we reduce methods for tobacco companies to be able to advertise and promote their products to new smokers—and it has been supported by everybody in the public health community. The health professions across the country have supported us, including the AMA. I understand both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition—as well as others, including me—are attending the AMA's dinner tonight. The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition might be interested to know that the AMA awarded the government their annual tobacco award this year for this particular initiative. So it is disappointing to hear that the Leader of the Opposition is going to lead his party to a position where they will support part of plain packaging, but cannot quite bring themselves to support all of it.

We know that the Leader of the Opposition has never been a true believer in this measure. He had to be dragged kicking and screaming by backbenchers in his own party who understood the importance of this measure. But now we have another example, like the one Minister Combet used, of the Leader of the Opposition saying one thing to one group of people and another thing to another group of people. Today he is actually saying two things at the same time to the same group of people—that is, he supports plain packaging and he does not support plain packaging!

We have two bills in place because we need to make sure that the plain packaging restrictions are clearly articulated and we need to make changes to the trademarks legislation. We have seen all sorts of protests in the media that this is an outrage, that the parliament has never seen such a reaction before and that somehow these regulations are going to be different to every other regulation and they are not going to come to parliament. But before the members opposite lock into supporting the Leader of the Opposition's position and voting against one of these bills, I think they might need to do a little bit of research. I am disappointed that the member for Leichhardt is not in the chamber when I say this because he is one of the members who would remember that in 2000 the Howard government, Mr Entsch and others, introduced a piece of legislation amending the Trade Marks Act in exactly the same way to make sure that trademarks legislation could operate effectively in an area where we know industry practice changes very quickly and quick responses by regulation are required.

This is a standard procedure. It is an important part of the plain packaging legislation. It is ironic that this would be opposed by those opposite when it is actually about making sure trademark laws are retained. You have to wonder whether the 97 per cent of donations coming through to the Liberal and National parties are actually buying something here. They are going to support part of the plain packaging legislation, but they are not going to support the other part. Is this what big tobacco are getting for their money?

Dr Southcott interjecting—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order, I ask that the member for Boothby withdraw the interjection he gave across the chamber that was unparliamentary.

Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Primary Healthcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I withdraw.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Boothby.