Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Child Protection and the Prevention of Family Violence) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Bill 2023. Without addressing the growing black market and the evidence that the sale of illegal products is a significant problem, this bill is significantly and abjectly lacking. The evidence is that smoking is decreasing but e-cigarettes and vapes are increasing. A few weeks ago in Adelaide, I walked into a stairwell in which there were so many discarded vape cartridges that it was difficult not to step on one. We know children are, unfortunately, taking up e-cigarettes or vaping in increasing numbers.

The key purpose of the bill is to consolidate existing Commonwealth tobacco legislation into a single act. This bill updates and improves graphic health warnings on packaging; requires health promotion inserts in packs and pouches; captures e-cigarettes in advertising restrictions; standardises the size of tobacco packets and products; prevents the use of specified ingredients in tobacco products; standardises the design and look of filters in cigarettes; limits the use of appealing brand and variant names that imply reduced harm; introduces reporting requirements for the tobacco industry to disclose tobacco product ingredients, tobacco product sales volumes and promotional activities; and restricts the use of flavours and additives. These are all worthy initiatives, and the coalition supports these initiatives, but we seek to strengthen the penalties for those who participate in the illegal trade in tobacco products. The Labor government believes the black market issue sits outside the bill and this inquiry, yet at the same time it suggests these initiatives will also be a stronger deterrent for illegal tobacco activities. I can't see how that works when the starting point of illegal and black market suppliers is not to play by the rules.

The illegal trade in tobacco not only deprives retailers of business but also undermines public health initiatives put in place by consecutive governments to discourage people from taking up smoking and continuing to smoke. The National Tobacco Strategy 2023-2030 and the minister talk about laws, regulations and instruments being convoluted, outdated and full of loopholes, yet this bill fails to adequately address the illegal tobacco trade. This illegal trade should be at front of mind. The bill seeks to regulate advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes but does not address the issue of availability and supply.

These days we are all aware of the damage to a person's health that smoking causes, as outlined by the World Health Organization. Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia, and it claims the lives of around 24,000 Australians each year. As I'm sure all in the chamber are aware, smoking leads to a wide range of diseases, including many types of cancers, heart disease and stroke, chest and lung illnesses, and stomach ulcers. Yet still more than one in 10 Australians over 18 years of age smoke, and many of these people are in low-socioeconomic demographics.

If you want to close the gap in life expectancy, reducing tobacco in Indigenous communities will go a long way to doing that. Overall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are almost three times as likely to smoke as non-Indigenous Australians. Tobacco use within this cohort has substantially reduced over a 10-year period, but it still causes 37 per cent of all First Nations deaths, including 50 per cent of deaths among those aged 45 years and over, and is directly responsible for one-third of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners tells us that women who smoke are at significantly greater risk of developing smoking related disease than men. Women are also at risk of pregnancy related complications due to smoking and have more difficulty quitting. Supporting women to stop smoking during pregnancy can reduce the adverse outcomes for mothers and their babies.

The rising cost of living is affecting all Australians, but obviously those being impacted hardest are people on limited incomes, and a high proportion of this group of people are cigarette smokers.

With the average cost of a packet of 25 cigarettes today between $50 and $60, there is a heightened incentive for those involved in the illegal trade in tobacco to target people who still want to smoke and are also looking to save money in this cost-of-living crisis. We can all say give it up, which I too would advocate, but many reformed smokers will tell us that it is one of the hardest things to do. That is why it is still so important to continue to have the public health programs and warnings about the impact of smoking. These public programs require taxpayer funds. I am sure that all in this chamber support the aim of this bill to enhance the effectiveness of Australia's tobacco control framework, which is fundamental to the Australian public health. All governments have been proactive in providing support for smoking cessation programs and services, including nicotine replacement therapy and support helplines. This multifaceted approach has been instrumental in reducing tobacco consumption.

I return now to the substantial gap, largely ignored, in this bill. There is rampant and growing illegal tobacco trade in our country. Labor is largely ignoring the black market. In August this year, according to a Financial Review article, the Master Grocers Australia chief executive, David Inall, said illicit tobacco was a significant concern for its 2,700 members, which are mostly independent grocery and liquor stores, including the IGA chain. He was quoted as saying that for his members, 'There is no doubt it is the biggest issue that we are currently facing in terms of downward pressure on store owners nationally.' Recently, it was reported in the Financial Review that the Australian Border Force had 'seized just under a billion illegal cigarettes worth $1.1 billion in forgone tax over the past two years'. In fact, the illicit tobacco taskforce has:

… confiscated more than 1.5 billion cigarettes since it was established in 2018-19. Along with tonnes of illegal loose-leaf tobacco, this has amounted to almost $1.8 billion in evaded duty, according to documents obtained by the Australian Financial Review under freedom of information.

This illegal black market trade poses a serious threat to public health, government revenue and the very objectives that this public health bill seeks to achieve. While the bill focuses on imposing penalties for noncompliance with illegal tobacco regulations, it falls short when it comes to deterring and penalising those involved in the illicit tobacco trade. The penalties for engaging in this illegal activity remain largely unchanged, even in the face of the growing threat that it presents. These illegal networks operate with relative impunity. The availability of cheaper, unregulated tobacco products encourages smokers to continue their habit or entices potential new users, defeating the public health measures and their purpose, such as excise taxes and plain packaging laws.

With the added pressures from the rising cost of living, more people will be tempted to seek out cheap cigarettes. This illicit trade also results in significant revenue losses for the government—funds that could otherwise be directed towards essential public services. This figure, according to various sources, is now in the billions. It continues to grow and it continues to be unacceptable. The illegal tobacco trade often involves organised crime and money laundering, contributing to a broader range of criminal activities. We consider that significantly increasing penalties associated with illegal tobacco trade should be given appropriate consideration. This not only serves as a deterrent but also allows for more effective legal action against those involved in the illicit activity. We are not alone in that and I share some submissions. The Police Federation of Australia held that this bill's intent:

… will be undermined and not achieved unless the government has a concerted effort to attack the proliferation of illicit tobacco and vape products currently readily available to the public.

Philip Morris states, in reference to the black market:

… this simply cannot be achieved if one sizeable component of the tobacco market (illicit) is being ignored and allowed to grow at an exponential rate.

And from the Australian Medical Association:

The AMA supports in-principle strong compliance and enforcement of the Act. All governments should ensure that compliance and enforcement is adequately resourced, noting the scale and complexity of current illicit tobacco and e-cigarette markets.

They all seem to know and recognise that there's a problem with the illegal tobacco market. The Australian Association of Convenience Stores represents some 7,000 convenience stores across the nation, and it has stated:

There have been over 41 illegal-tobacco-related arson attacks and two associated murders in the past year. Nearly one in four cigarettes sold in Australia are from the black market, costing taxpayers more than $4 billion a year. Despite the retail sale of nicotine vaping products being banned for over two years now, the number of adult vapers in Australia has increased by 340 per cent over the past five years to over 1.6 million adults, of which 92 per cent are buying products illegally.

Coordinated efforts between law enforcement agencies, border control and other relevant authorities are essential to dismantle illegal tobacco networks actively. Given the global nature of the illegal tobacco trade, international collaboration with countries where these products are manufactured or trafficked is also crucial. Importantly, comprehensive data and research on the scale of the illegal tobacco trade in Australia is needed to inform policy decisions effectively.

Coalition and Labor governments have consistently raised tobacco excise taxes as a means of reducing the affordability of smoking, therefore creating a practical disincentive and an added reason to stop smoking. Both sides of politics have had commitments to addressing the critical public health issue of reducing smoking in the Australian community. We all want to see smoking reduced in the Australian community. It is, of course, good for the country; it's good for those smoking; and it's even good for those who aren't smoking but are affected by the cost and health impacts of smoking.

This bill talks about consolidating, streamlining and modernising Australia's tobacco control framework, yet it fails to confront the here and now, and that is the illegal tobacco trade that is right in front of us. It was clear in the stairwell there's a problem. It is therefore tinkering with the existing control framework. Tinkering is not good enough. It will not have the necessary significant impact on reducing smoking rates or access to tobacco products. The coalition supports the aim of this legislation, but in not dealing with the issue of the illegal tobacco trade this bill is clearly a missed opportunity by Labor—yet again—to protect Australian families and Australian children from tobacco and the illegal tobacco industry.