Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm a bit perplexed by that contribution. I might come back to it later. I'm not aware of any big tobacco companies, so to speak, selling vapes in Australia or marketing them. It's illegal for them to do so. If the minister has any evidence to back up that comment, I'd be interested in it. I don't think she does because that's not a thing.

It would seem from Minister McCarthy's contribution that the minister for health in this government, Mark Butler, misled the Australian people last week. The minister just said that this government takes no responsibility for the actions of state governments, but the minister for health clearly promised the users of vapes last Tuesday that they would not be prosecuted. Users of vapes heard from the federal minister that they would not be prosecuted. Today the minister is turning around and saying, 'Actually, what the minister for health said last Tuesday was completely bunkum.' The minister for health misled the Australian people and he misled the 1.3 million Australians who now vape, because the minister here is now saying, 'We don't take any responsibility for state actions.'

Now, keep in mind that what the minister's doing here on e-cigarettes is being done in cooperation with state governments. I think what the minister said is not really misleading, but it's incomplete. The government is coordinating with state governments on these matters, and they've made a song and dance of doing so—of banning the importation of vapes and having a perceived crackdown at the state level. I'm yet to see a lot of evidence of it; I still see a lot of vapes in my community. But they are working in cahoots here, no doubt, with the state government. Can I confirm, then, that the minister cannot promise that the 1.3 million adult Australians who use vaping products won't be prosecuted by state governments for simply the possession or use of liquid nicotine?