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

For the record, it's very important to note that the minister did not answer my question. The minister did not promise that 1.3 million adult Australians would not be prosecuted for simply possessing or using liquid nicotine. She did not make that promise. The minister for health made that promise last Tuesday, but this minister has refused the opportunity today to repeat that promise. So, you can only conclude that, consistent with my contribution, the government intends to criminalise 1.3 million adult Australians after Christmas this year for simply using or having a vape—liquid nicotine. It is unbelievable. This is 1.3 million adult Australians. About 10 per cent of adult Australians in this country use liquid nicotine or use vapes. They are going to be made criminals under the plans of this government. And this idea that it's somehow the states' fault is absolutely absurd, given what we're facing here. Part of this bill is about e-cigarettes. Section 42 is all about prohibiting e-cigarette advertisements. The objects of the bill talk about e-cigarettes.

The government has its hands dirty here. It is responsible as well for what is going on here in this country, where a 49-year-old man in Western Australia is facing up to two years jail simply for having liquid nicotine in a vape. That's the current state of play. And the government is sitting back and doing nothing about it—in fact, misleading the Australian people, saying people would not be prosecuted, and they're now admitting: 'Oh, no, we can't do anything about it. The minister shouldn't have said that last week.' Well, that is very small comfort for those Australians who are now worrying, in the lead-up to Christmas, what they're going to do.

They're addicted to nicotine, they're using vapes instead of smokes, which are better for their health, and now the government is calling into question whether they'll be made criminals or not in a month's time. It looks like they will be.

I met with this gentleman's lawyer this morning. He mentioned a 49-year-old man was charged in the WA Magistrates Court on Friday last week. He's pleading not guilty because, in his view, he has done nothing wrong. The minister said he wouldn't be charged. He doesn't believe he should be charged under these laws. I know that the minister is trying to deflect everything to the states, but the relevant WA state law refers back to the poison standard, which is a national regulation. So there's another link here to the federal government: a federal minister saying they wouldn't be prosecuted and a few days later an Australian being prosecuted. He's pleading not guilty. I met with the man's lawyer, and the man's lawyer told me that a few weeks ago he wrote to the federal minister, referring to comments from the minister before last Tuesday's conference—apparently, the minister had made similar comments previously—asking for clarification about why his client is being charged when the minister had said users would not be prosecuted. My understanding from the gentleman's lawyer is that the minister has failed to respond to that correspondence. Have the minister and the minister's office received that correspondence? If so, had they received it before the minister's press conference last Tuesday?