Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Excise Tariff Amendment (Tobacco) Bill 2024 and the Customs Tariff Amendment (Tobacco) Bill 2024 argue that a further tax increase of 15 per cent will encourage Australians to give up smoking. The measure is estimated to increase tax receipts by $3.3 billion for the 2023-24 budget, with $290 million in GST to states and territories.

Firstly, as criminologists warn, tobacco tax increases will further grow the black market, pushing people that either cannot afford or are not willing to pay a higher price for their cigarettes to the black market. We're already seeing an underworld war over illegal vaping and tobacco sales, and shady operators have been reported knocking on the doors of now illegal vape shops, offering to take over their lease. Between the two related measures, the government has presented organised crime with hundreds of shops fitted out and ready to go into the illegal vape and tobacco trade. Australia is already losing a considerable amount of tax revenue due to tobacco sales on the black market—tax office estimates are $2.3 billion. This legislation will shift more revenue away from the government, towards organised crime.

In 2022 alone, 2.6 million kilograms of tobacco were sold on the black market. That was 2.2 million kilograms more than the previous year, indicating the growing influence of organised crime. It's clear; illegal tobacco consumption is estimated to make up 23.5 per cent of all tobacco sales in Australia. That's almost one quarter driven to the black market—that is, government driving it to the black market. Ten of 15 tobacconists, approached by the Daily Telegraph,sold illegal cigarettes for about $25 less than the legally taxed counterpart—and, they sold single cigarettes, which is an offence.

The government's actions endanger small business safety. Over the past six months, Victoria has experienced 40 firebombings to stores that illegally sold tobacco and vapes. In Ballarat, two tobacconists suffered a ram raid, and a drive-by shooting, which left a man dead, was linked to illegal tobacco products. The government says that the 2023-24 budget included $188½ million to fund the Australian Border Force to deliver a new illicit tobacco compliance model. It's unlikely they'll be able to properly crack down, given they're already overstretched in tackling the illegal drug market.

I must ask: how did Border Force fail to intercept 2.6 million kilograms of tobacco? Clearly this government has a problem enforcing the laws it already has. Now it wants to make matters worse. The vaping ban has already moved 87 per cent of vape users across to illegal vapes. While yesterday's brief moment of partial sanity will help that figure, it must surely be clear now that more taxation and prohibitions are futile and counterproductive. Here's a better idea: the government should spend less, tax less, and let everyday Australians and businesses get on with their lives.