Labor is now openly divided over Australia’s failed tobacco excise regime, with NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns calling for the tobacco tax to be cut while Anthony Albanese continues to stick his head in the sand.
Speaking on Sky News this morning, Premier Minns said the current tax settings were not working and were helping fuel the illegal tobacco market.
Asked whether he still supported cutting tobacco excise, Mr Minns said:
Chris Minns: “Yes, I think it’s perversely driving a situation where you’re seeing more people not less people smoking because they’ve got access to readily available cheap cigarettes. It’s in the black market, it’s being organised by criminals, it’s not working. It’s the opposite of the intended policy.”
Mr Minns went further, saying the current tax settings were making it harder for police to permanently shut down organised crime gangs.
Chris Minns: “If the demand is there as a result of the tax settings it’s very difficult to do it permanently.”
The comments expose a deepening split within Labor after the Prime Minister repeatedly refused in Parliament yesterday to answer questions about organised crime and refused to rule out cutting tobacco excise.
Now the Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino has joined them.
In a trainwreck interview on Sky News this morning, Mr Mulino admitted he did not know about a reported tobacco-related firebombing in his own electorate.
Pete Stefanovic: “Wasn’t there another firebombing in your own electorate on the weekend?”
Daniel Mulino: “Look, I don’t know about that.”
When asked directly whether the Government could guarantee it would not cut tobacco excise, Mr Mulino also refused.
Pete Stefanovic: “But can you guarantee that you will not cut the excise down?”
Daniel Mulino: “No, so we’re not getting into rule-in, rule-out games on this.”
The contrast could not be clearer.
Chris Minns can see the current system is failing. Police can see it. Communities dealing with firebombings and organised crime can see it.
Anthony Albanese refuses to see it.
Australia’s illicit tobacco market has become a serious organised crime problem, with gangs making an estimated $4.1 billion to $6.9 billion and using the proceeds to fund drugs, scams, money laundering, extortion and violence.
At the same time, tobacco excise revenue has fallen from around $16 billion in 2019-20 to around $8 billion, while organised crime collects billions instead.
Coalition analysis shows that if the average of the six excise write-downs since Labor’s first Budget update is repeated at the December MYEFO, tobacco excise revenue would fall to zero by 2029-30.
Anthony Albanese needs to stop pretending the current policy is working and start listening to his own Labor Premier.
The Coalition has a plan to smash the business model of organised crime by cutting tobacco excise by 80 per cent, backing it with stronger law enforcement and driving consumers away from the illegal market.
You do not smash organised crime by protecting its business model. You destroy the business model.