The NSW Coalition will introduce a Bill in Parliament to crack down on criminals and make NSW the hardest place in Australia to sell illegal tobacco and vapes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said while other states have cracked down on illegal tobacco, the Minns Labor Government has let NSW become the easiest place in the country for crooks to make money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEveryone knows what\u2019s going on \u2014 these dodgy shops are all over our suburbs, run by criminals selling illegal tobacco and vapes like it\u2019s completely normal. Chris Minns has done nothing while communities and small businesses wear the cost. If Labor won\u2019t clean it up, we will,\u201d Mr Speakman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur plan will shut these shops down, hit the criminals with million-dollar fines or jail, and make it crystal clear \u2014 if you\u2019re dealing illegal tobacco in NSW, your days are numbered. No more soft touch. No more excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shadow Attorney General Alister Henskens said the Minns Labor Government has allowed criminals to easily defy the law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOrganised crime has had a free ride under this NSW government. These aren\u2019t corner stores \u2014 they\u2019re fronts for crime gangs. Chris Minns has let them pop up in plain sight and endanger our community with random violence,\u201d Mr Henskens said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur laws will disrupt their business model by shutting the doors, tearing up the leases, and putting the crooks behind bars. If you\u2019re breaking the law, under the Coalition, there will be nowhere to hide.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shadow Health Minister Kellie Sloane said communities across NSW were crying out for real action on illicit tobacco. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are seeing high streets across NSW being taken over by dodgy tobacconists and organised crime gangs profiting from Chris Minn\u2019s inaction,\u201d Ms Sloane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t risk a new generation getting hooked on cheap cigarettes and destroying their health because the Minns Government failed to act on enforcement and tougher penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shadow Regional Health Minister Gurmesh Singh said criminals now see NSW as a soft target given the state\u2019s weak penalties and enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVictoria, Queensland and South Australia have all stepped up with tougher penalties and strong enforcement. Chris Minns inaction has left NSW exposed to more criminals, more violence and more illicit tobacco,\u201d Mr Singh said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Coalition\u2019s Public Health (Tobacco) Amendment (Stopping Illicit Tobacco) Bill 2025 will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NSW Coalition will introduce a Bill in Parliament to crack down on criminals and make NSW the hardest place in Australia to sell illegal tobacco and vapes. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said while other states have cracked down on illegal tobacco, the Minns Labor Government has let NSW become the easiest place in the … Continue reading “Dodgy smoke dens to be shut down under Coalition crackdown”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33453,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33452\/revisions\/33453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}