Wednesday, 11 September 2024

Statements on parliamentary committee reports

Public Accounts and Estimates Committee

Inquiry into Vaping and Tobacco Controls

Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (10:37): It gives me a great deal of pleasure to rise to speak on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee report on the inquiry into vaping and tobacco controls. This is a report that I tabled in the house last sitting week. The aim of this inquiry was to examine how our government could better tackle the ongoing scourge of nicotine addiction and uptake of nicotine-based products here in Victoria. Despite the large strides we have made in curbing tobacco usage, smoking is still the leading cause of premature death in this state and contributes to more than 4000 ‍Victorians dying each and every single year.

More disturbingly, we have seen a concerning rise in the use of vaping, especially amongst our children, our young children and teenagers. Indeed outside of this inquiry I have found it to be a major issue in my local community and my local neighbourhood, with some local schools telling me that they have resorted to installing smoke detectors in their toilet blocks to catch students who try to vape in secret. It reflects a concerning trend where tobacco companies have pivoted away from cigarettes towards targeting young people, with vaping as a ‘healthier’ alternative to smoking. In reality we know it is a marketing ploy to get people hooked on nicotine while they are young, and it thereby functions as a new gateway to smoking cigarettes.

As someone who has seen family members try many, many times but fail to kick their smoking addiction, I cannot stress how loathsome I find this practice. I also note that during this inquiry the Herald Sun conducted an analysis that revealed that 463 shops in the committee’s combined electorates were engaging in illegal tobacco trading, including loose-leaf tobacco and of course banned disposable vapes. This included a total of 25 illicit traders in my own electorate of Laverton, amounting to one every 3.5 kilometres. Whilst I think this analysis was actually designed to paint us as blind to an issue right under our noses, I for one welcome this information because it gives us an indication of just how serious this issue is. Since we had the federal government act earlier this year by banning disposable vapes and cracking down on non-prescription vaping, this problem has only gotten worse. It also tells us we need to act and we need to act fast.

This inquiry received a total of 115 submissions and even included the committee visiting storage facilities with Victoria Police and the Australian Border Force to see firsthand the volume of seized tobacco and nicotine products. I do want to thank all of those people who took the time to take us around at those site visits, and all of those who took the time to write a submission or appear before the inquiry, who really contributed to the recommendations that have come forth. There are 26 ‍recommendations. The cornerstone recommendation of this inquiry is the establishment of a new nicotine licensing scheme and, importantly, an active regulatory body seated within the Department of Justice and Community Safety. This will properly enforce this scheme. We know that tobacco companies have moved beyond traditional forms of smoking – we all know that; it is no secret – and this scheme must be reflective of this reality. In addition to recommendations surrounding this proposed scheme, the report also recommends new services and formats to continue the work of addressing the harms resulting from nicotine products and to strengthen our public health response. We are already seeing this in action, with regional Victoria leading the way.

I want to quickly thank my fellow committee members for their contributions to this inquiry. A lot of hard work and a lot of hours have gone into producing this report, including by the members for Point Cook, Clarinda, Yan Yean and Gippsland South in this place as well as Mr McGowan, Mr Galea, Mr Puglielli and Mrs McArthur in the other place. I also want to acknowledge and thank the committee secretariat and staff for always, always putting in tireless effort in arranging and conducting these inquiries and looking after the committee, as well as witnesses, as well as the tireless amount of hours that they have spent writing and preparing this report and getting it to where it is now before the house. I am very proud to recommend this report to the house, and I do encourage people to take the time to grab a copy of it and have a read. This is the stuff that matters. I commend it to the house.