Thursday, 14 November 2024

Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024

Second reading

Debate resumed on motion of Melissa Horne:

That this bill be now read a second time.

and Tim McCurdy’s amendment:

That all the words after ‘That’ be omitted and replaced with the words ‘this house refuses to read this bill a second time until the government conducts further consultation with affected stakeholders on when the licensing scheme should come into effect.’

Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (10:19): I am very pleased to rise to speak on the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024. This is a matter of urgency to transact this bill. We know that this is extremely serious subject matter, and I do not think there is any disagreement in the chamber on that premise. I will reflect, but very cautiously, about an incident that occurred in Bay Street, Port Melbourne, which I went down to see after the fact. A car had literally gone right into a shop. I do not know how they angled it, because if you know Bay Street, it is quite narrow, so they must have flat-footed it. I will say ‘allegedly’ as to how they specifically manoeuvred, went in there and set it aflame. The worst thing about it, apart from dreadful damage for the trader with that shop – although there may be other matters there so, again, I am going to be a little bit flowery in my description – is that traders to either side and also innocent people above unfortunately through no fault of their own had their lives put at risk through the incident. I should say specifically that was a hairdressing salon. Nevertheless it is alleged that that was associated with the illegal tobacco matters that we have been seeing around the state and to some extent interstate as well.

Recognising the disastrous consequences that have unfolded as a result of these dreadful incidents, there is no question that moving this licensing scheme today through this bill is really, really important. That is why I am a little perplexed about the reasoned amendment, which is essentially that this house refuses to read this bill a second time until the government conducts further consultation with affected stakeholders. Yet last sitting somehow it was urgent, but it is not urgent now – but it is urgent. It is very confusing, so I am trying to cut through that to the purpose for which we are driving this reform, noting that the Premier was very clear back in March in saying this would be brought through by the end of the year. That is exactly what we are doing. No-one has in any way tried to be anything other than transparent on the process that is to be delivered here. But seeking more consultation, however long that might take, rather than getting on with the job of establishing the licensing scheme? I would have thought that there is a real imperative to do that and to get businesses licensed.

The other thing I should say is that I do not want the line to be blurred, and it is easy to do so in little grabs on TV et cetera, which can unfortunately distort what is actually being sought to be transacted here, which is that we will be starting to stand up the licensing scheme as soon as possible to begin getting businesses licensed by mid next year. As part of the process it will take until mid-2025 to set up the licensing scheme because they need to do several important things. You cannot just say – and I do not want to make light of this – ‘licensing scheme’ and expect the magic to happen. You have to manually put that together. You have to orchestrate that in the most appropriate way with the tightest possible governance and to make sure that it actually delivers on what community expects. This involves hiring and training the staff who will assess licence applications, establishing the ICT system and online application process and developing materials to assist businesses to make applications. From early 2026 there will be inspectors on the ground making sure businesses have a licence. We want to give businesses the time to go and do the right thing and get licensed, and we need to give them at least six months to do so. There is the question of reasonableness, and I think that is certainly factored into the process that is being laid out in terms of implementing this scheme.

Assessing the potential number of licences is another challenging aspect. The number of retailers could simply be in the thousands. We know that it is a diverse sector, from sophisticated players such as Coles and Woolies to the local milk bar. This is quite a complex space, and I am not in any way trying to diminish the urgency or the fundamental tenets of what is being delivered here. I am just saying that when we are talking about delivering something as important as this is it must be done properly, it must be done right and we need to meet the businesses where they are. If I put it out there, it simply would not be fair to start issuing offences to businesses who might be doing the right thing and not selling illicit tobacco. That is the other extreme, and therefore you are going against the principal of the rule of law, so to speak, because you are already presuming that somebody is guilty before they have had the chance to do the right thing, get the licence and be appropriately assessed pursuant to the licensing program.

I do think it is important to have that on the table here when we are discussing this issue, because of the innate seriousness of it and so as not to make it something that is as simple as a media statement or – hey presto – a licensing scheme next-day delivered. That is simply not humanly possible, and I think all of those in the chamber are factoring in that fundamental tenet of the law, which is reasonableness in terms of the timeframe to roll out a system which will have the appropriate rigour, noting that we are seeking to deliver the standing up of the training and so forth and various critical elements of this licensing system asap. And we mean that when we say it.

The bill, I should say, will come in two stages. The first stage to come into effect by the end of the year will establish the licensing scheme and the regulator and allow for the appointment and training of licensing inspectors. This will allow for license applications to be made and determined in advance of the requirement for businesses to hold a licence. You can see that there is a logical sequence to that. Stage 1 will also amend existing offences and powers in the Tobacco Act and repeal e-cigarette and specialist tobacconist provisions.

The second stage will introduce the licensing offences and enforcement powers of licensing inspectors, enabling penalties to be applied to tobacco suppliers operating without a licence, and as stated from the outset, we do need to give retailers the opportunity to obtain licences before we take any enforcement action for not having one. So you can see we are looking at that reasonableness, the rule of law and the premise of what would seem to be fair and reasonable opportunity.

There were some comments that nothing has been done, nothing has happened, and we know that Taskforce Lunar will suggest – not suggest but emphatically show the opposite. We know that Victoria Police have been taking targeted action against the illicit tobacco trade through Taskforce Lunar, making arrests and seizing large quantities of illicit items. I will say there is a further tangent to this – Australian Border Force. It is part of their remit, I should say, to track and stop these items getting into the country at the border, and that is hard work. I used to represent border force workers, and I know the pride they take in seizing these kinds of items at the border – illegal items. Taskforce Lunar is delivering results with over 200 search warrants executed, 80 offenders arrested and the seizure of cash, vapes and illegal tobacco products worth $37 million as at September 2024, and this does not include the most recent raids last week, in which more than 600,000 illegal cigarettes were seized across 25 properties.

I want to acknowledge the very hard work of VicPol on this matter, because I think that also should not be lost when we are discussing this very important issue and noting that it is a combination of elements seeking to appropriately tackle the matter that is of course the licensing scheme, which is a matter of urgency. We must pass this bill – it is in the best interests of community – but also acknowledge the very hard work and ongoing work of VicPol in tackling this issue. This element is fundamental as well – the health issue. We know that tobacco, vaping and cigarettes are very bad – there is nothing good about those things – so obviously keeping a tight lid on those matters is critical for the health of our community as well.

David SOUTHWICK (Caulfield) (10:29): I rise to make some comments on the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024 – a mouthful. Many would know it as the firebombing bill, and it is to ensure that we do something about the ongoing tobacco stores that are being firebombed right across the state. We have seen over 100 tobacco stores firebombed in the last couple of years, and it is very, very unfortunate that we have waited that time – two years – to be able to debate this bill. It is something that the opposition has been calling on for a long time.

Again, the government have been sitting on their hands and doing absolutely nothing while week in, week out, you pick up the paper and what do you read? Another store has been firebombed. In fact only this week we have seen a store firebombed twice in two days. So it is really unfortunate that we have taken so long, because we have been calling for it for some time, and I commend the member for Ovens Valley for the work that he has been doing as the Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs on this particularly. You would think that we would be very, very supportive, which we are in context, but the big issue with this bill is the fact that not only has the government taken two years to introduce a bill but they then introduced the bill within a week, not even having had any consultation, to rush it through. But surprise, surprise, the bill will not actually take place for another 18 months. The laws will not take place for 18 months, so what is going to happen in the 18 months in terms of ensuring that communities can be kept safe? It is an absolute joke that we have a government that is completely in disarray. They do nothing about firebombing, and then all of a sudden they try and rush a bill through on firebombing only to now have to wait 18 months until the legislation takes hold so we can finally tackle the firebombing that everyone in Victoria is experiencing.

Only a few weeks ago we did notices of motion in the chamber to every single one of the government’s electorates that indicated that there was a firebombing in their electorate, calling on the government to do something about it and getting them to act now. So it is appalling that we should have to wait another 18 months until this legislation takes place, and that is why the member for Ovens Valley’s reasoned amendment is to actually get on with it and get this legislation up and about. I would encourage the government to support this amendment. It is really important that we do something, because every day that we wait is another day that many of our communities, many Victorians, have to deal with safety issues in their own backyards.

We have all seen it. Many in the government have stood up here and spoken about firebombings in their electorates, and now we are going to have to tackle it. It is no use talking about it if you have still got to wait 18 months. I know in my electorate of Caulfield we had a tobacco store in Glen Huntly Road that was firebombed, and again the store is still gutted and the store is still waiting for action. We have had two other stores that have also been firebombed, so not only are there the 110-plus stores that have been firebombed in two years but you have seen other stores that have been firebombed that, again, could be connected to some of the organised crime and illegal activity that has been allowed to take place by the Allan Labor government. We have seen a gymnasium in Hawthorn Road, and again, that gymnasium which was firebombed sits on top of retail stores below it. That has been out of action for two years.

You only have to pick up the paper today to hear about the Burgertory store that was burned down, firebombed, on the corner of Hawthorn Road and Glen Huntly Road. Again, there were two people arrested and questionable activity in terms of that behaviour. Again, we just see far too much organised crime where these stores are being used for financial gain, and it needs to be tackled. The way to do it is through a licensing scheme, and every other state has a licensing scheme except Victoria. Why are we always behind? The Allan Labor government has had 10 years to do something about ensuring we have safety, and only now do we start talking about it. So it is too little, too late from the Allan Labor government in actually getting on with it and getting this fixed.

If this is so important and you have got all the government members standing up and saying, ‘We’ve got to tackle firebombing in our electorates,’ one would argue: why are they waiting 18 months for the laws to take shape? Maybe it is because we have industrial action with our police. Maybe it is because Victoria Police are not being paid a fair deal and we do not have the ability to police a licensing scheme, because the government has not supported Victoria Police. Maybe that is the reason the government want to wait 18 months, and why aren’t they supporting our hardworking Victoria Police? Maybe it is because they have run out of money; maybe that is the case as well. Maybe it is because they have spent all the money on the Suburban Rail Loop that they do not have any money to pay the police to ensure that we not only have the legislation in place but we can protect the community from firebombing.

And you can draw the line. That is why every single time that this government does something and does not do it properly, ultimately Victorians pay the price. The government fails to act; Victorians pay the price. This is bad management. This is waste. This is mismanagement. You can see it every single time, because the government cannot manage money, they cannot manage major projects, they cannot manage legislation and they cannot keep Victorians safe. This is a case of over 110 firebombings in every electorate across Victoria. We have waited two years. We finally have legislation today, and the government says, ‘This is important – but wait 18 months before it takes effect.’ At the same time Victoria Police are on strike today because they are not being paid a fair deal. I think most Victorians would be shocked about that, because the hardworking Victoria Police should be paid a fair deal, and ultimately one of the big issues we have in our state is law and order, community safety. People need to be kept safe, and they do not feel that way.

I have said in my electorate – again related to all this kind of stuff of illegal activity, of crime – we have got people that are paying for private security to drive around people’s homes, because they do not feel safe. Why should taxpayers in the highest taxed state in the nation have to put their hands in their pockets and pay for private security because we do not have enough police? Police are leaving because they are not being paid properly. Thousands of police are leaving the force because they are not being paid properly. That is why we have an industrial dispute, and that is probably why the legislation that seems to be so important that it is being rushed through by the Allan Labor government will not be enacted until 2026. Every single day when there is another firebombing are we going to hear Labor members standing up and saying, ‘This is terrible. We’ve got legislation, and we will do something about it – in 18 months time’? This government should be judged by their actions, not their words, because it is all very well for every Labor member to stand up and talk about this firebombing bill today without being able to back it up, saying the legislation will not be in place until 2026. That is why, if this government was serious, they would back the member for Ovens Valley, back his amendment and support it so we get the legislation in place straightaway.

A couple of weeks ago the member for Ovens Valley brought in a private member’s bill that should have been supported; it was not. Since then we have had more firebombings. I would say today that every single firebombing that happens between today and 2026 will be the fault of the Allan Labor government, because this legislation could be supported with a start date tomorrow – not by 2026, by tomorrow. Pay the police their fair share, support this legislation and have it in place tomorrow and keep the community safe. It is that simple. That is what Victorians expect, not weasel words, not legislation that has taken two years to happen and another 18 months before it actually takes shape to be enforced. That is not what we are here for. We are here to keep the community safe, and that is what people expect. In my electorate of Caulfield we have got Hawthorn Road gymnasiums and a burger shop Burgertory that burnt down, a tobacco shop in Glen Huntly Road that burnt down, just like you have got in all of the other electorates – burnt down. Let us get on with it. Pay the police. Bring in the legislation. Keep the community safe. It is very, very simple, and I commend the hardworking member for Ovens Valley. This stuff is really important. People need consequences, they need fines, and if they conduct illegal activity they should have their licences revoked. The work has not been done.

Anthony Cianflone interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Pascoe Vale!

David SOUTHWICK: The government can chant, scream, carry on. No-one should have to wait 18 months for legislation to keep people safe tomorrow, and this government are not serious.

Iwan WALTERS (Greenvale) (10:39): I also rise to speak on the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024. Before I get to the substantive part of my contribution I have got to take the exception with some of the contribution of the member for Caulfield, who used the phrase ‘weasel words’. I think it is important to call out some of the weasel words of those opposite and the mischief that is being made with clause 2 of this bill, which does make clear that the bill will come into effect as soon as possible, in effect. There is a stock-standard phrase that is in there that those of us who served on the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee (SARC) are very familiar with: the concept of a drop-dead date. But the truth of the matter is that the provisions of this bill will begin as soon as the bill is passed. We will be hiring and building a regulator. The licensing scheme will be in place by mid-2025.

It is interesting that those opposite, who are so keen to invoke the words of Menzies in The Forgotten People, should be suggesting there should be a breach of natural justice whereby those shopkeepers have no opportunity to become licensed in the first place. There is a reason why there is a need for some time to stand this scheme up – it is because those shopkeepers, those retailers, need the opportunity, as a consequence of natural justice, to become licensed. You cannot enforce a licensing scheme until there has been an opportunity for retailers to become licensed. Goodness gracious, the member for Caulfield also invoked the member for Ovens Valley’s so-called bill, which had less detail than a press release – less detail than minutes written down by Mrs Heath in the other place. It was not worthy of the name ‘a bill’.

The simple fact is that this is a very substantive piece of proposed legislation that reflects an enormous amount of work by Minister Horne but also by ministers from across the government – the Minister for Police and the Attorney-General – because it is a really important thing to get right because of its importance within our communities. I want to thank the minister and indeed all of those ministers for their work across government and for being responsive to the advocacy of many Labor MPs, many members on this side, and the concerns of the communities that we represent. I have shared my concerns with the ministers on a number of occasions, because this is an issue that really matters in my community. It matters in all of our communities, and it is imperative that we pass this bill to keep our communities safe.

The simple truth is that the amendments being put forward by those opposite will only serve to delay the passage and the implementation of this bill. The intent of course is to gazette it as soon as possible and to build that licensing authority so that we can begin to make this system a properly licensed one and make our communities safer by regulating tobacco sales and by punishing law-breakers with the toughest penalties in Australia.

Organised crime and its drivers are very complex. A licensing scheme is an important part of the puzzle that will seek to intercede in the egregious actions of a very small minority in our community who are inflicting harm and damage on our community. We have seen too many shops which have been firebombed, where children – young people – have been paid by organised criminal actors who are engaged in a turf war, an organised crime war, to destroy the businesses and livelihoods of hardworking families in our community. There is also the appalling collateral damage that many businesses either side of or above or indeed below those targeted businesses are suffering. It is not good enough.

It is solely and singularly the fault of those criminal actors who have been operating in a context whereby we have had a ratcheting excise scheme in terms of its application on tobacco, whereby the price of legitimate cigarettes has become much more expensive in recent years. There is a sound public health rationale for that, and I think there is a clear evidence base that suggests that the more expensive cigarettes have become, the lower the incidence of smoking in our community. But we are now in a situation where, as a consequence of federal government action, a legitimate packet of cigarettes is materially expensive for people on an average income. At the same time the differential between a legitimate packet of cigarettes and an illicit packet of cigarettes has blown out very significantly. That creates an incentive for organised criminals to engage in this behaviour – to engage in mass smuggling.

The simple truth is that we need the federal government to take action to fulfil their responsibilities, because on the one hand they have created a price signal, if you like, a market incentive, for this kind of conduct to take place by having very significantly expensive unit costs for cigarettes. Again, there is a very sound public health rationale for that. But if the situation is allowed to occur whereby the market is being flooded as a consequence of smuggling from overseas in containers and through other mechanisms, whereby the market is being flooded with illicit cigarettes, that will create real challenges for our law enforcement agencies in Victoria, who are working tirelessly through a number of discrete operations, including Taskforce Lunar, to deal with the consequences of that reality of wholesale smuggling taking place.

As I say, the impact of this criminality, though, on the community has been real. It has been devastating to see the impact that it has had upon family businesses. Some tobacco shops which have been attacked may have been fronts for organised crime and for the sale of illicit cigarettes, but too many have been the innocent victims of organised criminals and violent gangsters and standover men who do not care about community or the broader impact of their egregious criminality upon community. Let us make no mistake: this is the fault of those who are engaged in illegal action, those who do not care about our community, those who do not care about community safety and those who do not care about the livelihoods of hardworking family businesses across Victoria. That is why a licensing scheme is so important – because it will protect those hardworking family businesses who are operating legitimately. It is why it is so important that this government has brought legislation and why it is important that it receives swift passage – because a licensing scheme is an important part of the puzzle. The federal government has its role to play in terms of –

James Newbury interjected.

Iwan WALTERS: The member for Brighton has come in, late as ever, and cannot resist the urge to make interjections and is perpetuating that hoary old myth that this will come into effect in 2026, whereas the simple truth is that the bill –

James Newbury interjected.

Iwan WALTERS: The member for Brighton clearly is not familiar with the work of SARC, the effect of drop-dead dates and the effect of clauses like clause 2 in this bill. The bill will be gazetted as soon as it is passed in this place. The regulator and the licensing authority will be stood up as soon as it is passed in this place. So I suggest that those opposite cease seeking to block the passage of the bill, cease seeking to delay its passage through amendments and get on board and get this thing through so that we can build that regulator and so that we can bring more certainty and more confidence to our communities through a licensing scheme that will complement the very important work of Taskforce Lunar, which is delivering results, which is mopping up some of the mess that has been left behind by successive federal governments through a lax border regime, and which has had over 200 search warrants executed and 80 offenders arrested and has had mass seizures of cash, vapes and illegal tobacco products worth $37 million as at September 2024. I know there has been work by Taskforce Lunar in the months since that has increased that figure very significantly.

It is also a reflection of the very significant investment that this government has made in Victoria Police – the largest police force in any jurisdiction in this country – a record $4.5 billion investment in Victoria Police that is enabling Victoria Police to establish dedicated taskforces like Taskforce Lunar to target the illicit tobacco trade. It is so important that they have the powers and the tools to do that. This bill will augment the existing powers. It will give them additional powers to inspect premises. It will enable them to share information. It will close some of the loopholes that mean that there is a blind spot in the context of the sale of tobacco. We need to make sure that we are doing whatever we can as a state Parliament to keep our communities safe. This licensing scheme is an important part of that.

I also take this opportunity to call upon the federal government to ensure that illicit cigarettes are not flooding into the country and that proper consideration is given to the impact of the excise regime and to ensure that the work of Victoria Police is not stymied, that we have fewer illicit cigarettes on the street and that our communities are safer. That is what this bill will do. I commend it to the house, and I urge the house to give it a swift passage.

Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (10:49): I rise to speak on the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024, as it is an issue that is not only incredibly important to me but incredibly important to my community. It is an issue that has been raised with me time and time again in my electorate of Warrandyte, and I know that it is affecting not just us in our community but also communities across Victoria. There is a commitment in the electorate of Warrandyte to protect the character of our neighbourhood, and this is especially evident when it comes to the protection of their area from the scourge of the illicit tobacco trade.

As we hurtle towards the end of the year, may I suggest that perhaps it may be time for the government and the Premier to go on vacation, because it seems like they have run out of their own ideas and can only copy ours. Unfortunately their imitation is a poor one at best. It has been about 14 months that I have been in the Parliament since being elected, and I have seen it firsthand.

The coalition’s private members bill from the member for Ovens Valley is what we are speaking about today, but I saw it first where the coalition introduced a private members bill through the Shadow Minister for Police, the member for Berwick, to prohibit the use of machetes on 28 November 2023. I had just been elected, and it was something that my community was raising with me time and time again. Knife crime and crime in my community is at an all-time high. Aggravated burglaries are up 48 per cent in the electorate of Warrandyte – 73 per cent in Doncaster East alone. We were hearing about this all the time through the office, and as a consequence of this happening in all of our offices, the private members bill that was introduced sought to prohibit the sale and the purchase of machetes, which makes sense. It is common sense. That was November last year. The government shut that down and voted against that at a time when knife crime was at an all-time high and crime in general had exploded 1000 per cent in the past 10 years. Then the government, after shutting that one down, decided to introduce a weaker law to limit the sale of machetes to under-18s, as if that would make a difference, because knife crime is still rife all across Victoria. That was on 7 February this year, months later.

I saw it again with the coalition’s push to axe the health tax on GPs and for health services, and then the government introduced a watered-down version of it. I saw it where the government big-noted themselves on the off-the-plan stamp duty exemption when they were the ones to reimpose the tax in 2017 in the first place. We voted against it. We spoke against it. We defended keeping the stamp duty exemption. The coalition vehemently defended keeping the exemption from stamp duty for off-the-plan homes, yet the government was the one to scrap it. Now they are abolishing it, they say, when they were the ones to introduce it. Well, here we are again. How is it that after a decade in –

Iwan Walters: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, on relevance, the provisions of this bill do not touch upon stamp duty.

Tim McCurdy: On the point of order, Deputy Speaker, the member is being very relevant to the bill, and it encapsulates all those issues that she is talking about.

Members interjecting.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member for Brighton isn’t in his chair. I can rule on the point of order. It has been a wideranging debate on this bill. The member for Warrandyte to continue on the bill.

Nicole WERNER: I am simply providing context for the bill, providing context for what we are debating about today. All I have to say is: how is it that after a decade in government Labor is struggling to bring any new ideas to this place and can only offer watered-down imitations of the coalition’s legislation, including with this bill at hand that we are talking about?

We saw it again last sitting week when the Liberals and Nationals, through the member for Ovens Valley, sought to introduce a private members bill that proposed a licensing scheme with penalties of up to $1 million for illegal tobacco traders, an initiative that would have brought swift action and real consequences to those flouting the law. Why was this? It was because the scourge of illegal tobacco stores is a known reality to so many Victorians, including in my community, as I have mentioned, with police estimating that more than half of Victoria’s estimated 800 to 1000 tobacconists sell illegal products.

In my electorate of Warrandyte this has been a real concern. People in my community have seen these illicit tobacco stores pop up and crop up across the electorate – some alleged ones even as close as 100 metres from local primary schools. It is no wonder that people in my community are concerned. So we on this side of the house pushed ahead with the legislation, because we are the last jurisdiction in this country to not have a licensing scheme or regime pertaining to illegal tobacco. Trailing behind, as per usual, to act on crime in Victoria is, surprise, surprise, the Allan Labor government.

We pushed ahead because it was recommended two years ago – two years ago – that we have a licensing scheme to stamp out this criminal trade and because the Allan Labor government failed to act, allowing criminality to thrive with relative impunity, and Victorians are suffering as a consequence of it. There have been over 100 firebombing attacks across our state in this time, including two in the last two weeks since we introduced our private member’s bill, which they could have supported if they cared about Victorians. They voted down our bill to finally take action to stamp out the illegal tobacco trade. The Allan Labor government blocked it. How is that, from that side of the house? They blocked it and left our communities exposed, left businesses vulnerable and gave a free pass to criminals, who continue to profit from lawlessness. They blocked action when they could have saved lives, stopped firebombings and brought some much-needed order to this growing crisis of criminality in our state.

Come on now, putting political posturing ahead of protecting Victorians – that is not okay. This delay and inaction not only have put Victorians at risk but have also been a direct consequence of Labor’s failures and their refusal to act when action was needed. While they play politics it is the people of Victoria who suffer. It is the business owners who have to live in fear of their stores being set alight. It is parents, it is teachers, it is my local community writing to me, day in and day out, concerned about this illicit tobacco trade that has cropped up in our suburbs. It is the innocent families who have to deal with the fallout of a government who could not be bothered to listen to the experts or take decisive action two years later – two years after the recommendation.

It has been two years. That is how long it has been since the government received the reform recommendations – two years in which we have seen tobacco outlets firebombed, criminals running rampant and businesses left vulnerable. And what have we seen in this time? This response comes after a staggering 110 tobacco shops have been destroyed in arson attacks across the state. Just this week, here we are again being handed another promise, another plan, with the Premier laying out details of this so-called licensing scheme. While it is welcomed, because it is about time, let us be real here: this bill should have been passed months ago. Here we are, eight months since the Premier made the initial promise to take action in this space – eight months later. It has been a long eight months. And what do we get after eight months? Another delay from the Allan Labor government, a 19-month delay no less. Over two years since the government received recommendations from experts, from law enforcement, from people on the front lines, here we are still fighting for basic action – action that could have stopped 108 firebombings and the two more that happened just last week. That is more businesses, more families and more communities under threat while the government sat here twiddling their thumbs.

The delays have had real and devastating consequences. The government’s inaction has put lives at risk. Let me ask: how many more firebombings will it take? How many more businesses will be burned to the ground? How many more innocent Victorians will be caught in the crossfire because of this government’s failure to act? As we continue to wait another 19 months from now, there will be 19 months of criminal activity, 19 months of vulnerable businesses and 19 months of firebombings and chaos. The people who own tobacco outlets in Victoria do not have 19 months. My community does not have 19 months. The communities affected by this lawlessness do not have another 19 months to wait. How many more businesses will be destroyed by criminal activity before this scheme is even close to being implemented? How many more people will suffer? If you just listened to 3AW recently, people were asking ‘Why has it taken so long? Why has the government, which promised action, sat idly by while this crime wave continues to grow?’ I will tell you why: it is because the government does not take this issue seriously. They do not feel the pain of small businesses. They do not see the families that are affected. They do not understand the real-world consequences of their inaction. The government needs to stop hiding behind excuses. We need to bring forward this bill.

Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (10:59): They do say that it is a characteristic of great speakers that they have the ability to vary their tone. I am not sure we had a great deal of variation in the contribution from the member for Warrandyte. On a matter of substance it continues to be remarkable to me to give a speech that is predominantly concerned with purported delays while supporting a reasoned amendment that would further delay the bill that we have in front of us. I noted and appreciated the member for Greenvale’s comments in response to the member for Caulfield’s comments. It is unfortunate that the member for Warrandyte possibly was not listening and repeated those comments about clause 2, and I will just refer her back to the member for Greenvale’s rebuttals.

I rise to also support the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licencing Scheme) Bill 2024, which as we know amends the Tobacco Act 1987 with respect to both traditional tobacco products and vapes. This bill is very relevant to my part of the world, especially at the Reservoir end. We have a local Facebook group called Reservoir 3073, and the other day someone posted there saying:

If you were in charge of Reservoir and could do whatever you wanted to improve the area what would it be?

A lot of people raised some familiar issues around the Reservoir Leisure Centre, the Berlin Wall effect we have, where it is hard to cross the train line, the route 11 tram extension and so forth. There was a commentator, James Batten, who I do not know, who said Reservoir needed:

More massage parlours and … vape shops! 30 isn’t enough!

It did get some laughs on Facebook, that comment, because there is a little bit of truth to it. I will set aside massage parlours, which are not relevant to today’s bill, but there are a lot of vape shops and tobacco shops in Reservoir. I have not tried counting them up; it is certainly double digits.

It is worth briefly touching on how those stores came about and some of the community concerns about them. It is partially, if we go back, a bit of a story of car ownership. Obviously way back in the day, in the middle of the 20th century, cars were more expensive and most families only had one car, if they had one at all. Their grocery shopping was often done on foot, and they would head along to local bakers and butchers and dairies and so forth. Of course once households got a second car everyone began doing their weekly shopping most of the time at supermarkets. One interesting thing that often happens is society changes but the cadastral system, the layout of our roads and land lots, do not change very much. Certainly we saw in Reservoir that a lot of those little suburban shopping strips were all laid out in the middle of the 20th century and within a few decades everyone was driving to the supermarket and driving past their local suburban strip.

The upshot of that is that rents are now quite low in those suburban shopping strips. And there is certainly a very viable business, which we do see everywhere, where you can open a convenience store and your rent is low. Then the goods you sell are those more impulsive buys, things that are not part of the weekly grocery shop: confectionery, drinks, tobacco, vapes and all the things that we are used to seeing in those stores. As we know, they are higher margin goods, and even though some of those stores do very low volumes, they nonetheless can make things work, because as I said, they do not pay especially high rents. As it happens, a lot of those goods that I have just mentioned do sell at higher rates in lower socio-economic areas. We certainly have parts of Reservoir where car ownership rates are low and people are walking to these convenience stores because it is more difficult for them to get to the supermarket or bigger activity centres.

All of that is just to explain that it is certainly true that there are a lot of these stores in Reservoir, and I suspect that the fact that major supermarkets do not carry vapes is one reason for the growth in these stores, because they do carry them. I suspect also that the illegal tobacco sales in our part of the world, which is obviously also not something done by the major supermarkets – you cannot purchase illegal tobacco at Aldi or Woolworths – is another reason for the fact that we have seen a considerable growth in these convenience stores. We all know that with the excise and what it is these days, I think almost $1.30 a cigarette and still going up further, a pack of cigarettes might sell for $45 legally. People are selling them for $20 illegally. As a result people are looking to sell tobacco without paying the excise, and in doing so having not only a negative health effect for the users; it is also very unfair to those who are doing the right thing and selling tobacco at the right price.

Finally, if I can add one other thing to the picture of these convenience stores, some of them in our area are also selling, alongside the vapes and the tobacco, nitrous oxide canisters, known colloquially as nangs.

In theory those canisters are used for making whipped cream, but it is very surprising when you get there and there are the tobacco products, there are the vapes and then there are the nangs next to them. All of those things when we put them together – and it is an important point I want to make, beyond the points that have been made about firebombing and organised crime – mean there are other very genuine, very important community concerns about these convenience stores. They are selling items that are of health concern, selling them in ways that are potentially illegal, selling them potentially to young people under the age of 18 – and some of these convenience stores are located directly across from primary schools and other schools – and of course they have also attracted the violent and illegal activity that has been detailed by other speakers. There was a store in Summerhill that was rammed by a car, and the tobacco store that is on St Georges Road at Miller Street appears to have been recently vandalised as well.

So we support this bill because it will give us mechanisms to address all of those concerns. I think this is very important in pushing back on the very monotone contribution that we heard from the member for Warrandyte. There are multiple important issues that are addressed by this bill. Part 2 will give us a licensing scheme that will require people to meet certain tests to sell tobacco. I think that alone will deter some of the unlawful behaviour. Part 3 deals with offences and enforcement, including the introduction of inspectors, which I think will be very well received given the strong suspicions of unlawful behaviour at some of these retail venues. It also, as we know, improves our capacity to prosecute illegal tobacco sales. Part 4 repeals various provisions in order to allow for the Commonwealth’s new scheme in relation to vapes to come into effect. I think it is worth being very clear that a real benefit of this bill is that our inspectors will be able to enforce the Commonwealth’s new vaping regulations. As we know, vapes are now illegal to sell, but as we also know, there is an enforcement issue there. You can certainly walk into stores and buy vapes in Reservoir at the moment, and we look forward to this scheme allowing us to more strongly enforce what is ultimately that federal regulation.

I touched on nitrous oxide abuse and nangs. They are not covered here by the bill in front of us, but it is certainly a merit of a licensing scheme generally that it would allow us to put other conditions on that licence, including the sorts of things that you can sell alongside tobacco goods. It would also, as I have just touched on, provide an inspection scheme to enforce those rules, should we wish to introduce them. This bill in many respects is a comprehensive bill for addressing what I must stress again is a range of community concerns about what is happening in these tobacco, vape and confectionery stores. As I say, we have heard a focus from the opposition that is exclusively on firebombing, and frankly that suggests to me that they do not get out in their communities enough to know that where there is one of these stores opposite a primary school there are other concerns, obvious concerns, about the selling of tobacco illegally, the selling of it to young people, the selling of vapes to young people and so forth.

I commend the hard work done by the minister, by the Department of Justice and Community Safety and by her team, to bring a bill to this place today that, as I say, is comprehensive in addressing both the violent activity that has been discussed at length but also the concerns around health and the health of young people that certainly have been raised with me on a regular basis ever since I was elected. I am very pleased to be able to go back to those constituents and say that today in this place we are going a further step to making sure that young people are not vaping and they are not buying tobacco in any form, whether it be illegal or not, and indeed to give ourselves a platform to further regulate these stores if we need to.

I will conclude by thanking, as I said, the minister and her team and maybe, if I can as well, Philip Mallis, who writes a very good blog. I sometimes think there are some very good public policy bloggers out there who help all of us with our work, and I know his blog post ‘The shopping strips of Reservoir’ is a great one for people with an interest in these things. So I just want to thank not only the minister for this excellent bill but also those who contribute to public policy more broadly.

Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (11:09): I rise to make a contribution on the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024. Starting off, I am intrigued and surprised that the member for Preston would say that we should not be worried about firebombings of illegal tobacco shops. Having had one of those in my community in Cohuna being firebombed, I know the angst it causes in the community, the damage it causes and the stress it is still causing in that community because the shop has been reopened only a couple of doors down. They are just waiting for the next time that shop is firebombed. To say there are no concerns about firebombing and the Liberals and Nationals should not be raising those issues I think is an insult to communities, and I take it as an insult to the community of Cohuna. The heat that that fire burnt at – I absolutely take my hat off to the Cohuna fire brigade for what they did in getting there quickly at 3 am and controlling that fire to that particular shop site. It burnt that hot that it actually cooked the bricks on the adjoining buildings in that shopping strip, which will have to be replaced.

As I said, three doors down the particular proponents of that shop have now bought another shop, and they have set up again. It was going again within two weeks of the one that was burnt down. The whole issue of firebombing is real. Yes, there are other issues that this bill addresses, but at some stage someone that lives above a shop in a suburban strip, someone that lives adjacent to a shop or someone that unfortunately might be working late in their own shop next door is going to be hurt with the way these illegal tobacco shops are firebombed.

I actually prefer the title of the bill that the Shadow Minister for Police introduced in this place several weeks ago, calling it the Tobacco Amendment (Stamping Out Fire Bombings) Bill 2024. I think that articulated the argument a lot better than the current bill because it is about stamping out the illicit trade in tobacco and stamping out the ramifications of the turf war that is going on for those that are involved in it, where there is victimisation of tobacco shops that will not pay extortion money or there is this fight to actually burn out the opposition’s shops. 110 tobacco-related firebombings have taken place over the last two years. Better Regulation Victoria back in 2022 actually said there was a need for a licensing scheme for tobacco products in Victoria – two years ago. If the government had actually acted at that particular time, we would not have seen the number of shops that have been burnt, we would not have seen the damage that has been done in our shopping strips right across Victoria, including country Victoria, and we would not have had all the worry and the stress for those that have been victims of these firebombings but also the communities around them, who are very worried about that.

That is one of the reasons the shadow minister has moved a reasoned amendment to this legislation. Two years since there was a report, and several other reports saying there is a need for licensing of tobacco retailing in Victoria, and we finally get action. We finally get a bill after the government has been embarrassed into doing it because there was a private members bill introduced into this place to actually have regulation around the selling of tobacco products here in Victoria. The government has finally been embarrassed into introducing this particular piece of legislation. But what do we read on the first page? It will be finally enacted on 1 July 2026 – literally two more years.

Members interjecting.

Peter WALSH: I know it is unruly to pick up interjections, but can I say to those that are interjecting: read the bill. Look at the ink on the paper. It says 1 July 2026. Tell me that statement is not true. That is what is said on the first page of the legislation. So you can cry wolf that, ‘Yes, we’re going to do it quicker than that. Yes, we are efficient.’ Der. Who thinks the Victorian government bureaucracy is actually efficient in doing anything? ‘Yes, we’ll be efficient. We’ll do it sooner than that,’ but that is what the bill says. 1 July 2026 is when it will be finally enacted if it has not been done before. I have no faith in this government getting anything done on time, efficiently or correctly because everything that happens, everything that is touched, is a fail, fail, fail, fail. That goes on all the time with things that happen in my community and that happen in the communities of other members of this place. That is the statement that is on the bill. That is the drop-dead date when it has to be done by. I do not believe the government. I do not believe the speakers on the other side that stand up and say that it will be done before then, because I will bet you London to a brick it will not be.

I will say to the other communities but particularly to my community of Cohuna, I will be doing everything I can to make sure this is enacted sooner than 1 July 2026, because the communities that have been impacted and those communities that are worried that they will be impacted in the future should not have to wait another nearly two years to have this enacted. It has been two years since the report was brought in saying there needs to be a licensing scheme and nearly another two years before it is guaranteed that it will actually be in place.

The other recommendation that was made through those reports was that there should be a licensing fee of somewhere between $300 and $500. This bill says nothing about the licensing fee, otherwise it will be set by regulation in the future. If you look at the history of tax take by the Allan Labor government and look at the history of tax increases by the Labor government, I have absolutely no faith that the government will introduce a regulatory fee somewhere in that particular price range. They are gouging every single dollar they can out of Victorians, particularly gouging every single dollar out of Victorian businesses they can. They see someone that actually sets up a business and goes to the issue of employing people and providing services to the community as a milking cow for increased WorkCover, for increased land tax and for all the things that are going to be increased on those, and I can see another tax grab coming when it comes to the licensing fee for tobacco retailing and wholesaling here in Victoria. We do not want to see small businesses actually priced out of existence by this.

Yes, we all support the licensing of reselling and wholesaling of tobacco. It is absolutely essential that we do that. If you look at the issues we have had here in Victoria compared to interstate, it is because we have not had that licensing regime; we have not had the ability for police to be involved in enforcing it. It has been local government by-law officers and the Department of Health left to enforce it. They do not have the powers and they do not have the manpower or the authority to make a real difference when it comes to this, so yes, we are supportive of having a licensing regime; yes, we are supportive of the police being involved; and yes, we are absolutely supportive of the huge penalties that are in existence in this particular legislation. If you are going to stamp out organised crime, if you are going to stamp out major illegal activity, there have to be significant disincentives there for people if they are caught. Yes, there is that in this particular bill, but what we do not want to see is that the corner stores and the small shops in our shopping strips in our country towns are priced out of existence by the fact that there is a huge licensing fee implemented as part of this program.

Full commendation to the shadow minister for bringing forward the private members bill to this place to actually force the government’s hand, after two years, to introduce this particular legislation. As I said, the ink on the paper says 1 July 2026. It does not matter what words are written around it, and others on the other side will stand up and say, ‘This is not so. This is not so. This is not so.’ No-one believes you anymore, because the government cannot get anything done on time and cannot get anything done properly, and in this case there will be communities where there are firebombings that happen in the future. Just because this legislation is being debated in here, that will not stop illegal activity. It will not stop the firebombings going on. The only thing that will help stop that is this legislation actually being enacted, the regulations being put in place, the police having the powers and particularly the courts issuing some of those major fines or, more importantly, putting some people in jail so that people know there are consequences for trading in illegal tobacco and there are consequences for those who, through the turf wars, are burning down shops and putting our communities at risk. I just hope that no-one is killed because of this, because of the slow inaction of this government.

Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (11:19): It is a pleasure to follow the Leader of the Nationals in this debate. I feel like I have to point this out, because I am sitting here listening to him talk about how long it has taken this side of the house to go ahead and introduce this really important bill: we have been doing an incredible amount of work in relation to this bill. It is extremely complex. You guys have talked about organised crime and firebombing today, as you should, but you have missed a whole other component of how we wipe out organised crime, and that is to stop people and prevent people from taking up smoking and vaping in the first place. You guys did not turn up to any of the public hearings that took place as part of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee inquiry – I think the member for Gippsland South attended a couple, so this is really going to go to the member for Malvern over there. The Liberal Party fail to turn up to most things to talk to communities about their concerns about kids in particular taking up vaping in the first place, which is an easy pathway to then take up smoking later in life. The best way to stamp out organised crime and this illegal tobacco that has taken hold not just in Victoria but across the country is to stop it in the first place. But those opposite fail to talk to anyone in the community about anything that really matters to them, and that is why they can only stand here and talk about organised crime here in this place.

I would also say to those opposite: if this was such an important bill to you guys, why did you only introduce a private members bill last sitting week?

Members interjecting.

Sarah CONNOLLY: Oh, it was not a bill, it was a press release. Let us call it a press release. Why did you only introduce it last sitting week? Let me tell you, because I am the one speaking here in this place on my feet. I will tell you why you introduced it: you introduced it because you knew we were going to introduce this –

Michael O’Brien: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, the member for Laverton is defying your earlier warning to speak through the Chair. I would urge you to encourage her – she has been here long enough now; she knows the forms of the house – to go through the Chair or sit down.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Hamer): I ask the member for Laverton to continue and ensure her remarks are directed through the Chair.

Sarah CONNOLLY: I do apologise, member for Malvern, for referring to the member for Malvern and the member for Murray Plains sitting across from me. I digress from what I really want to say about this bill, because I have talked to a lot of people about this bill as chair of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. We did an incredible inquiry into this topic. But I have also spoken to so many parents and families right across my electorate about this particular issue. This is an issue that people are really alive to and have been giving a great deal of thought to, and it is not just about organised crime. I want to give a really big shout-out to Sandro DeMaio, the previous CEO of VicHealth, because Sandro has done something fantastic for the Victorian community. He has been talking about the dangers of vaping and tobacco smoking for some time, and he has not just been talking about it but he has been putting together materials to educate families, to educate parents and to educate young people about not starting to vape in the first place or, if they are vaping and they are addicted to vaping, because vaping is addictive – it is an addictive, illegal substance in those vapes – how to get off them in the first place. Thank you, Sandro, for all the work that you have done in this space. You have truly improved the lives of Victorians when it comes to this.

The purpose of this bill that is being debated before the house today is to establish a new licensing scheme for tobacco retailers, and that was a commitment made by the Premier in March this year to go ahead and introduce a bill later this year, which is exactly why those opposite put out a press statement just two weeks ago – I think it was a one-pager, if anyone bothered to read it – about what they thought should happen in this space. But we have come forward with a bill that addresses and tries to tackle a really complex issue in this community. It is really complex because not only are people importing illegally vapes and illegal tobacco but also people have been addicted to it. They are looking for it – they need it as a drug. So this is really tricky, this bill, because we are trying to stamp it out in the first place but also looking at introducing a licensing scheme that is going to help eradicate lots of those illegal tobacco – I think we were calling them milk bars – small businesses in our community that are selling these illegal substances to our young people, to our children and to those addicted to smoking and vaping.

The message I have for these businesses, and there are a lot of them in the electorate of Laverton, is time is up. You guys have to get a licence or you can get out of town, and the majority of the community want them out of town. They do not want these shops being set up close to train stations, close to schools, whatsoever. Time is up. Get a licence or get out of town.

The key recommendations of the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee inquiry into vaping and tobacco controls, which was tabled earlier this year, was to set up this licensing scheme for tobacco retailers. I am really happy to see that the legislation has come before the house today. I know that I am on record many times in this place talking about how much I oppose smoking. My brother has been a smoker since he was about 13 or 14. He took up smoking vapes because he thought it would be easy to quit his cigarette smoking habit, and he found that he was then addicted to vapes. He is now back on the smokes unfortunately. It is a dreadful addiction. The previous Secretary for the Department of Health once described, before a PAEC hearing, the businesses selling this as ‘vendors of death’, and that is exactly what they are.

This bill coming before the house is really important. We know that smoking costs our economy nearly $10 billion each and every single year, and that is why, as I talked about earlier, it is just so important to help people quit smoking as much as possible. In PAEC’s inquiry that took place earlier this year we heard firsthand not just from anti-smoking advocates, we also heard from the industry as well, which was quite interesting, many of whom are trying to do the right thing. They do not want to see illegal tobacco sales taking place in this state, because let us face it, their revenue starts to reduce. They cannot compete with the retailers who are selling this stuff behind the counter. But it is not just overseas cigarettes in the colourful packs either, it is now the illegal disposable vapes, which were banned earlier this year by the federal government. These are being marketed to kids as a cool way to smoke without the nicotine, when in fact what the inquiry found is that these vapes would indeed have nicotine in them and it was being used as a gateway for kids to go ahead and smoke tobacco.

The bill does deliver the swift and decisive response to illegal tobacco trading that Victorians have been asking for. Like I said, this has been a topic that has been talked about and is still being talked about in our community. I think even after this licensing scheme is up and running and enforcement is in place, they will continue to talk about it. They will continue to talk about the addiction that we find that our young people have to these vapes and illegal tobacco, and that will be something as a community, as a society and not just as a government, we are going to have to deal with to change the status quo. We are setting up this licensing scheme, and we are setting up the toughest penalties in the country, which those opposite continue to fail to mention – the toughest penalties in the country – to deter and punish people who are engaging in this activity. This has really big impacts not just for my electorate but right throughout Victoria and, I would also say, across Australia. That is why I wholeheartedly commend the minister for her hard work in bringing this bill to the house, and I do indeed wish it speedy passage through the Parliament.

Tim READ (Brunswick) (11:29): I also rise to speak about the Tobacco Amendment (Tobacco Retailer and Wholesaler Licensing Scheme) Bill 2024.The Greens support this bill, and so we should, given we called for it, I think, three years ago or so. But it was not just us, the Cancer Council, Quit, VicHealth and more recently the police have been calling for a tobacco licensing scheme in Victoria. I will just take you back to August 2021, when I raised this matter in an adjournment speech. I got a response about eight months later from the Minister for Health, a one-sentence response, saying:

The Commissioner for Better Regulation is currently conducting a review into Victoria’s approach to illicit tobacco regulation.

The government then, I understand, studied the review over a period of two years. Over that time tobacconists proliferated in our high street shopping centres and all around Victoria, including rural Victoria. A lot of these tobacconists have been selling bootleg cigarettes, illicit tobacco – chop-chop – nicotine vapes and, as I just heard from the member for Preston, the dreaded nangs as well. In this time we have seen extraordinary levels of tobacco-related arson attacks on these shops – one or two a week and over 100 since early last year – due to the infiltration of organised crime gangs, which seem to be attacking each other and each other’s stores. As the member for Laverton has pointed out, there has been a rapid increase in nicotine vaping, particularly among teenagers. There has also been, very disturbingly, over the last year or two a sharp drop in federal excise revenue from tobacco. That has not been matched by a sharp drop in smoking, and what that says is that people are ditching legal cigarettes in enormous numbers and replacing them with illicit tobacco. All of this has been happening because Victoria has been the last state in the Commonwealth without any form of tobacco retail registration or licensing scheme. Victoria has been a wild west both from a public health and an organised crime point of view when it comes to tobacco.

While the government was studying the report from the commissioner for better regulation all of this has happened, and while that has all been interesting, what is important is the casualties of this delay. We have heard about tobacconists burning down. We might not shed a lot of tears for these tobacconists, but there has been quite a bit of collateral damage. I want to just mention the Cargocycles bike shop in Brunswick, which was firebombed twice in a week about a month ago and destroyed. This is a specialist bike shop that makes up special bikes for disabled people; it sells cargo bikes, which are very popular for families taking their kids to school. I believe they are still operating out of a website and a warehouse, but I would be keen to see them back in retail business as soon as possible.

More important casualties, though, are the disease casualties from all of this illicit tobacco and smoking that has been going on. If you think about it, the illicit tobacco is much cheaper; the illicit cigarettes are well below half the price of legal cigarettes. The increasing price of cigarettes has been a key driver in the reduction in smoking over the last 30 years in Australia, so undermining that is undermining people’s attempts to quit and Australia’s efforts to get our population to smoke less and to be more healthy. You all know and have heard of the various dangers of smoking, so I will not list them all. I will just single one out, which is blocked blood vessels in the arms and legs, and particularly the legs, known as peripheral vascular disease, and there is no sight that stays with you quite as much as seeing someone smoking outside a hospital sitting in a wheelchair, with one leg.

The importance of tobacco as a driver of hospital admissions cannot be understated. It is important to remember that we are spending in the current budget I think $27 billion in output funding for our health system and $16 billion on health infrastructure. So health is chewing up about half the state budget. Every day and every night people are being carried by overworked ambulance crews into overworked emergency departments because of tobacco-related disease. So the delay in action on introducing this licensing scheme is contributing to the burden on our health system.

It is also important to point out that the lowest income Australians are twice as likely – more than twice as likely – to smoke compared to the highest income Australians.

Rural Australians are more likely to smoke than urban Australians. People who have not completed year 12 are far more likely to smoke than people who have a degree. When we think about this business and the damage it does and the people it damages, we should not have any real sympathy for the retailers and suppliers of this product, legal or illegal. The public health needs are far more important than the needs of the businesses who are selling this substance. When we think about the speed at which we are going to implement this licensing scheme, it is often considered unfair to regulate too swiftly, but when we are talking about a lethal and addictive substance, the ethical questions are: why have we waited so long, and what can we do to accelerate the regulation that is planned in this bill?

It is important to think about what this bill can do if the government uses its powers to the full. In Australia we have done everything else that we can to reduce the prevalence of smoking to around 10 per cent of the population, but what is left is to reduce the availability of tobacco. You can do that by having fewer shops or retail outlets. You can do that by not situating those shops close to areas frequented by teenagers and young people, such as schools, or transport interchanges frequented by students. You can do it by regulating the opening hours of the businesses. Reducing the availability of tobacco is the next step in further driving down the prevalence of smoking, and that is why this bill is coming at such a welcome time. It also helps police and authorised enforcement officers to know the location of the outlets. Right now we do not even know how many tobacco and vape outlets there are in the state. We do not know exactly where they are, although they make their presence fairly obvious – there is a sign up telling us what they are selling.

When this bill is implemented and enforced, we would expect the number of these pop-up tobacconists to decline, but as I understand it – and I thank the minister’s office for a briefing on this – we would expect people to be applying for licences in the second half of next year and we would expect enforcement to start happening in early 2026. But in that time, illicit tobacco gangs will be making good money; the availability of these dirt-cheap cigarettes will undermine the falling prevalence of smoking and continue to damage people’s lungs and drive admissions to our overworked hospital system; and the firebombings, the arson attacks and the ram raids will continue. I think we need to encourage the government to accelerate their efforts to implement the bill and to do everything else possible to crack down on these businesses in Victoria while we wait for the enforcement of the provisions in the bill.

I just want to comment now on some aspects of the bill. It is mainly about some obvious omissions. It is possible that I may have missed or misinterpreted something, so I look forward to getting more information from the government while we wait for the bill to go to the other place. First of all, the bill does not appear to prohibit licensed wholesalers from supplying tobacco to unlicensed retailers. This would be an important measure to include in the bill if it is not already there. The other opportunity that this bill provides is an opportunity to prohibit online sales of tobacco. Increasingly, people are buying tobacco and, I might mention, vapes online. Given the public health goals that led to the original calls for this licensing scheme, it would be a useful amendment, if it is not already there, to prohibit online sales, as is done in Australia and as Australia is obliged to do under article 13 of the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

For much the same reasons the bill does not seem to prohibit tobacco sales from vending machines. The issue with vending machines is they sit there as a sort of prompt for people who are trying to quit, for people who are trying to cut down and for ex-smokers: ‘Go on, buy a packet of cigarettes.’

[The Legislative Assembly transcript is being published progressively.]