Overview
- The Coalition has pledged an 80 percent cut and One Nation a 75 percent cut to the federal tobacco excise as a central crime-fighting measure aimed at undercutting illegal cigarette sellers.
- State leaders, independent retailers and police have escalated pressure on Canberra this week after large interstate raids seized more than one million illegal cigarettes and vapes and reports linked the illicit market to firebombings, extortion and killings.
- Federal Labor and public health bodies strongly oppose steep cuts, arguing lower legal prices would prompt higher smoking and vaping rates and that reduced excise alone would not dismantle diversified organised-crime networks.
- Police and some economists are proposing alternative fixes, including penalties for buyers of illicit tobacco, targeted enforcement funding and giving states a share of excise revenue to align enforcement incentives with fiscal rewards.
- Independent retailers say the black market has cost them millions in lost sales and local jobs, and analysts warn any policy must balance public-health goals, enforcement capacity and the risk that criminals will simply shift or relaunch other revenue streams.