Illicit Tobacco - organised crime & protection

NATIONAL

Working together to fight organised crime and protect our way of life – Illicit Tobacco

On 18 March 2022, former Minister for Home Affairs, Karen Andrews, chaired the second meeting of Commonwealth, State and Territory Ministers with responsibility for policing, law enforcement and counter terrorism, discussing ways to crack down on serious and organised crime threatening Australians and our way of life.

Former Minister Andrews stated, “We cannot let transnational, serious and organised crime disrupt our way of life or become a handbrake on our economy. Now that our borders are open once more, the criminal networks devoted to trafficking illicit drugs and weapons, child sexual exploitation, and other serious crimes are looking to once more target Australia in earnest.”

After much lobbying and advocating by MGA and many other organisations, illicit tobacco was addressed at this forum as being a serious threat to the viability of our members and other businesses, not to mention the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in Commonwealth Government taxes lost.

The meeting addressed a number of topics as listed below but agreed upon a National response to illicit tobacco as follows.

Ministers agreed to work together to consider opportunities to coordinate enhanced efforts to combat illicit tobacco, including in response to recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement (PJCLE) Inquiry into Illicit Tobacco. Ministers agreed to reconvene in six months to review progress against the issues discussed and to consider collaborative approaches to other important national security issues.

Other matters discussed include • Countering Violent Extremism (CVE)

Prevention Strategies • National Wastewater Drug Monitoring

Program • Expansion of the ACIC examiner capability • National Criminal Intelligence System update • National Consistency of Exclusion

Orders for Casinos and Racing Venues • National Plan to Combat Cybercrime and Cybercrime Capability Fund • Regulatory and operational reforms and initiatives in relation to licences and illegal firearms MGA welcomes Minister Andrews response to the significant illicit tobacco crime network in Australia and encourages Governments in all jurisdictions to be vigilant in combatting this insidious business destroying phenomenon.

The Hon Karen Andrews MP, former Minister for Home Affairs 