The scale of illicit tobacco activity uncovered inside the Prime Minister's electorate shows Australia's tobacco wars have reached crisis point, with up to $124 million in potential fines laying bare the size of the black market and the growing failure of current policy settings to protect communities and legitimate retailers.
Reported in the Daily Telegraph, 67 retailers were identified selling illicit tobacco inside the seat of Grayndler, including 27 unlicensed stores and 40 licensed businesses also selling illegal products.
Despite enforcement activity, only four stores in the electorate have been shut down.
Australian Association of Convenience Stores CEO Theo Foukkare said the findings should be a national wake-up call.
"This is no longer a health debate - this is a national crime crisis playing out in the Prime Minister's own backyard. I have three words for him: fix this mess," Mr Foukkare said.
"These dodgy retailers are operating close to primary schools, raising serious concerns about youth exposure and the normalisation of black-market nicotine products."
Mr Foukkare said while enforcement remains critical, it cannot keep pace with demand being driven into the black market by record excise levels.
"You cannot enforce your way out of a market that government policy helped create," Mr Foukkare said.
"Premier Chris Minns and Health Minister Ryan Park have been leaders in this space; they know the scale, they know how organised crime can adapt and they know the uphill battle they are facing."
Mr Foukkare said high excise has created a price gap so large it has handed organised crime a ready-made customer base and the Prime Minister must now take direct ownership of the crisis.
"At some point the Prime Minister has to step in and reset excise settings before the legal market disappears completely. He should listen to Premier Chris Minns, who has common sense and not his Health Minister Mark Butler. While excise has been a problem where previous governments can be blamed, Butler took it to new levels.
"Australia needs coordinated enforcement and excise settings that stop fuelling the illegal market and start bringing customers back into the legal, regulated system."
