Tobacco Legislation (Closure Orders) Amendment Bill 2025

Tobacco Legislation (Closure Orders) Amendment Bill 2025

Second Reading Debate - Debate resumed from 6 August 2025.

Mr JUSTIN CLANCY (Albury) (15:17): I welcome the opportunity to contribute to debate on the Tobacco Legislation (Closure Orders) Amendment Bill 2025, and I thank the Minister for bringing the bill to the House. I also acknowledge the importance of the bill. As the member for Newtown said, there is shock at the number of tobacconists that are flourishing on our community high streets. I have personally spoken about this issue in the House a number of times in the past year or so. In a private member's statement last year in August, I spoke about Becky Freeman, Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Sydney, and her comments around this very issue and the need for better laws. As I said then, we cannot just put our hands over our eyes and our fingers in our ears and pretend that the problem does not exist. As the shadow Minister for Health said, this issue is both a health and a law-and-order issue.

The issue first came to my attention a couple of years ago when speaking to a researcher in lung health and respiratory diseases. They said, "We've worked so well over decades to help reduce the level of smoking in our community." At the time they were quite alarmed at the proliferation of vapes and illegal smoking and what that meant in terms of public health over the next several decades. In his second reading speech, the health Minister rightly pointed out that daily smoking rates among adults have more than halved over the past 20 years, reducing from 17.5 per cent in 2004 to, incredibly, just 6.9 per cent in 2024. As a community and as governments right across our nation, we worked hard across all sides of politics to address this issue, only to see it flourish over the past few years.

In my own community, retailers at Corowa have reached out to me on a number of occasions over the past 12 or 18 months, concerned by the proliferation of illegal tobacco and the impact it is having on legitimate businesses. Retailers in Albury are also concerned about the impact on high street activities. That issue has certainly been front of mind for me and many in our community. I acknowledge and thank the Minister for Health for bringing this bill before the House. I acknowledge his comments thanking the shadow Minister, and I also acknowledge and thank the shadow Minister, who is in the Chamber for this second reading debate, for her work. The shadow health Minister, the Liberals and The Nationals have done work to prosecute action on this issue. I welcome the fact that we are now seeing that action.

Turning to the bill, I welcome the proposed amendments to the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008 and the Retail Leases Act 1994, as well as some minor changes to some other Acts. The importance of being able to put short-term closure orders and the opportunity for long‑term closures is a good, positive step forward in terms of addressing this issue. I welcome the Government's move to give a level of protection to the lessor of the retail premises. I note the Minister said in his second reading speech that this is not about causing adverse impact to lessors. Giving them an opportunity to terminate the lease is an important provision in that regard.

I note the increased penalties for offences. I also acknowledge the importance of looking at the disposal of illegal product. I know from conversations with local police in my electorate that seizures actually impact them. At the moment, the disposal of product is coming from their budget. Hopefully that will be addressed. If not, I  encourage the Government to address that, because that perversely impacts on our enforcement agencies doing the right thing. If dealing with the disposal is coming out of their budget, there is a financial impact for them doing the good work that our community asks of them.

I conclude by welcoming this legislation, which has been called for for quite some time. It reflects the good work of the shadow health Minister and many on all sides of Parliament, including the crossbench. I note that a committee looked into this issue last year. I thank them for their work. At this stage, both sides of Parliament have called on the Federal Government to step up to the plate. This needs to be emphasised, in terms of looking at mechanisms that underpin the black market, and supporting the good work of State enforcement agencies and helping offset some of the costs associated with enforcement. The Commonwealth could be doing some work in that regard. The member for Newtown and the shadow health Minister made a good point around enforcement.

At the end of the day, we need investment in enforcement to make sure that this good legislation is backed up by action on the ground so that we are attending to this issue, which is not only a law and order issue but also fundamentally a matter of health, particularly that of our young people. Left unattended, it could have impacts for decades and generations to come. I thank the Minister for bringing this bill, which I support. But there is much to be done to make sure that we get enforcement of this legislation. It must be more than just a "tick and flick" if we are to truly attend to this issue.