A long-awaited Parliamentary inquiry into the exploding illegal tobacco trade will be established in NSW after sustained pressure by the Coalition.
The Minns Labor Government agreed to the Opposition’s terms for the committee after an alarming increase in the supply of illicit tobacco across the state, which has been linked to organised crime syndicates.
NSW Health data shows the number of tobacconists has risen from 14,500 four years ago to more than 19,500 today.
Shadow Minister for Regional Health Gurmesh Singh said it is having a major impact on the health and safety of regional communities while also putting enormous pressure on small businesses.
“Not only have we seen deteriorating health outcomes, but we’ve also seen rising crime rates as these gangs try to muscle their way onto the main streets of our cities and towns and intimidate genuine shop owners,” Mr Singh said.
“In regional, remote and rural areas there’s often a lack of capacity to do compliance checks which means this criminal activity is often happening in plain sight.
“The Minns Labor Government has completely dropped the ball on compliance allowing illegal operators to undercut the legitimate businesses our communities rely on and it’s just not good enough.
“We need this inquiry to get to the bottom of what has gone wrong and find solutions to crack down on this crisis that is endangering every single one of our communities.”
Member for Myall Lakes, Tanya Thompson said the Government has clearly lost control of what is now known as the ‘Tobacco Wars’.
“If you walk through the main street of Taree or Tuncurry, you will see a number of these tobacconists that weren’t there several months or even weeks ago and that is alarming,” Mrs Thompson said.
“This inquiry is something we have been pushing for and it’s good to see the Government has finally come on board and agreed to it.
“At the end of the day we want our community to be a safe and healthy one, and we need to get things rolling as quickly as possible to achieve that.”
