Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has defended the Government’s latest tobacco excise hike, insisting the best way to defeat tobacco gangs is to make legal cigarettes more expensive.
The September 1 increase pushed excise to around $1.55 per cigarette, while the illicit tobacco trade has been linked to organised crime and more than 200 firebombings.
Bowen has reportedly organised a climate summit in the Maldives to determine why Australian tobacconists keep spontaneously combusting.
“I’m going to need more evidence than blokes on camera throwing molotov cocktails into tobacconist’s before I can rule out climate change,” Bowen reportedly said.
The Coalition is considering cutting tobacco excise by up to 80%, while One Nation has proposed a 75% cut to make the black market less attractive to criminals.
Bowen insists enforcement is the answer, but also states struggling families are thankful for illegal cheap cigarette options, as they can double as an appetite suppressant when they can’t afford groceries.