Minister for Health and Aged Care, press conference – 12 March 2025

MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE, MARK BUTLER: Thanks everyone for coming along to Border Force here in Melbourne today. The trafficking in illegal cigarettes is a real dampener on our public health campaign to stamp out smoking in Australia. Smoking, in spite of all of the gains made over the last 50 years, still kills about 60 or 70 Australians every single day, more than 20,000 a year. It's still the biggest cause of preventable death in the country. Illegal cigarettes undermine our efforts in 2 ways: providing cheap cigarettes to Australian smokers, but also getting around all of the other measures we've put in place based on very good global evidence, things like pain packaging, public health messaging as well. But they also provide an extraordinary source of revenue to some of the worst criminal gangs in Australia. Revenue that those gangs then use to finance their criminal activities like drug trafficking, sex trafficking and more. This is why our government, a couple of years ago, was so determined to crack down on the trade in illegal cigarettes. We particularly resourced the Australian Border Force, ABF, to lift their enforcement activity at the border, and that has resulted in a huge increase in the seizures at the border of illegal cigarettes. In the last 6 months alone, ABF seized 1.3 billion cigarettes, not million, but 1.3 billion cigarettes in just 6 months. That's about 650 cigarettes for every single one of Australia's 2 million daily smokers. Behind us, we have just 4 million of those 1.3 billion cigarettes seized in the last six months. That's a 50 per cent increase in seizures on the year before the extra funding that our government had put into effect.
 
ABF is also working with other countries in the region to cooperate on interceptions and trying to make sure that cigarettes don't actually leave the source countries for Australia in the first place. But we've always known that these organised criminal gangs that are driving this market are relentless, and they're hard to fight. They have been utterly determined to protect this patch, even fighting amongst themselves, as people in Melbourne know more than any other part of the country.
 
Today, I'm very pleased to announce further funding of $160 million to double down on our efforts to stamp out this illegal market. We're sending a very clear message to organised criminal gangs who are operating this market. We're going to track you down. We're going to put you in the dock, and we're going to confiscate your criminal profits. The $160 million package I'm announcing today has a range of important elements. We will be boosting resources to federal law enforcement authorities, ABF, obviously being one of them, but also the Federal Police, the Criminal Intelligence Commission, AUSTRAC and others who have very significant experience and expertise in tracking down the money. Tracking down the criminal profits, and seizing them through very well established arrangements that we've had in place at the Commonwealth level for a long time.
 
We also want to continue the partnership that ABF is building with partner countries in the region. They're also dealing with the challenge of this illegal market, this criminal market that’s operated right around the world by criminal gangs, as they are here in Australia as well. We want to bolster the efforts of state and territory governments, $40 million will go into bolstering the enforcement operations that we want state and territory governments to increase to crack down on the retailers who are selling this. They might think this is a relatively harmless, innocuous trade, but it's undermining a very important public health campaign, and they should remind themselves every time they sell a packet of these illegal cigarettes that they are giving money, bankrolling the criminal activities of some of the vilest, worst organised criminal gangs in this country. We want to see that enforcement activity at state level increase, and we'll also be resourcing states to undertake more prosecutions. We want to see these gangs put in the dock as well as having their criminal profits confiscated. We've got additional resources for the Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner. We've got additional resources to share intelligence across jurisdictions, because what we have found is the organised criminal gangs that have caused Melbourne so much heartache, engaged in so much firebombing, has spread right through the country, and we want to see better intelligence sharing.
 
I say again, we are determined to stamp this out. The answer to illegal cigarettes is enforcement and prosecution. We are determined to track them down, to put them in the dock and to confiscate their illegal profits. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Have you essentially allowed this to happen by being too lax on enforcement so far?
 
BUTLER: This market really grew under the last government. They didn't really do anything to lift enforcement activity at the border or on the ground. We saw this in vaping as well. It's a market that exploded under the former government's eyes without any activity. I make the point that tobacco excise increased by 152 per cent under the former government, and they just trousered every single one of those dollars. They didn't put any new dollars into tobacco control programs, which is what we've done, into health measures like lung cancer screening, which is what we've done. They didn't put any additional money into enforcement at the border, through ABF or any of the enforcement agencies that I've said we are providing additional funding to today. The best time, as I've said before, the best time to have cracked down on this was 5 years ago. The second best time is today, and that's why we're announcing this package.
 
JOURNALIST: Is the excise too high? That's the problem that you’re fuelling this trade, because the government's taking too much per cigarette?
 
BUTLER: A couple of points. First of all, around the world, the price of cigarettes is recognised as the most important tool in driving smoking rates down. It’s no coincidence that Australia has some of the most expensive cigarettes in the developed world and some of the lowest smoking rates. Those 2 things are directly connected. The percentage of the price of a legal cigarette, not a criminal one, a legal cigarette, the tax on that or the excise is about 70 per cent of the price of a cigarette. That is recognised by the World Health Organization as the best practice ratio. About 70 per cent of the price of a cigarette should be on tax to drive that price up and discourage people from smoking in the first place. I'd also make the point that countries that have much cheaper cigarettes than us, for example, the US, have flourishing illegal markets, flourishing criminal markets. I just don't buy the argument that the way to stamp out the illicit market is to drop the price of legal cigarettes. Look at any market around the world, you'll see that thriving criminal market because it's a lucrative source of revenue for criminal gangs. The answer is not to drop the price for the US price, because we still have a thriving criminal market, but we'll also have more smokers. The answer is enforcement, it's prosecution, it's cracking down on these people, tracking them down, putting them in the dock and seizing their profits.
 
JOURNALIST: You mentioned Melbourne being a major issue here. Do you think Victoria's lack of a licencing system has fuelled the issue?
 
BUTLER: There are other jurisdictions, New South Wales, Queensland, that are moving to a licencing regime as well. Some of the other states, the smaller states, have had a licencing system for a longer period. I think what a licencing regime gives you is a much better line of sight on those tobacco retailers, and the ability to pull the licence and have better enforcement ratios. I think the fact Victoria has passed this legislation, as I understand it, and will have that licence regime taking effect relatively soon, as does New South Wales, as will Queensland, will improve our intelligence about what's happening in this market.
 
JOURNALIST: Would you like to see that program already up and running?
 
BUTLER: My understanding is it's starting on the 1st of July. That's pretty soon. What we've said through this package is we'd like to see more enforcement activities across states and territories. In my state of South Australia, very recently, the government has shut down retailers that have been engaged in the trade of illegal cigarettes, including a couple in the area I represent. I want to see more of that enforcement activity, actually having those retailers pay a price for engaging in a criminal trade that is bankrolling pretty vile activities of organised criminal gangs. We're putting $40 million on the table to assist state and territory governments in bolstering those enforcement operations, but also starting to lift the number of prosecutions that are put in place. Bringing those people to the dock.
 
JOURNALIST: The organised crime gangs, they know that there's a market out there. If smokers can buy the cigarettes cheaper, why wouldn't they?
 
BUTLER: As I say, this is a challenge right around the world, frankly, irrespective of the price of legal cigarettes, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. This is a market that criminal gangs pursue because it's a lucrative source of revenue. Driving the rates of smoking down is one way to stamp that out, which is why we've taken a very assertive approach around tobacco control measures and public health campaigns. There wasn't one for the last decade, bolstering the support for quitting. At the end of the day, the best way to deprive everyone of this revenue, frankly, big tobacco in a legal sense, or organised criminal gangs in an illegal sense, is to stop smoking in this country, and we're determined to do that.
 
But at the end of the day, criminal gangs will continue to try to extract revenue from areas like this if the risk reward balance serves it. We've got to change that risk reward balance. For too long, this has been low risk, high reward for organised criminal gangs. What we're doing today is trying to shift that and send a very clear message to the criminals that there will be a consequence for this. We will use the best resources we have in this country to track down the profits, to confiscate them, to put people in the dock and throw very serious penalties, including potentially jail time, at them.
 
JOURNALIST: How much do you think you're capturing – what’s the analysis telling you, in terms of, you know, that bust of 1.3 billion, what percentage of that is the actual total market coming into?
 
BUTLER: A lot more than that. We're lifting the seizure activity. The more we seize and destroy obviously, again, that risk–reward balance shifts somewhat, but it's a pretty relentless trade. One of the things we're funding in today's package is cutting edge technology for ABF, the Border Force, to be able to detect these things as they come into the country. Vapes are somewhat easier to detect because of their metal content. We'll be putting in place funding for really cutting-edge X-ray technology that improve ABF ability to detect these at the border. But they're doing an extraordinary job. I want to pay real tribute to the work ABF is doing at the border, both on vapes and lifting the number of seizures. What we need to do is lift our enforcement activity on the ground here in the country, here in Australia. Particularly, clamping down on retailers who are continuing to engage in this criminal trade.
 
JOURNALIST: What is the scope when it comes to retailers? I've heard a figure around 3,000 shops across Australia selling cigarettes. Do you have a clearer figure on how many participate?
 
BUTLER: No, I don't have a precise figure. There are different estimates that float around that area. Clearly hundreds and hundreds of stores are continuing to sell cigarettes illegally. I again, appeal to them; don't think that this is some harmless and innocuous trade. It's damaging our most important public health campaign, and really important is bankrolling some of the worst criminal gangs, engaging in the worst criminal activity in the country. And not just selling cigarettes, selling cigarettes for them is a means to an end, to bankroll other activities like drug trafficking, sex trafficking, activity that has very real consequences and very serious victims.
 
JOURNALIST: Is it state governments' responsibility to crack down on those store fronts?
 
BUTLER: Look, yes, it is. We've passed federal laws. Ultimately, enforcement is the job of state and territory governments. I've talked with health ministers and police ministers. We've worked together very hard over the last couple of years to put in place, firstly, a legislative framework that allows them to do that, but also very clear operational protocols between health agencies and policing agencies about when each of them should really be taking the lead role. Obviously, enforcement of health law is primarily a job for health authorities, but the involvement of some of the worst organised criminal gangs in this market means that, of course, you do need the support of policing when there are very serious criminals involved. But I'm really pleased that the level of cooperation between those agencies at all jurisdictional levels. What we're doing today is bringing money to the table and saying to the states and territories, we will help you finance an increase in enforcement operations and an increase in prosecutions.
 
JOURNALIST: Can you give us an example of how it'll actually look in terms of enforcement with police? Is it police on the ground? Is it Border Force here seizing packets of cigarettes? Can you sort of give us a bit of an example?
 
BUTLER: Yeah, we've got funding that is set aside for the federal agencies, Federal Police, the Criminal Intelligence Commission, AUSTRAC and obviously the Border Force as well, to lift their resourcing of the work that they do for Border Force, to seize at the border, to share intelligence with partner countries about trade that might be heading our way. To look at ways in which you intercept trade before it actually leaves those source countries. Some of that is quite specific funding for the federal agencies. In terms of states and territories, what we'll be doing is asking them what they need from us. Some jurisdictions have already said to us, they need some additional resources for their DPPs, their Director of Public Prosecutions, to start bringing these criminals to court and enforcing the penalties that are very clearly there in law. Others might need some additional resources for enforcement operations, going from shop to shop and starting to clamp down on them. We'll take a pretty flexible approach to that and assist states and territories in the areas that they tell us they need.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you think some of the alleged ring leaders need to be locked up? Last year, we saw a huge operation in Melbourne. Victoria Police arrested an alleged ringleader. He was bailed that night. I mean, it must be pretty frustrating for Victoria Police?
 
BUTLER: It's frustrating for everyone, I think. Ultimately, the enforcement of these laws is a matter for courts. We want to make sure that states have every resource to bring people before the courts. For courts to see these criminals in their docks, and to have the opportunity to enforce the laws that the Commonwealth and states and territories have passed to reinforce the seriousness of these crimes. This is a huge impost on the community. Melbourne has felt it more than any other part of Australia, but it is spreading right across the country. This is causing real distress, real harm, real danger to the Australian community, as the criminal gangs battle it out for control of this market, this liquidity market. But as I've said time and time again, for those who think this is a harmless trade, it is bankrolling some vile activities that are put in place by these criminal gangs using the money that they earn from illegal cigarettes.
 
JOURNALIST: I saw an incident a few months ago, not too far from here. Are you concerned that will escalate this tit for tat war between the gangs?
 
BUTLER: Yeah, I am concerned at that. I think everyone is concerned. I think police are concerned in all states and territories and at a federal level. The more this market grows, the more lucrative criminal gains this market is going to be, the more they're going to plough into it, the more they're going to try and take control of it. We've got to change that risk and that reward. We've got to shut off the funds where we can identify profits. We've got to confiscate those profits and bring these people to court. That is what today's package is all about.
 
JOURNALIST: Will the government recommend funding the CPRS at the Victorian Children’s hospital?
 
BUTLER: I think I'm aware of that project that was funded on a time-limited basis some years ago. If that's the project I'm thinking of, it was funded to set up a clinical trials hub. It's still got funding to go, it's still got an evaluation of the project to deliver to the Commonwealth. I think that's due to be delivered over coming months, and obviously we're looking at that evaluation and see what the project delivered. It was always intended as a fixed-term funding arrangement by the former government. In the meantime, we've made some really great strides of setting up the national clinical trials one-stop shop. This has devilled the country for many, many years. I first dealt with it when I was first in the health portfolio, not last decade, but the decade before last. Finally, we've delivered a seamless architecture for the conduct of clinical trials, not just here in Victoria, but right across the country, which we're determined to deliver.
 
JOURNALIST: Can I ask on tariffs, they're coming into effect today. Are you concerned about them, worried, frustrated that the White House is bringing these tariffs in today?   
 
BUTLER: We're obviously deeply disappointed by this decision from the Trump Administration. I think it's a bad decision. I think it's bad for America. The steel and the aluminium we export to the US underpins really good jobs in that country and that economy, and it also is important part of some of those areas we cooperate so deeply in, like defence. It's obviously also a bad decision for Australian industry and Australian jobs that export to the US. What I think is striking about it is we've had a free trade agreement between Australia and the US now for more than 20 years, it served both of our countries very well. Indeed, it served America well. They sell more product to us than we sell to them. We'll continue to fight for an exemption. We've been fighting very hard. Obviously, this administration has only been in for 7 weeks, but they seem much more determined about this policy than perhaps the first Trump administration did. It must be remembered, that Malcolm Turnbull's government took 9 months to obtain the exemption that they did several years ago. This is obviously very bad news, disappointing news. We think it's a bad decision, but we're not going to give up. We're going to continue to press the case as hard as we possibly can with the US Administration that there is interest in Australia and in the US for an exemption to be granted.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister Butler, on the trial hub program, have you considered that renewal of funding?
 
BUTLER: No, we haven't received the evaluation that was that was a critical part of that project. It was a fixed-term project and evaluation is an important part of that. The evaluation will be delivered at some time in the future, as I understand it.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you know the company that's doing the evaluation? The independent company?
 
BUTLER: No, I'm not aware of which company's doing the evaluation. That's a matter that was part of the contract with the agencies, I think that was led by Alfred Health, if I remember rightly, but one of the Victorian health agencies. They engaged that, as I understand, to deliver a report in due course.
 
JOURNALIST: Do you value the program?
 
BUTLER: Let's have a look at the evaluation. Anything we could do to lift clinical trials in Australia is a good thing. This was a fixed-term funding commitment by the former government, as I said. I know I've been working on trying to get a seamless national architecture for clinical trials since I was first the parliamentary secretary for health in 2009 and did some work for the government then to establish a one-stop shop for clinical trials. Now, finally, we'll be able to deliver that. It’s taken hard work led by the former chief scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, to bring jurisdictions like, particularly Victoria and New South Wales, to the party to cooperate in a national architecture. I'm confident, as we deliver that, that's going to really lift the access that patients have, most importantly, to clinical trials. Thanks very much.