AARON PATRICK: Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers needs to stop creating work for organised crime
'I'm not proposing to cut taxes on cigarettes to make them cheaper for people,' Mr Chalmers said.
The Treasurer should read the news.
On Tuesday, the NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police and Border Force arrested what they said was a methamphetamine and cocaine importation gang in Sydney. Among the stash seized were 20 million cigarettes, allegedly smuggled into Australia to avoid $42 in taxes on each packet of 30.
The arrests, and others before it, show the unintended consequence of a decades-long campaign to reduce cancer rates by driving up the cost of smoking to prohibitive levels. Cigarettes are so expensive, organised crime has taken up a business opportunity to undercut the legal market.
The same day as the arrests, NSW Premier Chris Minns pointed out that his Government is going to have to spend $300 million extra fighting a problem caused by Federal tax policy.
This means 'allocating police officers that are currently working on domestic violence cases and youth crime cases,' he said.
Even though smoking rates are plummeting, there seems to be a tobacconist in every shopping district. How do they survive when legal cigarette sales are falling? And why are they frequently the target of crime?
After a shop in Preston, Melbourne, was firebombed last November, residents reported seeing suspicious people in and nearby the shop at irregular hours.
'Went into grab some Powerades on a hot day in Feb and old mate behind the counter had a unit of a heavily tatted 'friend' sitting near the door watching everyone coming through,' one person wrote on social media.
Six years ago, the then treasurer, Scott Morrison, introduced what was called the 'Black Economy Package — combating illicit tobacco'.
Assurances from the Federal Treasury the plan would defeat criminals were wrong. The opposite happened.
Excise from tobacco sales peaked the following year, and fell every year since. This year, the tax will raise $9.7 billion, down 40 per cent from 2019-20, when the excise was half as much as today. Tax receipts will fall 27 per cent next financial year, the Budget forecasts.
The figures show the tax is so high it is counterproductive. Instead of making glib comments about lowering the cost of cigarettes, Mr Chalmers would deserve more respect if he acknowledged the problem and worked with the states on a solution.
Before many more tobacconists go up in smoke.
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Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Peaceful approach ensured bridge march was a success
I walked the bridge with about 90,000 fellow citizens on Sunday, and it was utterly inspiring (' 90,000 halt city with march across Harbour Bridge ', August 3). There was no disruption of any kind, despite police warnings of a 'perilous' situation. Far from it. There were all kinds of people – the disabled, older people with walkers or scooters, parents, children and babies, and I didn't hear an angry word exchanged. Mostly the chanting and the posters were various versions of 'free Palestine' and 'stop the war in Gaza'. There were anti-Israel messages, too, and some may have struck a discordant note, but no one spoke out against any other protester. It was truly a peace rally. As for the 'catastrophe' the police warned of, the only danger I could see was few piles of horse manure, courtesy of the police mounted unit. Carolyn Quadrio, Randwick NSW Police acting deputy commissioner Peter McKenna said Sunday's Harbour Bridge march came 'very close to a catastrophic situation'. Yes, it did, but the peaceful marchers saved the situation. Most crowd catastrophes involve pushing people into a confined space or a dead end. The march had both, but worse. Police made marchers turn around and walk back directly into the oncoming marchers. The police could not have set up a better plan for a catastrophe. I know they'll blame the organisers, but if the police and Premier Chris Minns had read the room, they would have understood the heat of public opinion about Gaza and know that thousands were going to march and planned accordingly. It could not have been planned and executed worse. John Clark, Terrey Hills So Peter McKenna claims police were 'forced' to turn people around on the Harbour Bridge. I disagree. The problems were caused by closing Bradfield Highway and leaving only the narrow Milsons Point exit open. This meant that people in wheelchairs, walking frames and parents with strollers had to navigate narrow flights of stairs. Sending random text messages and using loudhailers to tell a large crowd to turn back on itself is a recipe for disaster. Joanna Mendelssohn, Dulwich Hill As one of people on the Harbour Bridge on Sunday I would love to know what situation was so close to 'catastrophic' that the NSW Police decided to trap the crowds in the confined space of the bridge with no way back or forward. We were stopped dead, with thousands coming behind us. Elderly people and parents of young children were visibly distressed. Police texts said stop and await directions, but none were given. Security guards had no answers for people asking where we were supposed to go to avoid being crushed. What was so catastrophic on the other side that we couldn't walk over the bridge to disperse? Police took a very real risk with public safety. It was chaos. Luckily for police, the crowds were patient and took good care of each other, focused as they were on protesting without being sidetracked by police mismanagement or silly games. David Snell, Enmore I wish to thank those who crossed the Harbour Bridge with me. Their good-natured attitude prevented a disaster after the police decided to stop the progress at the north side of the bridge while the majority of the people were still crossing. The police panicked, the public did not. The police handling of the situation displayed poor planning, poor decision-making and poor communication. The announcements from Polair could not be deciphered. The SMS messages were ambiguous and unhelpful. The calm response of the marchers avoided a disaster. Siobhan Mullany, Pyrmont Alexandra Smith states that Sydney took a stand for humanity without turning its back on the Jewish community (' This was the day Sydney took a stand for humanity ', August 4). However, a real march for humanity would not have ignored the hostages still captive and starving in Gaza. It would have called for peace, rather than sanctions, intifada and 'death'. It would have called out Hamas for their acts of barbarity. It would not have platformed the Ayatollah, nor displayed swastikas and Hamas' inverted triangle of death. These acts and omissions meant this was less a march for humanity but more a march of hate. David Ziegler, Dover Heights The leadership of the Palestine Action Group has proved to be most impressive. Having the boldness to target the Harbour Bridge, galvanising interest groups and the media, defying the premier, convincing the Supreme Court not to interfere, forcing the police and transport authorities into a last-minute scramble and convincing nearly 100,000 to come out in the driving rain. And the prize? Pictures beamed across the world of tens of thousands marching across the bridge alongside the black, red, green and white of Palestine, effectively snubbing Israel and demonstrating to an international audience Australians' solidarity with the people of Gaza. You would have to say 'well played'. Doug Walker, Baulkham Hills My wife and I joined the March for Gaza on the Harbour Bridge. We were very impressed with the atmosphere and empathy of the marchers. A statement from organiser Josh Lees that it was 'a beautiful, inspiring outpouring of humanity' really captured it. The police claim that it was close to catastrophe was just ridiculous, with the only problem arising when the police stopped the march and turned people around. Even this was resolved peacefully and calmly. I sincerely hope our political leaders were paying attention. Bill Munro, Point Frederick I took part in the march with my family and a friend aged 84 with a prosthetic leg. He did well on the long walk over the bridge. However, when we were suddenly ordered to turn around and walk back he was unable to do so, owing to extreme fatigue. The crowd were tremendously well-behaved and there was no sign at all of 'possible catastrophe'. A policeman I told about my friend's condition asked him very rudely why he had bothered to come at all. We then somehow ended up in the wrong queue for North Sydney station, so I asked a woman officer if my friend could enter near the top as he was exhausted. In a very officious manner, she told him to join the end of the queue again 200 metres away. Another old lady arrived and she was told the same thing. I found the police very rude and unkind to elderly people who needed help. Patricia McCudden, Oatley Despite the foul weather, nearly 100,000 protesters marched in support of the Palestinian cause, but police decided to block the exit on the north side and turn people around into the path of those approaching. They stood idly by as people were not clearly informed to what was happening. There were young children and people in wheelchairs on the march, yet there was no attempt from the police to mitigate the risk of a crush. I'm very disappointed with the NSW police force. Kenny Macintyre, North Ryde On behalf of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, thank you for Monday's front page. In a media climate of distortion and silence, the Herald showed a city united for humanity, with Australians of many hues and backgrounds grieving yet resolute. You gave moral clarity to a moment many would rather blur. As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens, we urge you and your readers to support calls for an immediate, protected humanitarian corridor to deliver food, medicine and dignity to a besieged people. Thank you again to the editorial team, reporters, photographers and all who helped produce the front cover and the accompanying articles. Keysar Trad, Yagoona Coal mine proposal ignores reality I was gobsmacked to read in Monday's Herald a NSW government notice asking for a 'market interest test' on exploration proposals for a new coal mine about six kilometres north-west of Helensburgh, just outside Sydney. Quite apart from this proposal being under or close to Sydney's water catchment and dam, and much too close to Helensburgh and the M1 highway, it seems to be in the middle of valuable and reasonably undisturbed bushland. Probably not national park, but maybe it should be. Anyway, in the global warming disaster unfolding around us, it is utter madness for the Minns government to be assessing any proposal for a new coal mine. What planet is Chris Minns on? Not ours, it seems. Dave Pyett, Maroubra Once again, Chris Minns's lack of judgment casts shadows on his suitability to be premier, backflips on regulating the gambling industry, backflips on removing shark nets, watering down tenants' protections, and now an implacable opposition to the march on Sunday. Somebody in Labor should tap him on the shoulder and suggest it's time he 'spent more time with his family'. Nicholas Triggs, Katoomba Fish market access fail As a local, I'm delighted that a majority of leaseholders have signed for space in the new Sydney Fish Markets building (' Breakthrough in toxic dispute over Sydney Fish Market', August 4). However, I remain concerned about its accessibility for others. It will be several years before a ferry operates from the CBD, and while the light rail provides some public transport, there is at present no bus service to the site. Of even more concern is the proposal to close the Bank Street exit from the first Anzac Bridge off-ramp, which provides access to people driving from the western suburbs. In addition, private tour buses/taxis travelling from the east will be unable to turn into the pick-up/drop-off area on Bridge Road. Instead, they will have to make a long detour around the narrow streets of Glebe to approach the pick-up zone from the west. All efforts to meet with Transport for NSW to discuss these issues have failed. Elizabeth Elenius, Pyrmont Action Shore's maths lesson I am compelled to respond to the letter of Shore headmaster John Collier (Letters, August 4). Shore School is a registered charity. An extract from the financial returns lodged with the Charities Register (Annual Information Statement 2024) shows Shore has assets of $371,220,883. It had a gross income of $102,703,867. More than $6,000,000 of that revenue came from the government. The extract also shows total expenses of $98,054,561. From the maths that I learnt at public school, that equates to a profit after interest expenses of about $4,800,000 – hardly small. In the same period, the grants and donations made by Shore are recorded in its financial statements as $0. I think it could afford to pay rates and extend a little charity to those less fortunate. Rob Siebert, Skennars Head I live close to Shore School and drive past it most days. The school's lands are more than enough already. If John Collier and his school truly want to 'serve the community' meaningfully, what they should be doing is converting one or two of the many football grounds there to off-street parking, so that Alpha Road, on the school's western boundary, can be a clearway on weekends as it is during peak-hour traffic, instead of becoming the gridlock created solely by cars belonging to parents of pupils keen on delivering, then watching, then driving home their little darlings from their game of cricket or rugby or the like. Oh, but that would deny the school use of a portion of its rates-free land and it would actually put some of it to 'community service'. Can't have that. Denis Williams, Sydney Heritage? Here it is There is a site on the Georges River that should also have been heritage listed (' The green spaces redefining city's heritage', August 4). With its large areas of remnant native vegetation, it is a natural landscape. With its house built in 1910, an orchard, a garden, a vegetable garden and a series of cultural plantings still remaining, it is a cultural landscape. With five sites of First Nations' significance, it also has Aboriginal heritage. But efforts by the community to get Glenlee in Lugarno heritage-listed have fallen on deaf ears. So it is more than passing strange to read that the Heritage Penny Sharpe, says: 'We're always looking at expanding the [heritage] register.' Doesn't this waterfront site also deserve to be 'cared for forever'? Shouldn't these 'various elements that come together so we can tell the stories of our past as we head into the future' be preserved? Or does this prime waterfront site just deserve to be developed? Anne Wagstaff, Oatley The vital question Reading Kayla Olaya and Kate Aubusson's article (' The question medics must now ask could save a sick child's life ', August 4) took me back to my childhood, when my mother took my three-year-old sister to the GP every day for four days with tummy pains, only to be dismissed and sent home. The doctor told mum my sister was acting up and nothing was wrong. Luckily, a locum was on duty on day five and sent my sister to hospital, recognising how sick she was. Alas, it was too late and the dear child died of a burst appendix the next day. If the doctor had asked my mum 'are you worried it might be getting worse?' I can only dream of the different family life we may have had, without that dark pall of grief. Julie Garrard, Leichhardt Back to school, Barnaby Barnaby Joyce has latched onto recent unusual snowfalls in his electorate of New England to rubbish climate change. You know it makes sense. Sadly, he must have been otherwise engaged when his geography or science teachers at Riverview explained the difference between weather and climate. Phil Armour, Yass Serious joke The funniest joke I've heard all year is from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt: 'Neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.' Hilarious. Alan Marel, North Curl Curl
Perth Now
9 hours ago
- Perth Now
New details of alleged Ibrahim hit attempt
One of two men charged over an alleged botched plot to assassinate John Ibrahim has been denied bail after a court heard police found petrol and the keys to stolen cars in the vehicle they were using, and that the man had been charged over two alleged prison fights. Yousif Zrayka appeared in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Monday in an attempt to be released on bail after he was arrested over the alleged failed hit of the well-known Sydney figure. Mr Zrayka, 22, and his co-accused, Siaosi Maeakafa Tupoulahi, were both charged with conspiracy to murder the Kings Cross nightlife tsar after they were arrested in Sydney's eastern suburbs in July last year. Neither man has entered a plea. Mr Zrayka is alleged to have been the driver in the botched assassination attempt on Mr Ibrahim in Dover Heights, the court was told. The court was told on Monday that the two men allegedly stopped two black Range Rovers while they were looking for Mr Ibrahim. Police allege Mr Zrayka was behind the wheel when Mr Tupoulahi pointed a gun at a woman who was driving her young child in one of the Range Rovers. The men are alleged to have sped off before a brief police pursuit which ended after the pair got stuck in traffic. John Ibrahim was the subject of an alleged assassination plot. NewsWire/Christian Gilles. Credit: News Corp Australia Footage of an alleged failed botched assassination on John Ibrahim has been revealed. NSW Police Credit: Supplied Mr Zrayka has been charged with a string of offences including conspiracy to murder, two counts of using an offensive weapon, two counts of possessing an unauthorised pistol, taking and driving a conveyance without the consent of the owner and driving a motor vehicle knowing police were in pursuit. He has yet to enter a plea. Mr Zrayka in November last year made a failed bail application to the Supreme Court but applied again on Monday arguing he was not receiving adequate healthcare in prison. Barrister Ertunc Ozen SC, acting for Mr Zrayka, told the court that his client had been diagnosed with sickle cell disease and was complaining of liver pain and was jaundiced. Mr Zrayka offered to abide by stringent bail conditions including house arrest and his family and friends offered $2m in property and money as surety. Mr Ozen described the alleged offence as poorly planned, noting that the men were stationed outside Mr Ibrahim's home at 8.30am on a Monday. 'Their escape planning seems to have been to somehow make it down Old South Head Road at peak hour,' Mr Ozen said. 'The police facts, perhaps mercifully, describe it as being at speeds of less than 50km/h with stopping and starting due to peak hour traffic.' Police found loaded pistols in the vehicle. NSW Police. Credit: News Corp Australia Police also found containers of petrol in the car. NSW Police. Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Ozen argued that the evidence fell short of proving a plan to murder Mr Ibrahim. The court heard that two loaded pistols were found in the vehicle and that the two men were wearing gloves and balaclavas. But Mr Ozen argued their presence could be consistent with a kidnapping or extortion attempt. His legal team also argued that Mr Zrayka was unlikely to go to trial until late next year. Acting Justice Derek Price denied the bail application, with the court hearing a fuel canister containing petrol and the keys to other stolen vehicles were found in the car with Mr Zrayka and Mr Tupoulahi. 'The Crown case is that the intended use of the fuel within the canisters was to destroy the stolen vehicle after the offence was committed,' Acting Justice Price said. The stolen vehicles, which had cloned registration plates, were found parked around the Sydney metropolitan area, the court was told on Monday. The Dover Heights street where the alleged assassination attempt took place. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia The two men allegedly stopped two black Range Rovers. NewsWire/Nikki Short. Credit: News Corp Australia The court was told on Monday that Mr Zrayka had also been charged over two alleged affrays while in custody. 'Viewing all of the alleged conduct in combination, I assess a very high risk, notwithstanding stringent bail conditions imposed, that the applicant will not comply with them and he will commit a serious offence of violence,' Acting Justice Price said as he denied Mr Zrayka's bail application. 'I assess a very high risk of danger to the community.' Mr Zrayka and Mr Tupoulahi will appear in court again later this month.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Younger voters put negative gearing back on the agenda
Productivity is shaping up to be the word of the month for the federal government. With the big economic reform roundtable fast approaching, is it time for Labor to show some progress and make a move on changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax reform? And two years after the failure of the Voice referendum, the Prime Minister has a new plan for First Nations Australians. But what was left off the agenda at Garma? Patricia Karvelas and Jacob Greber break it all down on Politics Now. Got a burning question? Got a burning political query? Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@
