‘Wanted him dead': Bali ambush survivor leaves hospital as manhunt continues
Radmanovic's wife, Jazmyn Gourdeas, who was also in the three-bedroom villa during the attack, told police she 'did not recognise the men'.
Gourdeas said she had fallen asleep about midnight in the locked villa before being woken by gunfire and her husband's screams.
Local media reported that Gourdeas covered her eyes with a blanket before peeking, and described the two attackers as wearing bright orange jackets and dark black helmets. Another woman staying at the villa with Ghanim reportedly heard loud bangs and saw the masked men fleeing.
Radmanovic and Ghanim had been staying at the villa in Bali for a couple of months with their partners and one other person. But police said the group had so far been uncooperative with detectives as Ghanim recovered. He was released from hospital on Sunday, seen being pushed out in a wheelchair with his leg heavily bandaged.
Ariasandy said police suspected the gunmen were Australians and that Radmanovic, rather than Ghanim, was likely to have been the main target considering the injuries inflicted.
'Based on the wounds of the dead victim, two shots to the left chest, they wanted him dead,' he said.
'Until we can ask [Ghamin] questions, we cannot verify the situation yet. It's an ongoing investigation.'
Ariasandy said Indonesian police could not seek assistance from the Australian Federal Police until they confirmed the identities of the perpetrators.
When that request is made, it will trigger a tightly controlled process in Australia, governed by long-standing federal police guidelines on crimes that carry the death penalty.
An AFP spokesperson told this masthead that the case was automatically deemed 'sensitive' because premeditated murder carries the death penalty in Indonesia.
Any co-operation requires oversight from a special 'Sensitive Investigations Oversight Board' and must be personally approved by an AFP deputy commissioner. The decision requires them to weigh the seriousness of the crime against the likelihood of a death sentence being imposed.
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Crucially, if an arrest is made, the AFP would require direct approval from the minister of home affairs before sharing information with Indonesian authorities.
'The AFP has not received a formal request for assistance in this matter,' a spokesman confirmed Monday evening.
Gun crime is rare in Indonesia, and police said they were investigating where the weapons had come from.
'We are still investigating. Is it an assembled gun, organic, or hybrid? We don't know yet,' Ariasandy said. 'Investigators are still investigating the projectiles, and there will be ballistics tests as well.'
'Assembled' means crudely made local guns, 'organic' refers to guns assigned to police and army officers, and 'hybrid' means a modified gun.
More than a decade ago in Melbourne, Ghanim pleaded guilty to reckless conduct endangering life when he encouraged a friend to fire a sawn-off shotgun at a man on a street following a dispute between the pair regarding a woman.
The man shot that day in 2014 suffered 22 separate puncture wounds to his head, face, neck and abdomen, and some shotgun pellets were unable to be removed. Ghanim also pleaded guilty to growing 10 cannabis plants police found at his house in Lalor.
While on bail for that incident, Ghanim also scuffled with a Melbourne mechanic in October 2015 and fired a bullet that grazed the mechanic's head. Ghanim pleaded guilty to reckless conduct endangering life, firearms charges and aggravated burglary over the incident.
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West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Nearly half of Australians fell victim to a cybercrime in 2024 despite increased confidence in technology
Nearly half of Australians fell victim to a cybercrime in 2024 despite more people feeling they were confident at using technology than the previous year. According to the Cybercrime in Australia 2024 report released on Wednesday, 47.4 per cent or respondents said they had fallen victim to a cybercrime in the previous 12 months. It was a slight rise from the 46.6 per cent who said they had been a victim of cybercrime in the previous report. The most prevalent cybercrime reported was online abuse or harassment with 26.8 per cent of respondents saying they had fallen victim to it. Nearly 22 per cent of respondents said they were a victim of an identity crime while 20.6 per cent had faced malware attacks. Frauds and scams impacted 9.5 per cent of respondents while 25 per cent had been notified of a data breach of one of their accounts. Young Australians, First Nations peoples and those in the LGBTQIA+ community were all at a higher risk of digital attacks. Australian Institute of Criminology research manager and report author Anthony Morgan said despite a high numbers of victims, reporting remained low. 'What we found is that overall rates of victimisation from cyber crime remain high, reporting to police remains low and a large proportion of victims are negatively impacted by cyber crime,' he said. 'We still have room to improve in terms of people's use of online safety strategies.' Mr Morgan said the impacts of cyber crime went beyond the financial side of things. 'We often measure cyber crime in terms of financial losses, but when you survey the community, you get a different picture from what you see in reported data,' he said. 'Actually cyber crime within the broader community is a high volume, relatively low yield crime, so most people don't lose large amounts of money but obviously a small proportion lose very large amounts of money. 'What we show in our survey is that the harms extend well beyond those financial losses, one in four respondents to the survey said they were negatively impacted by cyber crime that includes practical harms, social harms, health impacts, legal harms, as well as the financial losses.' Despite the rise in cybercrime, an increase in respondents said they had either a moderate, high or very high ability to use technology, rising from 88.4 per cent to 89.2 per cent over 12 months. Mr Morgan said it was important to not be complacent, even if you think you're well versed in using technology. 'We know that being more confident online and having what might be called digital literacy, it doesn't protect you from falling victim,' he said. 'What increases the likelihood of falling victim is how you behave online, the sorts of websites you visit, the sorts of activities you engage in online, and whether you're taking those safe steps to protect yourself. 'That's what makes a difference for people's online safety.' Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security Burke urged Australians to take steps to make themselves more safe online. 'Keeping Australians safe online is a national priority — and this research helps ensure our response is evidence-based, targeted, and effective. 'Remember these three simple steps to stay safe online – always install the latest software updates, use unique passphrases, and enable multifactor authentication wherever it's available.'
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
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Three separate tobacconists. Three packs of black market cigarettes. $15 each. Cash only. No questions asked. An illegal vape at one of those NSW south coast businesses was a little pricier at $65. The only question was what flavour was preferred. With the three packs of Manchester 20s and the Ali Barbar 'Blueberry Blast' vape in hand, two police officers walking the beat are approached. They say to take it up with health authorities. Concerns are then raised with Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain's office staff. They promise to raise the issue with the federal minister. But for Cobargo Hotel owner Dave Allen, it's the policies of the government that have led to the exponential growth in illicit tobacco. He isn't the only one with that opinion. Former federal police and Australian Border Force officer Rohan Pike says the government's tobacco excise was directly responsible for the "billion-dollar" black market. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market," Mr Pike told ACM. However, federal MPs on the South Coast are not backing down from the "importance" of the tobacco excise in curbing smoking rates. ACM caught up with multiple voices on this widespread and damaging issue. It's also one on which we want to hear more from our readers. Comments are open at the bottom of the article, or email Mr Allen has been trying to get action on the widespread sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes across the South Coast for several years, but has been hitting brick walls at every turn. In order to dissuade smokers, tobacco prices have been driven by a federal excise topping $1.40 a cigarette, with the average pack of 20 costing about $40. Mr Allen said a further increase in the excise was coming in September to take that figure even higher. However, while the excise had increased from $16 to $28 a pack in six years, total revenue was going backward as consumers turned to the black market. And while once thought of as a potential avenue for quitting more-harmful cigarettes, vapes have been banned and only permitted to be sold under certain circumstances through pharmacies. "It's just madness," Mr Allen said. "None of this makes any sense. "As a community member, as a business owner, as a parent, I don't see any upside to any of this at all, with any of these policies." The damaging health outcomes of smoking are widely known - increased risk of cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic respiratory issues and reduced life expectancy among others. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in Australia and is estimated to kill more than 24,000 Australians each year. Vapes and e-cigarettes are not much better. Their use has been linked to permanent lung damage, harm to developing adolescent brains, affected mental health, and the risk of poisoning and DNA damage from toxic chemicals contained within (other than the highly addictive nicotine). However, the growth in illicit tobacco products and illegal vapes has had a devastating effect on the small business sector as well. Venues like the Cobargo Hotel, which sell cigarettes legally, have experienced significant drops in revenue at the same time as copping an ever-increasing cost of doing business. "We regularly turned over $50,000 a week in our bottle shop - that's now down to $35-40,000 because we've lost tobacco sales," Mr Allen said. "They've gone to about 30 or 40 per cent [sales] on what they were. "And we've lost so much foot traffic because people aren't coming in to get their cigarettes, so they're not getting their six-pack of beer, or bottle of wine, or their loaf of bread or meal or whatever else they would normally get. "We worked out it's costing us in profit about $2000 a week." There have also been issues with insurance premiums and coverage for anyone selling tobacco amid alleged links to organised crime and hundreds of fire-bombings of premises in capital cities. "Anyone who sells tobacco, they're starting to just clamp down, either refusing coverage or jumping it up again," Mr Allen said. "If our sales continue to plummet, I'll just get to the point where it's [a tobacco licence] not worth having. "So then the only places people will be able to get tobacco are the illegal places. "And even if they do have this big crackdown and they start shutting some of these shops down, the crooks just change the business model. "They'll go to a garage, they'll go to houses, they'll go to street dealers, they'll go to Snapchat dealers. So it'll be just like illicit drugs." Rohan Pike is a former federal police officer who helped set up the Australian Border Force's tobacco strike team in 2015. He now runs a consulting firm with advice on illicit international trade as one of its key activities. "I was among the first to discover how big the problem really was," Mr Pike told ACM. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market." That market share has a significant impact on federal government excise revenue, he said. While the federal government looks to curb smoking figures by ever-increasing excises, the revenue is plummeting as consumers turn to the cheaper illicit options. "Tobacco excise revenue was around $16.5billion four or five years ago," Mr Pike said. "It's $7.4billion now and could go significantly lower than that. "It's just fallen off a cliff - the government's approach is failing at every level." Submissions to a parliamentary inquiry into the illegal tobacco trade close this week (August 15), with Mr Allen and Mr Pike among those making written submissions. "We're not going to be able to arrest our way out of this," Mr Pike said. "The government is looking for policy 'wins' without any care for the consequences. "You could bring in a licensing regime and store closures. But, for example, if all petrol stations in one town were found to be selling illicit cigarettes and get closed down, what's going to happen then?" The focus on supply was also a bone of contention for Mr Allen. "This whole problem would be solved relatively quickly if we took the approach of treating smoking as a health issue and implemented policies that promote harm minimisation and reducing demand, rather than trying to crush supply, an approach which has failed on all levels," he said. "We want to get smoking rates down, absolutely. But you've got to do it in a sensible way. "Treat smoking as a health problem, like we should be doing with drugs, not as a compliance issue "We can't control the supply. You've just seen that. "It's like trying to put the genie back in the bottle." Margaret (not her real name) is a Far South Coast smoker who now sources her fix through illicit sellers. She told ACM she used to spend around $300-400 a week on cigarettes. Now she can get a carton of 10 20-packs for $60. "I kind of wish I'd never started, of course. But I've been smoking for over 60 years and I'm not going to stop now. "This is the only way I can continue. "I don't enjoy supporting criminal gangs, but I think the government's been so greedy, they force people into it," Margaret said. "It's got nothing to do with health now, or trying to dissuade people because of its health hazard - which I know it is - it's just revenue raising. "And it's forcing people like me, who are law-abiding people, to go and break the law." Margaret said the government's "greed" was hurting the people least able to afford it. "It's mainly socially disadvantaged people that smoke, sadly, and they're the ones that are being forced into this situation. "I don't really feel guilty about it. I'm sort of angry at the government for being so greedy and making the price so ridiculous." She had a message for businesses struggling with the loss of legitimate sales and ever-increasing costs. "I think that the people retailing [tobacco products] at the correct price, they just should stop stocking them actually." Margaret said. "I mean, cigarettes have never been a big big profit maker. And they're expensive to have, like, you've got to pay a special premium on tobacco in your insurance policy. "So I guess they should just stop selling them." ACM asked federal MPs on the South Coast what the government was doing to halt the trade in illicit tobacco products and whether it agreed with calls that the excise increases were having detrimental effects. A spokesperson for Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain said the tobacco excise was "an important public health measure to encourage people to give up smoking". The spokesperson argued that part of the reason the excise revenue was down was because more people had given up smoking. However, they also acknowledged "the significant problem of illegal tobacco" was another part of the reason. While Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips was silent on the excise issue, she said the government had a "comprehensive approach to tobacco control under the National Tobacco Strategy". "I understand the impact illegal tobacco and vaping can have on local families, especially young people, so I'm really pleased that our government is committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia," Ms Phillips told ACM. "We're boosting capacity at our borders and have invested $350million to tackle the black market in the last two years alone." Ms McBain's office spokesperson said the federal government was working with the states and territories when it came to enforcement, "resourcing states to undertake more prosecutions". "The Albanese government is taking on Big Tobacco on the one hand, and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes and illicit tobacco as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," they said. "We are committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia and continue to invest into boosting capacity to combat illicit trade at the border and deliver a coordinated, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response. "And the government recently appointed the interim Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner (ITEC) within the Australian Border Force to support the development and implementation of national strategies for the enforcement of illicit tobacco." As NSW Parliament resumed last week, among the first orders of business was the introduction of legislation to "disrupt" the illicit tobacco and illegal vape business model. Described as "the toughest in the country", the new laws include forced shop closures, and maximum penalties of $1.5million and seven years' imprisonment for the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park also said the government would be looking into the option of making it an offence for landlords to knowingly lease to illegal tobacco and vape suppliers. "We understand the community's frustration at the growth of the illicit tobacco market," he said. "These will be among the toughest penalties in the country and will send a clear message to bad actors that selling illegal tobacco and vaping goods will not be tolerated in NSW. "We are disrupting the business model of the large-scale criminals who profit from addiction, tax evasion, and putting young people at risk. "This isn't just a serious health issue, it's about fairness, because these illegal operators are undercutting small businesses that are doing the right thing," Mr Park said. Premier Chris Minns was on record calling for the federal government to reduce the tobacco excise. He argued the significant increase in the cost of legal cigarettes had pushed consumers to the black market. Mr Park said he wanted to take action regardless. "I don't have the time, nor do I have the patience, to wait around to see if there's going to be any more movement on a federal excise," he said. If you think a tobacco or e-cigarette retailing law has been broken by a retailer in NSW, you can report this to your local Public Health Unit by calling 1300 066 055. Three separate tobacconists. Three packs of black market cigarettes. $15 each. Cash only. No questions asked. An illegal vape at one of those NSW south coast businesses was a little pricier at $65. The only question was what flavour was preferred. With the three packs of Manchester 20s and the Ali Barbar 'Blueberry Blast' vape in hand, two police officers walking the beat are approached. They say to take it up with health authorities. Concerns are then raised with Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain's office staff. They promise to raise the issue with the federal minister. But for Cobargo Hotel owner Dave Allen, it's the policies of the government that have led to the exponential growth in illicit tobacco. He isn't the only one with that opinion. Former federal police and Australian Border Force officer Rohan Pike says the government's tobacco excise was directly responsible for the "billion-dollar" black market. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market," Mr Pike told ACM. However, federal MPs on the South Coast are not backing down from the "importance" of the tobacco excise in curbing smoking rates. ACM caught up with multiple voices on this widespread and damaging issue. It's also one on which we want to hear more from our readers. Comments are open at the bottom of the article, or email Mr Allen has been trying to get action on the widespread sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes across the South Coast for several years, but has been hitting brick walls at every turn. In order to dissuade smokers, tobacco prices have been driven by a federal excise topping $1.40 a cigarette, with the average pack of 20 costing about $40. Mr Allen said a further increase in the excise was coming in September to take that figure even higher. However, while the excise had increased from $16 to $28 a pack in six years, total revenue was going backward as consumers turned to the black market. And while once thought of as a potential avenue for quitting more-harmful cigarettes, vapes have been banned and only permitted to be sold under certain circumstances through pharmacies. "It's just madness," Mr Allen said. "None of this makes any sense. "As a community member, as a business owner, as a parent, I don't see any upside to any of this at all, with any of these policies." The damaging health outcomes of smoking are widely known - increased risk of cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic respiratory issues and reduced life expectancy among others. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in Australia and is estimated to kill more than 24,000 Australians each year. Vapes and e-cigarettes are not much better. Their use has been linked to permanent lung damage, harm to developing adolescent brains, affected mental health, and the risk of poisoning and DNA damage from toxic chemicals contained within (other than the highly addictive nicotine). However, the growth in illicit tobacco products and illegal vapes has had a devastating effect on the small business sector as well. Venues like the Cobargo Hotel, which sell cigarettes legally, have experienced significant drops in revenue at the same time as copping an ever-increasing cost of doing business. "We regularly turned over $50,000 a week in our bottle shop - that's now down to $35-40,000 because we've lost tobacco sales," Mr Allen said. "They've gone to about 30 or 40 per cent [sales] on what they were. "And we've lost so much foot traffic because people aren't coming in to get their cigarettes, so they're not getting their six-pack of beer, or bottle of wine, or their loaf of bread or meal or whatever else they would normally get. "We worked out it's costing us in profit about $2000 a week." There have also been issues with insurance premiums and coverage for anyone selling tobacco amid alleged links to organised crime and hundreds of fire-bombings of premises in capital cities. "Anyone who sells tobacco, they're starting to just clamp down, either refusing coverage or jumping it up again," Mr Allen said. "If our sales continue to plummet, I'll just get to the point where it's [a tobacco licence] not worth having. "So then the only places people will be able to get tobacco are the illegal places. "And even if they do have this big crackdown and they start shutting some of these shops down, the crooks just change the business model. "They'll go to a garage, they'll go to houses, they'll go to street dealers, they'll go to Snapchat dealers. So it'll be just like illicit drugs." Rohan Pike is a former federal police officer who helped set up the Australian Border Force's tobacco strike team in 2015. He now runs a consulting firm with advice on illicit international trade as one of its key activities. "I was among the first to discover how big the problem really was," Mr Pike told ACM. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market." That market share has a significant impact on federal government excise revenue, he said. While the federal government looks to curb smoking figures by ever-increasing excises, the revenue is plummeting as consumers turn to the cheaper illicit options. "Tobacco excise revenue was around $16.5billion four or five years ago," Mr Pike said. "It's $7.4billion now and could go significantly lower than that. "It's just fallen off a cliff - the government's approach is failing at every level." Submissions to a parliamentary inquiry into the illegal tobacco trade close this week (August 15), with Mr Allen and Mr Pike among those making written submissions. "We're not going to be able to arrest our way out of this," Mr Pike said. "The government is looking for policy 'wins' without any care for the consequences. "You could bring in a licensing regime and store closures. But, for example, if all petrol stations in one town were found to be selling illicit cigarettes and get closed down, what's going to happen then?" The focus on supply was also a bone of contention for Mr Allen. "This whole problem would be solved relatively quickly if we took the approach of treating smoking as a health issue and implemented policies that promote harm minimisation and reducing demand, rather than trying to crush supply, an approach which has failed on all levels," he said. "We want to get smoking rates down, absolutely. But you've got to do it in a sensible way. "Treat smoking as a health problem, like we should be doing with drugs, not as a compliance issue "We can't control the supply. You've just seen that. "It's like trying to put the genie back in the bottle." Margaret (not her real name) is a Far South Coast smoker who now sources her fix through illicit sellers. She told ACM she used to spend around $300-400 a week on cigarettes. Now she can get a carton of 10 20-packs for $60. "I kind of wish I'd never started, of course. But I've been smoking for over 60 years and I'm not going to stop now. "This is the only way I can continue. "I don't enjoy supporting criminal gangs, but I think the government's been so greedy, they force people into it," Margaret said. "It's got nothing to do with health now, or trying to dissuade people because of its health hazard - which I know it is - it's just revenue raising. "And it's forcing people like me, who are law-abiding people, to go and break the law." Margaret said the government's "greed" was hurting the people least able to afford it. "It's mainly socially disadvantaged people that smoke, sadly, and they're the ones that are being forced into this situation. "I don't really feel guilty about it. I'm sort of angry at the government for being so greedy and making the price so ridiculous." She had a message for businesses struggling with the loss of legitimate sales and ever-increasing costs. "I think that the people retailing [tobacco products] at the correct price, they just should stop stocking them actually." Margaret said. "I mean, cigarettes have never been a big big profit maker. And they're expensive to have, like, you've got to pay a special premium on tobacco in your insurance policy. "So I guess they should just stop selling them." ACM asked federal MPs on the South Coast what the government was doing to halt the trade in illicit tobacco products and whether it agreed with calls that the excise increases were having detrimental effects. A spokesperson for Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain said the tobacco excise was "an important public health measure to encourage people to give up smoking". The spokesperson argued that part of the reason the excise revenue was down was because more people had given up smoking. However, they also acknowledged "the significant problem of illegal tobacco" was another part of the reason. While Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips was silent on the excise issue, she said the government had a "comprehensive approach to tobacco control under the National Tobacco Strategy". "I understand the impact illegal tobacco and vaping can have on local families, especially young people, so I'm really pleased that our government is committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia," Ms Phillips told ACM. "We're boosting capacity at our borders and have invested $350million to tackle the black market in the last two years alone." Ms McBain's office spokesperson said the federal government was working with the states and territories when it came to enforcement, "resourcing states to undertake more prosecutions". "The Albanese government is taking on Big Tobacco on the one hand, and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes and illicit tobacco as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," they said. "We are committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia and continue to invest into boosting capacity to combat illicit trade at the border and deliver a coordinated, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response. "And the government recently appointed the interim Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner (ITEC) within the Australian Border Force to support the development and implementation of national strategies for the enforcement of illicit tobacco." As NSW Parliament resumed last week, among the first orders of business was the introduction of legislation to "disrupt" the illicit tobacco and illegal vape business model. Described as "the toughest in the country", the new laws include forced shop closures, and maximum penalties of $1.5million and seven years' imprisonment for the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park also said the government would be looking into the option of making it an offence for landlords to knowingly lease to illegal tobacco and vape suppliers. "We understand the community's frustration at the growth of the illicit tobacco market," he said. "These will be among the toughest penalties in the country and will send a clear message to bad actors that selling illegal tobacco and vaping goods will not be tolerated in NSW. "We are disrupting the business model of the large-scale criminals who profit from addiction, tax evasion, and putting young people at risk. "This isn't just a serious health issue, it's about fairness, because these illegal operators are undercutting small businesses that are doing the right thing," Mr Park said. Premier Chris Minns was on record calling for the federal government to reduce the tobacco excise. He argued the significant increase in the cost of legal cigarettes had pushed consumers to the black market. Mr Park said he wanted to take action regardless. "I don't have the time, nor do I have the patience, to wait around to see if there's going to be any more movement on a federal excise," he said. If you think a tobacco or e-cigarette retailing law has been broken by a retailer in NSW, you can report this to your local Public Health Unit by calling 1300 066 055. Three separate tobacconists. Three packs of black market cigarettes. $15 each. Cash only. No questions asked. An illegal vape at one of those NSW south coast businesses was a little pricier at $65. The only question was what flavour was preferred. With the three packs of Manchester 20s and the Ali Barbar 'Blueberry Blast' vape in hand, two police officers walking the beat are approached. They say to take it up with health authorities. Concerns are then raised with Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain's office staff. They promise to raise the issue with the federal minister. But for Cobargo Hotel owner Dave Allen, it's the policies of the government that have led to the exponential growth in illicit tobacco. He isn't the only one with that opinion. Former federal police and Australian Border Force officer Rohan Pike says the government's tobacco excise was directly responsible for the "billion-dollar" black market. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market," Mr Pike told ACM. However, federal MPs on the South Coast are not backing down from the "importance" of the tobacco excise in curbing smoking rates. ACM caught up with multiple voices on this widespread and damaging issue. It's also one on which we want to hear more from our readers. Comments are open at the bottom of the article, or email Mr Allen has been trying to get action on the widespread sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes across the South Coast for several years, but has been hitting brick walls at every turn. In order to dissuade smokers, tobacco prices have been driven by a federal excise topping $1.40 a cigarette, with the average pack of 20 costing about $40. Mr Allen said a further increase in the excise was coming in September to take that figure even higher. However, while the excise had increased from $16 to $28 a pack in six years, total revenue was going backward as consumers turned to the black market. And while once thought of as a potential avenue for quitting more-harmful cigarettes, vapes have been banned and only permitted to be sold under certain circumstances through pharmacies. "It's just madness," Mr Allen said. "None of this makes any sense. "As a community member, as a business owner, as a parent, I don't see any upside to any of this at all, with any of these policies." The damaging health outcomes of smoking are widely known - increased risk of cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic respiratory issues and reduced life expectancy among others. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in Australia and is estimated to kill more than 24,000 Australians each year. Vapes and e-cigarettes are not much better. Their use has been linked to permanent lung damage, harm to developing adolescent brains, affected mental health, and the risk of poisoning and DNA damage from toxic chemicals contained within (other than the highly addictive nicotine). However, the growth in illicit tobacco products and illegal vapes has had a devastating effect on the small business sector as well. Venues like the Cobargo Hotel, which sell cigarettes legally, have experienced significant drops in revenue at the same time as copping an ever-increasing cost of doing business. "We regularly turned over $50,000 a week in our bottle shop - that's now down to $35-40,000 because we've lost tobacco sales," Mr Allen said. "They've gone to about 30 or 40 per cent [sales] on what they were. "And we've lost so much foot traffic because people aren't coming in to get their cigarettes, so they're not getting their six-pack of beer, or bottle of wine, or their loaf of bread or meal or whatever else they would normally get. "We worked out it's costing us in profit about $2000 a week." There have also been issues with insurance premiums and coverage for anyone selling tobacco amid alleged links to organised crime and hundreds of fire-bombings of premises in capital cities. "Anyone who sells tobacco, they're starting to just clamp down, either refusing coverage or jumping it up again," Mr Allen said. "If our sales continue to plummet, I'll just get to the point where it's [a tobacco licence] not worth having. "So then the only places people will be able to get tobacco are the illegal places. "And even if they do have this big crackdown and they start shutting some of these shops down, the crooks just change the business model. "They'll go to a garage, they'll go to houses, they'll go to street dealers, they'll go to Snapchat dealers. So it'll be just like illicit drugs." Rohan Pike is a former federal police officer who helped set up the Australian Border Force's tobacco strike team in 2015. He now runs a consulting firm with advice on illicit international trade as one of its key activities. "I was among the first to discover how big the problem really was," Mr Pike told ACM. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market." That market share has a significant impact on federal government excise revenue, he said. While the federal government looks to curb smoking figures by ever-increasing excises, the revenue is plummeting as consumers turn to the cheaper illicit options. "Tobacco excise revenue was around $16.5billion four or five years ago," Mr Pike said. "It's $7.4billion now and could go significantly lower than that. "It's just fallen off a cliff - the government's approach is failing at every level." Submissions to a parliamentary inquiry into the illegal tobacco trade close this week (August 15), with Mr Allen and Mr Pike among those making written submissions. "We're not going to be able to arrest our way out of this," Mr Pike said. "The government is looking for policy 'wins' without any care for the consequences. "You could bring in a licensing regime and store closures. But, for example, if all petrol stations in one town were found to be selling illicit cigarettes and get closed down, what's going to happen then?" The focus on supply was also a bone of contention for Mr Allen. "This whole problem would be solved relatively quickly if we took the approach of treating smoking as a health issue and implemented policies that promote harm minimisation and reducing demand, rather than trying to crush supply, an approach which has failed on all levels," he said. "We want to get smoking rates down, absolutely. But you've got to do it in a sensible way. "Treat smoking as a health problem, like we should be doing with drugs, not as a compliance issue "We can't control the supply. You've just seen that. "It's like trying to put the genie back in the bottle." Margaret (not her real name) is a Far South Coast smoker who now sources her fix through illicit sellers. She told ACM she used to spend around $300-400 a week on cigarettes. Now she can get a carton of 10 20-packs for $60. "I kind of wish I'd never started, of course. But I've been smoking for over 60 years and I'm not going to stop now. "This is the only way I can continue. "I don't enjoy supporting criminal gangs, but I think the government's been so greedy, they force people into it," Margaret said. "It's got nothing to do with health now, or trying to dissuade people because of its health hazard - which I know it is - it's just revenue raising. "And it's forcing people like me, who are law-abiding people, to go and break the law." Margaret said the government's "greed" was hurting the people least able to afford it. "It's mainly socially disadvantaged people that smoke, sadly, and they're the ones that are being forced into this situation. "I don't really feel guilty about it. I'm sort of angry at the government for being so greedy and making the price so ridiculous." She had a message for businesses struggling with the loss of legitimate sales and ever-increasing costs. "I think that the people retailing [tobacco products] at the correct price, they just should stop stocking them actually." Margaret said. "I mean, cigarettes have never been a big big profit maker. And they're expensive to have, like, you've got to pay a special premium on tobacco in your insurance policy. "So I guess they should just stop selling them." ACM asked federal MPs on the South Coast what the government was doing to halt the trade in illicit tobacco products and whether it agreed with calls that the excise increases were having detrimental effects. A spokesperson for Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain said the tobacco excise was "an important public health measure to encourage people to give up smoking". The spokesperson argued that part of the reason the excise revenue was down was because more people had given up smoking. However, they also acknowledged "the significant problem of illegal tobacco" was another part of the reason. While Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips was silent on the excise issue, she said the government had a "comprehensive approach to tobacco control under the National Tobacco Strategy". "I understand the impact illegal tobacco and vaping can have on local families, especially young people, so I'm really pleased that our government is committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia," Ms Phillips told ACM. "We're boosting capacity at our borders and have invested $350million to tackle the black market in the last two years alone." Ms McBain's office spokesperson said the federal government was working with the states and territories when it came to enforcement, "resourcing states to undertake more prosecutions". "The Albanese government is taking on Big Tobacco on the one hand, and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes and illicit tobacco as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," they said. "We are committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia and continue to invest into boosting capacity to combat illicit trade at the border and deliver a coordinated, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response. "And the government recently appointed the interim Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner (ITEC) within the Australian Border Force to support the development and implementation of national strategies for the enforcement of illicit tobacco." As NSW Parliament resumed last week, among the first orders of business was the introduction of legislation to "disrupt" the illicit tobacco and illegal vape business model. Described as "the toughest in the country", the new laws include forced shop closures, and maximum penalties of $1.5million and seven years' imprisonment for the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park also said the government would be looking into the option of making it an offence for landlords to knowingly lease to illegal tobacco and vape suppliers. "We understand the community's frustration at the growth of the illicit tobacco market," he said. "These will be among the toughest penalties in the country and will send a clear message to bad actors that selling illegal tobacco and vaping goods will not be tolerated in NSW. "We are disrupting the business model of the large-scale criminals who profit from addiction, tax evasion, and putting young people at risk. "This isn't just a serious health issue, it's about fairness, because these illegal operators are undercutting small businesses that are doing the right thing," Mr Park said. Premier Chris Minns was on record calling for the federal government to reduce the tobacco excise. He argued the significant increase in the cost of legal cigarettes had pushed consumers to the black market. Mr Park said he wanted to take action regardless. "I don't have the time, nor do I have the patience, to wait around to see if there's going to be any more movement on a federal excise," he said. If you think a tobacco or e-cigarette retailing law has been broken by a retailer in NSW, you can report this to your local Public Health Unit by calling 1300 066 055. Three separate tobacconists. Three packs of black market cigarettes. $15 each. Cash only. No questions asked. An illegal vape at one of those NSW south coast businesses was a little pricier at $65. The only question was what flavour was preferred. With the three packs of Manchester 20s and the Ali Barbar 'Blueberry Blast' vape in hand, two police officers walking the beat are approached. They say to take it up with health authorities. Concerns are then raised with Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain's office staff. They promise to raise the issue with the federal minister. But for Cobargo Hotel owner Dave Allen, it's the policies of the government that have led to the exponential growth in illicit tobacco. He isn't the only one with that opinion. Former federal police and Australian Border Force officer Rohan Pike says the government's tobacco excise was directly responsible for the "billion-dollar" black market. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market," Mr Pike told ACM. However, federal MPs on the South Coast are not backing down from the "importance" of the tobacco excise in curbing smoking rates. ACM caught up with multiple voices on this widespread and damaging issue. It's also one on which we want to hear more from our readers. Comments are open at the bottom of the article, or email Mr Allen has been trying to get action on the widespread sale of illicit tobacco and illegal vapes across the South Coast for several years, but has been hitting brick walls at every turn. In order to dissuade smokers, tobacco prices have been driven by a federal excise topping $1.40 a cigarette, with the average pack of 20 costing about $40. Mr Allen said a further increase in the excise was coming in September to take that figure even higher. However, while the excise had increased from $16 to $28 a pack in six years, total revenue was going backward as consumers turned to the black market. And while once thought of as a potential avenue for quitting more-harmful cigarettes, vapes have been banned and only permitted to be sold under certain circumstances through pharmacies. "It's just madness," Mr Allen said. "None of this makes any sense. "As a community member, as a business owner, as a parent, I don't see any upside to any of this at all, with any of these policies." The damaging health outcomes of smoking are widely known - increased risk of cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic respiratory issues and reduced life expectancy among others. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in Australia and is estimated to kill more than 24,000 Australians each year. Vapes and e-cigarettes are not much better. Their use has been linked to permanent lung damage, harm to developing adolescent brains, affected mental health, and the risk of poisoning and DNA damage from toxic chemicals contained within (other than the highly addictive nicotine). However, the growth in illicit tobacco products and illegal vapes has had a devastating effect on the small business sector as well. Venues like the Cobargo Hotel, which sell cigarettes legally, have experienced significant drops in revenue at the same time as copping an ever-increasing cost of doing business. "We regularly turned over $50,000 a week in our bottle shop - that's now down to $35-40,000 because we've lost tobacco sales," Mr Allen said. "They've gone to about 30 or 40 per cent [sales] on what they were. "And we've lost so much foot traffic because people aren't coming in to get their cigarettes, so they're not getting their six-pack of beer, or bottle of wine, or their loaf of bread or meal or whatever else they would normally get. "We worked out it's costing us in profit about $2000 a week." There have also been issues with insurance premiums and coverage for anyone selling tobacco amid alleged links to organised crime and hundreds of fire-bombings of premises in capital cities. "Anyone who sells tobacco, they're starting to just clamp down, either refusing coverage or jumping it up again," Mr Allen said. "If our sales continue to plummet, I'll just get to the point where it's [a tobacco licence] not worth having. "So then the only places people will be able to get tobacco are the illegal places. "And even if they do have this big crackdown and they start shutting some of these shops down, the crooks just change the business model. "They'll go to a garage, they'll go to houses, they'll go to street dealers, they'll go to Snapchat dealers. So it'll be just like illicit drugs." Rohan Pike is a former federal police officer who helped set up the Australian Border Force's tobacco strike team in 2015. He now runs a consulting firm with advice on illicit international trade as one of its key activities. "I was among the first to discover how big the problem really was," Mr Pike told ACM. "It's billions of dollars - the illicit rate is well over 50 per cent of the [tobacco] market." That market share has a significant impact on federal government excise revenue, he said. While the federal government looks to curb smoking figures by ever-increasing excises, the revenue is plummeting as consumers turn to the cheaper illicit options. "Tobacco excise revenue was around $16.5billion four or five years ago," Mr Pike said. "It's $7.4billion now and could go significantly lower than that. "It's just fallen off a cliff - the government's approach is failing at every level." Submissions to a parliamentary inquiry into the illegal tobacco trade close this week (August 15), with Mr Allen and Mr Pike among those making written submissions. "We're not going to be able to arrest our way out of this," Mr Pike said. "The government is looking for policy 'wins' without any care for the consequences. "You could bring in a licensing regime and store closures. But, for example, if all petrol stations in one town were found to be selling illicit cigarettes and get closed down, what's going to happen then?" The focus on supply was also a bone of contention for Mr Allen. "This whole problem would be solved relatively quickly if we took the approach of treating smoking as a health issue and implemented policies that promote harm minimisation and reducing demand, rather than trying to crush supply, an approach which has failed on all levels," he said. "We want to get smoking rates down, absolutely. But you've got to do it in a sensible way. "Treat smoking as a health problem, like we should be doing with drugs, not as a compliance issue "We can't control the supply. You've just seen that. "It's like trying to put the genie back in the bottle." Margaret (not her real name) is a Far South Coast smoker who now sources her fix through illicit sellers. She told ACM she used to spend around $300-400 a week on cigarettes. Now she can get a carton of 10 20-packs for $60. "I kind of wish I'd never started, of course. But I've been smoking for over 60 years and I'm not going to stop now. "This is the only way I can continue. "I don't enjoy supporting criminal gangs, but I think the government's been so greedy, they force people into it," Margaret said. "It's got nothing to do with health now, or trying to dissuade people because of its health hazard - which I know it is - it's just revenue raising. "And it's forcing people like me, who are law-abiding people, to go and break the law." Margaret said the government's "greed" was hurting the people least able to afford it. "It's mainly socially disadvantaged people that smoke, sadly, and they're the ones that are being forced into this situation. "I don't really feel guilty about it. I'm sort of angry at the government for being so greedy and making the price so ridiculous." She had a message for businesses struggling with the loss of legitimate sales and ever-increasing costs. "I think that the people retailing [tobacco products] at the correct price, they just should stop stocking them actually." Margaret said. "I mean, cigarettes have never been a big big profit maker. And they're expensive to have, like, you've got to pay a special premium on tobacco in your insurance policy. "So I guess they should just stop selling them." ACM asked federal MPs on the South Coast what the government was doing to halt the trade in illicit tobacco products and whether it agreed with calls that the excise increases were having detrimental effects. A spokesperson for Eden-Monaro MP Kristy McBain said the tobacco excise was "an important public health measure to encourage people to give up smoking". The spokesperson argued that part of the reason the excise revenue was down was because more people had given up smoking. However, they also acknowledged "the significant problem of illegal tobacco" was another part of the reason. While Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips was silent on the excise issue, she said the government had a "comprehensive approach to tobacco control under the National Tobacco Strategy". "I understand the impact illegal tobacco and vaping can have on local families, especially young people, so I'm really pleased that our government is committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia," Ms Phillips told ACM. "We're boosting capacity at our borders and have invested $350million to tackle the black market in the last two years alone." Ms McBain's office spokesperson said the federal government was working with the states and territories when it came to enforcement, "resourcing states to undertake more prosecutions". "The Albanese government is taking on Big Tobacco on the one hand, and organised crime on the other, which continues to use vapes and illicit tobacco as a ready source of revenue to fund all their other criminal activities," they said. "We are committed to stemming the illicit trade of tobacco in Australia and continue to invest into boosting capacity to combat illicit trade at the border and deliver a coordinated, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response. "And the government recently appointed the interim Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner (ITEC) within the Australian Border Force to support the development and implementation of national strategies for the enforcement of illicit tobacco." As NSW Parliament resumed last week, among the first orders of business was the introduction of legislation to "disrupt" the illicit tobacco and illegal vape business model. Described as "the toughest in the country", the new laws include forced shop closures, and maximum penalties of $1.5million and seven years' imprisonment for the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park also said the government would be looking into the option of making it an offence for landlords to knowingly lease to illegal tobacco and vape suppliers. "We understand the community's frustration at the growth of the illicit tobacco market," he said. "These will be among the toughest penalties in the country and will send a clear message to bad actors that selling illegal tobacco and vaping goods will not be tolerated in NSW. "We are disrupting the business model of the large-scale criminals who profit from addiction, tax evasion, and putting young people at risk. "This isn't just a serious health issue, it's about fairness, because these illegal operators are undercutting small businesses that are doing the right thing," Mr Park said. Premier Chris Minns was on record calling for the federal government to reduce the tobacco excise. He argued the significant increase in the cost of legal cigarettes had pushed consumers to the black market. Mr Park said he wanted to take action regardless. "I don't have the time, nor do I have the patience, to wait around to see if there's going to be any more movement on a federal excise," he said. If you think a tobacco or e-cigarette retailing law has been broken by a retailer in NSW, you can report this to your local Public Health Unit by calling 1300 066 055.
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Police bullet accidentally fired during airport arrest
An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department. An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department. An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department. An errant bullet has been "unintentionally" fired into a cafe oven as police arrested a man acting suspiciously at one of the nation's busiest airports. A 41-year-old Victorian man was being arrested in a tussle with Australian Federal Police officers at Sydney Airport about 6am on Wednesday when the shot was fired from an officer's short-barrelled rifle. The firearm was very low to the ground and was lodged in the oven of the cafe, AFP acting commander Scott Raven said. "It occurred in very close proximity or adjacent to a cafe wall," he told reporters on Wednesday. He said there were no injuries, no ongoing threat to the public and the airport did not go into lockdown. Mr Raven declined to detail how the gunfire occurred, citing an internal investigation. He declined to say whether officers were meant to have a safety feature activated. "Whilst I will not go into our practices and procedures of how we actually go about and carry all our ... firearms, including the short barrel mentioned today, what I can say is all our AFP officers are professional, highly trained and skilled officers," the acting commander said. When adding the rifles to the airport officers' armoury in 2019, then-police chief Reece Kershaw argued the firearms were "vital ... to respond immediately with the appropriate resources to any situation in the airport environment". Wednesday's incident followed an airline request for assistance over the man's suspicious behaviour at the check-in counters in the T2 domestic terminal. When officers tried to speak to the man, he allegedly became aggressive. "The alleged actions of this man and aggressiveness towards police created a volatile situation," Mr Raven said. "Passengers expect to feel safe while travelling, and should not have to witness intoxication, violence or bad behaviour." A serving police officer, along with retired NSW Police officers were present and acted "on instinct" to help defuse the dangerous situation quickly, Mr Raven said. The 41-year-old was arrested and taken to Mascot police station. He was also on the radar of police on Tuesday afternoon for his disruptive demeanour. The man faces two charges under federal law: obstructing or resisting a federal official and creating a disturbance at an airport. He was bailed to appear in a Sydney court on September 1. "Let me be clear, any passenger who breaks the law by being violent or disruptive will be dealt with swiftly," Mr Raven said. Police taped off an area near gate 53 in the terminal's western wing as part of the investigation. The terminal is mostly used for Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights. Sydney Airport said it was operating as normal. It is Australia's busiest airport, handling more than 40 million passengers a year, according to data from the federal transport department.
