Arabic version: فيكتوريا تواجه انتقادات بسبب التأخر في تشديد الإجراءات ضد تجارة التبغ غير المشروعة

According to ABC News, Victoria’s government has been criticised for taking too long to give police and inspectors stronger powers against the illicit tobacco trade, though Premier Ben Carroll says the new laws are producing results.

Legislation that began on September 9 allows inspectors and police to close businesses found selling illegal tobacco products for an initial period of up to 90 days. At least 51 closure notices have been issued since the powers took effect. Businesses can be publicly listed on Tobacco Licensing Victoria’s website, and closures may be extended through the courts.

Rohan Pike, a former federal police officer who founded the Australian Border Force’s Tobacco Strike Team, said the government had allowed the problem to grow. He said Victoria Police had sought closure laws for years and argued that the new measures still left authorities confronting a “whack-a-mole process.”

Mr Carroll conceded the government should have acted sooner, while saying inspectors were now closing more tobacco shops. Earlier this year, the Victorian government increased Tobacco Licensing Victoria’s inspector numbers from 14 to 42 statewide.

Mr Pike said staffing and resourcing remained issues, particularly in regional areas, and argued that enforcement alone would not resolve the problem. He called for changes to federal policy settings. Separately, new Queensland data showed stronger shop-closure legislation had coincided with a 55 per cent increase in legal cigarette sales.