Aaron Violi
Casey · Liberal Party · Australia
“I think it's really important when we have this discussion, that we separate the intent versus the outcome. Now, it's clear the intent is to make sure all those under 16 do not have access to social media.”
“CFA volunteers give back so much to our community, and today I want to pay tribute to a good friend of mine, someone I've known for 20 years: Tim Mitchelson, better known to all of us as Loaf. He's stepping back from the BMT at the Wandin Fire Brigade, but he has served our community with distinction.”
“We see time and time again that the backbench has to follow orders. They can't get what they want on gambling reform. They have to take the sandwich from those. They have to follow the Prime Minister's lead on a bad budget, and they have to continue to follow the minister that is failing when it comes to social media.”
“You spend a lot of time rushing legislation through this House for political means, but doing your job is getting the legislation right. This legislation is not working. Young— A government member: How? How is it not working? I will explain to you if you stop interjecting and listen. Young children are still on social media.”
“The coalition is saying, 'Let's take the time to have an inquiry, to do the work, to understand why it has failed and why we can get it right the second time.' As the member for Berowra said, we don't want to be back here in six months' time having to amend it again. The detail was wrong the first time.”
“They weren't prepared to look at the detail and understand. Let's look at history. This legislation was introduced on Monday this week. This government wants to ram it through the house on Thursday. But let's look at December when the first legislation was brought in.”
The complete record
Every one of 548 lines we hold for Aaron Violi, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 11.
“On the 2027 Halliday Wine Companion shortlist—with winners to be announced in August—are Oakridge Wines and Yeringberg for Winery of the Year; Rohan Smith from Medhurst Wines for Winemaker of the Year; Andrew George from Yarra Yering for Viticulturist of the Year; and Medhurst Wines for Best Value Winery. Congratulations. There are not only amazing wineries—thank you for everything you give—but gins as well. I want to pay tribute to Four Pillars Distillery head distiller Sarah Prowse, who is the 2026 ADA Australian Distiller of the year, following in the footsteps of Cam Mackenzie, the founder and first distiller. Well done, Sarah. It is well deserved.”
“Giant Steps general manager Melanie Chester received the Pinot Trophy for the 2024 Sexton Vineyard Pinot Noir, and they were also finalists in the Chardonnay and James Halliday red wine categories. To Soumah: congratulations on being a finalist for Sparkling. To Yarra Yering: congratulations on being a finalist for the cabernet blends and for being named in The Real Review's 2026 Top Wineries of Australia as Australia's top winery for the third year in a row. Levantine Hill, also in the Yarra Valley, came second. At the Victorian Wine Show, Oakridge Wines received the award for Best Wine of the Yarra Valley and the Victorian Premier's Trophy for their 2023 864 Funder and Diamond Drive Block Chardonnay.”
“The Casey community is lucky to have the best wine region in the world, the Yarra Valley. In my community, it provides jobs, it provides opportunity and it brings tourism to our community. We always deliver quality wines, and I want to pay tribute to some of the winners of so many awards. At the National Wine Show of Australia Awards, Coldstream Hills had chief winemaker Andrew Fleming and winemaker Greg Jarratt be successful in winning the Sparkling Trophy for their 2018 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir Chardonnay. I want to pay tribute to De Bortoli—the managing director, Darren De Bortoli, and the Yarra Valley estate manager, Leanne De Bortoli—for winning the Red Varietal Trophy for their 2025 Yarra Valley Estate Vineyard Gamay.”
“CFA volunteers give back so much to our community, and today I want to pay tribute to a good friend of mine, someone I've known for 20 years: Tim Mitchelson, better known to all of us as Loaf. He's stepping back from the BMT at the Wandin Fire Brigade, but he has served our community with distinction. He was fourth lieutenant from 2009 to 2016 and captain from 2016 to 2022, and he has been the first lieutenant from 2022 until today. Loaf, thank you for your service. You've given so much to so many, keeping the community in Wandin, the wider Yarra Valley, all of Victoria and the country safe when called on. We appreciate your service. I know you're going to continue to give more to the Wandin community, continuing to work and be a volunteer for the CFA. Thank you, mate. We love you. We appreciate you. Thank you again.”
“The reality is, as the member for Berowra said, we don't want to come back and have to do it a third time in six months time or 12 months time. Let's let the experts have their say. Let's get it right so we can protect young Australians.”
“We see time and time again that the backbench has to follow orders. They can't get what they want on gambling reform. They have to take the sandwich from those. They have to follow the Prime Minister's lead on a bad budget, and they have to continue to follow the minister that is failing when it comes to social media. The intent is correct; the outcome is wrong. And we know that the outcome is wrong because the minister is back here trying to fix up the mess that the minister made. If the minister had got it right the first time, we wouldn't be back here the second time. The real question is this: why is the minister not prepared to actually have some scrutiny of the legislation? The reason is that the minister knows they failed the first time and they have failed again the second time by not doing the process.”
“You spend a lot of time rushing legislation through this House for political means, but doing your job is getting the legislation right. This legislation is not working. Young— A government member: How? How is it not working? I will explain to you if you stop interjecting and listen. Young children are still on social media. They deactivate their accounts and create new accounts. Your minister failed. Your minister rushed this legislation through the house, and we need to get it right. We need to get this legislation right. It was wrong the first time. Six months later, we are seeing that. There was no proper inquiry into this legislation in December, and this government is refusing to have a second inquiry to try and clean up its own mess. I understand it is a sore point for them.”
“The coalition is saying, 'Let's take the time to have an inquiry, to do the work, to understand why it has failed and why we can get it right the second time.' As the member for Berowra said, we don't want to be back here in six months' time having to amend it again. The detail was wrong the first time. Let's get it— A government member: Why not? Why not? Why don't we get it right the second time? The minister is happy to fly to New York, claim 'Mission accomplished' like former president Bush did, and we have not succeeded. We have not succeeded. I will not take moral lectures from those opposite who think Mark Latham is fit to be leader of the Australian Labor Party. I will not take moral lectures from you all. I understand it's a little bit of a nerve for those opposite.”
“They weren't prepared to look at the detail and understand. Let's look at history. This legislation was introduced on Monday this week. This government wants to ram it through the house on Thursday. But let's look at December when the first legislation was brought in. The government rushed a committee through that allowed four hours—four hours—of public hearings on the social media ban for under 16s in December last year. They rushed through this process. They would not have debate and engagement to understand that this is a technical decision to get right. They rushed it through in December, and we are back here again, looking to make amendments because the legislation hasn't worked. They are doubling down on making the same mistake.”
“I think it's really important when we have this discussion, that we separate the intent versus the outcome. Now, it's clear the intent is to make sure all those under 16 do not have access to social media. As a father of a 10-year-old and 12-year-old, as someone that visits many schools, I don't want anyone under 16 to be on social media, and that's not in doubt on this side of the house. But intent is one thing, and outcome is the other. An intent without outcome being delivered is irrelevant, and the reality is that this legislation has not worked. Six months later, we are back again because it has not worked. Those opposite ask what has changed from yesterday and the day before when we supported it in the House to now in the Senate. It's the government guillotining debate and refusing to have an inquiry into this legislation.”
“That man was the great late Neale Daniher—a father, a husband, a son, a grandfather, a footballer, a coach, a leader, an inspiration and a hero, and a man who did everything he could to fight the beast. Neale's legacy will be forever ingrained in the minds of all Australians. It was a privilege to help raise funds for this important cause, to honour him and all fighters of the beast. Thank you to Healesville Greyhounds for organising this important annual event and inviting me to join in. Thank you to our community for your ongoing support of this important cause. On the day, $56,442 was raised. Another $96,912 was raised through the sale of MND items from the Coles within my electorate—this community. That's $153,354 from our community all going to fight MND. Thank you, everyone.”
“We are privileged to live in a country where democracy is the foundation of our political system, and it is encouraging to see so many young people in my community engaged with the real-world issues that our country is facing. As I stand here in this House, I am grateful for my role and the trust my community has placed in me to be their representative. My community is one that comes together often to help and support each other, share a laugh and have some fun, and that was clearly present at the Big Freeze 12 at the Ville event earlier this month to raise vital funds for FightMND. I was honoured to be asked to take on the slide at this event in tribute to all those who have fought and are still fighting the beast that is MND. As all Australians know, FightMND started due to one man's willingness to fight and never give up.”
“It was also enjoyable to hear from the students about their two-day trip to Canberra and what their favourite activities were, which included their visit to Parliament House, glow-in-the-dark minigolf and a trip to the High Court—from one extreme to the other. My visit to Oxley College also highlighted how the next generation of young people are engaged and passionate about their future. I appreciated their well-thought-out questions, ranging from the first bill that I spoke on to how laws are made to a passionate interrogation on the government's recent social media ban. It was fantastic to see the year 9s so engaged with our civic system after completing the intensive 2026 election program, where they learnt the basics of government, laws, forming a party and holding an election.”
“Congratulations, and I look forward to visiting you again soon. As students near the end of their secondary journey, many are learning about the democratic processes and their responsibilities as they enter adulthood. It was wonderful to visit two local secondary schools in my community over the last few weeks: Belgrave Heights Christian School, to speak with the year 11 legal studies class, and Oxley College, to speak with and answer questions from the year 9 students after they completed their intensive election program. They'd also visited Parliament House, so the year 11 students at Belgrave Heights had some great questions for me, including how laws are made, my role in our democracy as the representative for Casey and democracy in action.”
“As the federal member for Casey, there are many highlights to my role. One of those is visiting local schools within my community to meet students and share my experience as a member of Parliament. It was a privilege to visit Birmingham Primary School recently to celebrate this year's student leaders and present them with their certificates, recognising their efforts as leaders of the school. Congratulations to school captains Saisha and Nayak, Italian captains Kirrah and Zahra, global education captains Georgie and Hayden, STEM captains Charlie and Jeremy, visual arts captains Jessie and Lewis, performing arts captains Ruby and Jed, library captains Evie and Zac, and PE and sports captains Harper and Rhys. You're all doing a fantastic job as leaders at Birmingham Primary School.”
“And, as more young children stay off social media, it then creates a reverse network effect; they realise that their mates aren't on it, and then it's not as attractive as it was—because one of the real challenges parents have had and are still having is when their children come to them and say, 'Everyone else is on it, so I want to be on it as well.' So this battle, and it is a battle for our young people, is ongoing and continuous. I've had the opportunity to visit a lot of schools, and there is a level of frustration among young people who really want to continue to be on the app, particularly the cohort between 13 and 16, who were on it and have been taken off. They have a real frustration. But, particularly for the new generation, those younger children who are below 10, we can keep them off it ongoing.”
“I'm grateful every day that I'm old enough to have gone through high school when social media didn't exist, and I am stressed every day when I think about my 12-year-old son starting high school this year and navigating high school with social media. He assures me that, even though some of his friends are on social media, he is not, and I have complete confidence that he would never mislead me at all. But that is the reality and the challenge we face. One of the opportunities is obviously if more young people come off social media through their parents, because, ultimately, the best way to keep young children off social media is when their parents make a decision to really talk to them about the dangers and why they want to keep them off social media. That's a conversation we've had with our son and with our daughter.”
“Let's be very clear that, for these social media companies, there is no upside incentive to get children off their platforms. Their business model is predicated on people using their apps and people spending as much time as possible on those applications. They do not care if you are 12, 13, 17, 25, 35 or 50; they want you on there as much as possible so they can sell your attention to advertisers. That is their business model. But we have a responsibility to protect young people, particularly as their brains are forming and they are learning how to survive and thrive in the real world. At high school, that's challenging enough without social media.”
“It was months later—after the coalition led the way and South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas talked about doing his own banning in South Australia—that the Prime Minister had a change of tune and followed us into this policy. Governments have always had a history of protecting children, whether it's banning children from smoking, drinking or driving. There are many things governments do to protect children, and this is another important step in this conversation. But it is the most challenging ban that we have to put in place when it comes to young people, because it involves technology and they have ways and means to get around the system. It absolutely has to be a requirement of the technology companies that they uphold the ban.”
“This is a very important piece of legislation that is before the House. It is a clear admission of error from the Albanese Labor government and Minister Wells, but you have to give them credit, even though they won't say that they made a mistake. It's clear that the intent was good at the start, but the practice and the reality have not lived up to it six months later. So I'll give them credit, even though they won't say the words, 'We made a mistake.' They're at least acknowledging that by bringing this Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026 to the House. It is important legislation, and, as I said, the intent is very good. It was the coalition in June 2024 that announced our policy to ban under-16s from social media.”
“It is causing confusion for the Australian people. This is a heartless government. They have destroyed confidence in the housing market. They have destroyed confidence for small-business owners and tech start-ups. They have destroyed confidence for every Australian. Every Australian is struggling. They realise that they have a prime minister that is focused on internal politics, focused on ramming things through this House not in the best interest of the Australian people but in the best interests of his own agenda, and he will pay the price.”
“The PM is the ultimate political insider spending his life working in politics, and he has the same playbook every time: he rushes legislation through the House, he stifles and guillotines debate, not allowing members to have a say, and then he does a dodgy deal with his good friends and coalition partners in the Greens. This flawed insider action has consequences—real consequences—for Australians. It has resulted in tax increases for widows, widowers and divorcees—people at their most vulnerable. It says it all about this government, taxing people at their most vulnerable. We saw the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury last Thursday say that they would not change this legislation. The Treasurer refused to outline how and when they would change this legislation. This is causing heartache.”
“They're nine down; there are nine to go. Conveniently for them, that report was scrubbed off the CFMEU website. The coalition will always back Australians. We'll always back small businesses, just as they deserve.”
“This government chooses to write legislation to back the CFMEU and the unions, and the scary part is that it's about to get worse. Andrew McKellar, the chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, wrote yesterday in the Australian about the 2018 CFMEU manifesto titled Goodbye n eoliberalism . It had 18 sweeping recommendations for reshaping Australia's economy. The scary part about this CFMEU wish list of G oodbye neoliberalism is that at least half of that agenda has been implemented by the Albanese Labor government, the same Labor government that is happy to back the CFMEU and Jacinta Allan in Victoria and does not even want to look into the $15 billion of taxpayer money that was rorted by the CFMEU. It refuses to look into where that money went. The scary part for Australians is that they're halfway through.”
“As appropriate, each new law should require a small-business regulatory impact statement, and there should be pathways for feedback to the RBA, ASIC, the ATO and Fair Work so that small-business voices can be heard. Lastly, we will have a right to bid. There will be new and expanded minimum requirements for government procurement that must come from small business. This is the choice. This bill, in many ways, sums up the difference between the coalition and the Liberal Party, and the Labor Party and the government. We want to back small business. We want to give you the opportunity to benefit from government contracts. We want to make less red tape for you. We want to get out of your way and allow you to thrive. But what does this government choose to do?”
“We will consult on a small business act. We are proposing at least four key pillars. Firstly, there will be a single definition; all Commonwealth law will refer to one definition of a small business. This will provide simplicity for business owners so they can understand straightaway whether they will be impacted by legislative changes. Then there will be a right to be paid. Cash is king. Cash flow is the lifeblood of a business. It's not the profit and loss sheet that kills a business. It's the cash balance, and cash is king. We will have a legal maximum payment term to small business from government and big business to make sure that you get paid and you get paid as soon as possible. We will also have a right to be heard.”
“This is going to help tradies to buy tools, farmers to buy equipment, cafes to upgrade kitchens and small businesses—like Candice's—to invest with confidence. We're going to rewrite and simplify the legislative rulebook, including the Corporations Act, the tax act, the competition act, the National Construction Code and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. It's so important. You shouldn't have to need a lawyer to run a small business and understand legislation. A coalition government will impose new responsibilities on regulators by law. We will require regulators to act in a way that encourages competition, nurtures investment, increases productivity, boosts wages and grows the economy. We will axe Labor's toxic taxes—taxes on ambition and every small business in my community of Casey and across the country.”
“We simply ask that those values are not forgotten. Yours sincerely, Candice.' Candice, it was a privilege and an honour to read your words into the Hansard so that all Australians could hear your story. You said it perfectly. I couldn't have said it better myself. The coalition sees you. We hear you. We support small business. We know that strong small businesses means that families are strong, communities are strong and our country is strong. That's why, as a coalition, we want to support small business, not just with words but with policies and actions. We want to allow any business with a turnover of less than $10 million to immediately deduct assets of up to $50,000 on a permanent basis, supporting businesses to invest.”
“We are asking for understanding, practical assistance and policies that recognise the essential role small businesses play in Australia's economy and communities. Australian small businesses are hurting. Many are on their knees. Rising living costs, increased operating expenses and mounting pressures are pushing longstanding family businesses to the brink. If fourth-generation businesses that have survived wars, recessions and countless challenges are now questioning whether they can continue, surely something is wrong. Please don't let small businesses become an afterthought. We need genuine support, meaningful conversations and a government that understands that, when small businesses suffer, entire communities suffer with them. Australia was built on hard work, aspiration and family enterprise.”
“Where is the assistance for small businesses trying to survive? Where is the recognition that behind every small business is a family carrying enormous burdens and responsibilities? And where is the support for the mental health of business owners who lie awake at night wondering how they will pay suppliers, cover wages and provide security, not only for their own families but for the families of their employees as well? Small business owners don't clock off. We carry the responsibility every day. We celebrate our staff's successes, worry about their livelihoods and often put ourselves last to ensure everyone else gets paid. Yet many of us feel forgotten. We are not asking for handouts.”
“She says: 'Dear Prime Minister, I am writing not as an economist or politician but as a fourth-generation small-business owner who is becoming increasingly concerned about the future of Australian family businesses. For generations, our jewellery business has proudly served our community, employed local people and contributed to the Australian economy. Today, however, we are struggling under the weight of rising costs, increasing wages, soaring utility bills, insurance premiums, rent and countless other expenses that continue to grow while consumer spending slows. Small-business owners are resilient people, but many of us are reaching breaking point. We hear a lot about cost-of-living pressures on households, but where is the support for the people who provide jobs and keep our local community alive?”
“They can support Australian businesses by putting requirements into that legislation that they're doing now to support Australian businesses and small businesses, but this government chose to support unions and their union mates over the small businesses of this country. I'm proud to represent a community where small business is at the heart of our community. It is at the heart of everything that we do in Casey. It supports our sporting clubs, our volunteer groups and our community groups, and we're here to be the voice of our small businesses. I want to read a letter from Candice, who is a small-business owner in my community. She directed this to the Prime Minister. It's so important that her words are heard today, and her words represent so many small businesses across the country.”
“I've not been able to find one thing where this prime minister and his actions today have been consistent with what he has said previously. That legacy will haunt this prime minister to the next election. We look at these examples that we're dealing with. Governments have choices. We support the Fair Work Commission part of this. But, when it comes to procurement, that is one of the largest levers of opportunity government has, if not the largest—directing the public service and directing government bodies in how they spend taxpayer money to procure services for the taxpayer. They should always make sure that value for money for the taxpayer is first there. But the other opportunity they have is that they can choose to support their union mates or they can choose to support small businesses.”
“To make it so typical of this prime minister—this is a prime minister that always says one thing and does another when it comes to wedging. Let me quote the Prime Minister in his very first press conference as Prime Minister on 22 May 2022: I look forward to leading a Government that makes Australians proud. A Government that doesn't seek to divide, that doesn't seek to have wedges, but seeks to bring people together for our common interest and our common purpose. This is another example of this prime minister saying one thing before an election or when he was just elected and delivering the complete opposite afterwards. It is no wonder that the Australian people have worked this prime minister out. It is literally harder to find a quote from the Prime Minister that is consistent with his actions today.”
“I will touch on how egregious that is later in this speech, but, if you want to see how bad it is when you have unions controlling procurement, come and visit Victoria and see the $15 billion that has been rorted from taxpayers by the CFMEU. We have a premier, Jacinta Allan, who does not even want to investigate that $15 billion. That number, $15 billion of taxpayer money rorted and wasted in Victoria with the premier that won't look at it, will follow that premier to the election in November. It will follow every member of the Labor Party at a state and federal level in Victoria because they refuse to investigate and lift the lid on that $15 billion of taxpayer money that has been rorted out of the system.”
“But, like so many pieces of legislation that were debating this week and that we have debated in the four years that I've been a member of this House, this government seeks to play wedge politics and has included a provision in the bill that is not related to AI but furthers their agenda and is so egregious that they know the coalition cannot support it. That is what they have done with this piece of legislation. They have added procurement requirements for the Public Service. One of the biggest drivers of opportunity in our country is procurement of government services, and this bill provides for unions and the union movement through enterprise bargaining agreements to get special treatment when it comes to procurement.”
“It is so disappointing that, like so many bills from this government, this bill, the Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Building Cooperative Workplaces No. 1) Bill 2026, contains measures that have no connection and no relationship with each other at all. One measure is around artificial intelligence, and specifically how the Fair Work Commission has seen a significant increase in applications, and also in the length of applications, because applicants have been able to use artificial intelligence to write submissions so easily and in such detail. That is a genuine concern and a genuine issue that needs to be addressed and is being addressed by this legislation. And it is legislation, to give the Fair Work Commission the support they need, that the coalition supports.”
“I congratulate the member for Riverina. As always, that was a fine contribution to an important debate. We heard a discussion in this House earlier about artificial intelligence and, specifically, data centres. The reality is that, more and more in this House, we are going to see conversations, debate and legislation about the impacts of artificial intelligence on our community, organisations and sectors. AI and the discussion on artificial intelligence will impact everything and everyone. So, as bills relating to AI come to the House, it is important that, where we can, we speak in a bipartisan way with one voice to give the community and the private sector—and the public sector and organisations—confidence and certainty about how we will approach legislation and how we will approach artificial intelligence.”
“If you haven't read it, go read the Greek myth of Icarus. Hubris and arrogance can send you high, but guess what? When you get close to the sun, the fall is very quick. We know what happens when the Australian people work you out, and the Australian people have worked this prime minister out. It is a prime minister that is prepared to lie to the Australian people to get what he wants, and he will get what he deserves.”
“The hubris and arrogance of this prime minister is out of control. It was on display in question time yesterday, when the Prime Minister insulted every local councillor and every local council across the country, insulted them all. It was on display when the Prime Minister broke his word to the Australian people with this budget increasing taxes on all Australians. 'My word is my bond'—not with this prime minister! It's on display with this flawed and deceptive consultation process for tech startups at the same time that they're ramming this legislation through the parliament in a dodgy deal with the Greens. In what world can you ram it through and say to the tech sector that you're consulting with them? What a disgrace—hubris and arrogance on display. But I would warn the backbench.”
“Let's not kid ourselves that the smoking rates are going down. As I said, I wish we lived in a world where no-one smoked. It's not a habit I support at all. But we live in the real world where more people are smoking because it is so easy and accessible. That's before we even talk about the impact on young children. Let's be honest. These illicit tobacconists don't care if they're selling to a 10-year-old, 12-year-old or 15-year-old. They're criminals, and it's every Australian that pays the price. (Time expired)”
“This bill will not make a difference to what we are seeing because very rarely, if ever, are tobacconists being shut down and, if they are being shut down, they're opening up again within 24 or 48 hours because the profit margins are so huge that it is nothing. It is a blip for their stock to be taken away from them. It is a blip to have even a shipping container intercepted because of the profit they make on everything else. Every year it gets worse under this government. It gets worse because the excise continues to go up. It provides a differentiation such that there are now reports that there will not be legal tobacco sold in this country in the next four to five years. Different reports have it that between 60 and 80 per cent of all tobacco in Australia is now sold illegally.”
“This is how disastrous it has gotten in Victoria. I was talking to two police officers in my community about a criminal that they arrested, and they literally got sledged by that criminal. They said: 'Yes, lock me up, I don't care. By the time I get to the magistrates, I'll get bail. I'll be back here in 24 hours and there's nothing you can do about it.' And what did that criminal do? Exactly that. They got bail, came back to the police station and laughed at the police officers. That's the real-world consequences of Victorian crime under this Labor government. Let me go back to this point.”
“However, it's 2026 and there is hope, and that hope comes in the form of Jess Wilson and the Liberal Party. Jess has made it clear that she has a plan to restore safety to Melbourne's vibrant nightlife by recruiting 3,000 more police officers, expanding 'adult crime, adult time' sentencing and implementing a one-strike bail rule for serious offences. You do the crime and you will do the time. Under the Labor government, under Jacinta Allan, that's not the case. You do the crime and you get let off. You do the crime again and you get let off again. You do it again and you get let off—and we wonder why there are no consequences. I know, from talking to many in Victoria police, they know it's time for a change. They are frustrated time and time again by the lack of consequences for young people.”
“We hear time and time again about these criminal organisations paying young people as little as $1,000 to firebomb a hospitality venue or a tobacconist. Then, when the police catch those kids, in many cases they're back out on bail and they do it again. We have this amplification in Victoria of failures at the federal level to address illicit tobacco—and, now, illicit alcohol—and failures in Victoria at the state level of Jacinta Allan and this weak Labor government to actually hold these criminals to account. Add both together and you have chaos in the streets. You have hospitality venues closing down or having to employ security at their own cost 24 hours a day; hospitality owners being threatened with their lives; retail workers being threatened and having to move out, and nothing from the federal government or the state government.”
“If you've poured your life savings and you've put everything into your business, you then have a choice: do you shut down your business and fail to feed your family, or do you start stocking this illicit tobacco like everyone else so you can put food on the table? That is the choice many small business owners are having to make across the country, and that's heartbreaking for them. That's how big this issue is. And what do we get from this government? In their own words, 'No consequential changes, no substantial new powers.' Essentially, it's a wet lettuce that is not going to change something that is out of control. It's even worse in Victoria, because we have a premier, Jacinta Allan, and a state Labor government that refuse to be tough on crime. They refuse to hold to account those that commit the crimes.”
“They just walk in to buy those products because that's their shop and they think that's the price. They walk into a larger retailer that's doing the right thing and they think they're ripping them off and they abuse them. The other perverse impact of the illicit tobacco crisis is that smaller retailers in particular—corner stores, milk bars, convenience stores, service stations—are being faced with a choice. Sometimes they don't get given a choice, and there are lots of reports about this. Organised crime are walking into their stores and telling them, 'You will sell illicit tobacco or will be back.' Some have gone to the police and they've faced the consequences of those criminals coming back. Others have had to accept them for their own safety. But if they refuse to stock illicit tobacco, they'll go broke.”
“I never have, and I never will. It's not for me. I'm not going to judge those that do. It's up to them. I think it's a dangerous habit that health professionals have shown shouldn't be there, but people are free to live their life. No wonder people are turning to illicit tobacco when they can get a packet for $20 and they walk into a retail store it's $80. That's human nature, and I don't judge those for doing that. There are unintended consequences of these decisions for hardworking businesspeople. Retailers and their staff are getting abused by consumers in their stores because a consumer is walking in and going: 'Why are you charging me $80 for my cigarettes when I've been paying $20? You're ripping me off.' Most consumers that walk into a tobacconist don't actually comprehend or understand that they're technically breaking the law.”
“If there is one hallmark standout from this prime minister, the legacy of this prime minister will be a prime minister that misleads the Australian people and a prime minister that grandstands and thinks that introducing a bill and making a statement in the house of parliament is job done. It's not because the criminals in Victoria and the criminals across the country do not care about the political games of this prime minister. They are not worried about the consequences unless they are profound. This government has shown, in their own words, that this is not going to make a difference. We are seeing this play out in so many ways. We are seeing the gap widen as illicit tobacco increases and more people are going to illicit tobacco stores. Retailers are shutting down. Many are not even offering cigarettes anymore. I don't smoke.”
“There are no substantial new powers for any enforcement agency to hold these criminals to account. This is legislation at its worst. This is this government at its worst. Member after member and the minister will stand up and say: 'We've made a difference. We're combating illicit tobacco. It's a scourge. We've got to do something.' They've got a headline and they will pretend that they're doing something, but, in their own words, it's not going to make a difference. My community, all Victorians and every Australian is sick of this government talking a big game and failing to deliver.”