1m agoMon 4 May 2026 at 9:12pm
Assistant minister ‘astounded’ tobacco giant gave evidence in private
Assistant Minister for Customs Julian Hill says he’s “astounded” that tobacco giant Philip Morris International was allowed to give evidence to a federal parliamentary inquiry in private.
As my colleagues Stephanie Borys, Katie McAllister, and Isobel Roe reported, the inquiry into illicit tobacco abruptly closed to the public yesterday without explanation for around 45 minutes.
Upon resuming, the Liberal-led inquiry was told representatives from Philip Morris gave evidence, which will be published later in full with their names redacted.
Hill says giving the company permission to give evidence in secret goes “directly” against the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“This is a convention that [former prime minister] John Howard signed Australia up to that says dealings with big tobacco should happen only where strictly necessary, transparently in public, and at arm’s length wherever possible,” he says.
“Australians should be shocked and outraged that today the committee chose to get secret evidence from big tobacco in private.”
10m agoMon 4 May 2026 at 9:02pm
Good morning 👋
Hello all and welcome to our federal politics live blog. It’s great as always to have you join us early this Tuesday morning!
I’m Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra, here and ready to bring you all of today’s federal politics news.
Just a week out from the federal budget, we’re getting some information about what might be included in the budget papers on Tuesday.
As economics reporter Tom Crowley reports, Labor looks set to curb negative gearing, overhaul the capital gains tax (CGT) discount and new tax rules imposed on trusts.
And some electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from fringe benefits tax from next year, adding thousands to a novated lease for an EV, according to senior political correspondent Jake Evans.
I’ve got my eyes on all the TV networks so let’s get straight into the day and see what it brings us!
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