Wilkie’s dismay at smoking stance

INDEPENDENT MP Andrew Wilkie has revealed his disappointment at the State Government’s refusal to back legislation that would ban young Tasmanians from buying cigarettes.

The federal member for Clark said he watched his brother suffer a “miserable death” within a year of being diagnosed with lung cancer at the age of 49.

“I find it unfathomable how any politician could not seize any opportunity to stop people smoking,” he said.

He said his brother Joe Wilkie died in 2001, after a lifetime of hard work and smoking.

“He was given a year to live and he lasted 11 months,” Mr Wilkie said. “It was such a slow, awful, painful death.”

Mr Wilkie’s comments follow the withdrawal yesterday of Independent MLC Ivan Dean’s T21 Bill, which would have banned the sale and distribution of tobacco products to people under 21.

The proposed legislation was placed on hold until there is more support from Liberal and Labor party politicians.

Mr Dean said he was not going to proceed until he was confident that the bill would be passed. He said he believed this would happen at some point this year.

Mr Dean said there was a lack of Lower House support for the bill at present, but bipartisan support was close.

“We don’t want to lose this bill, the people don’t want to lose this bill,” he said. “We will bring the bill on as soon as we possibly can and, following some further discussions, we will bring it back on fairly quickly.”

He said he was “bitterly disappointed” by the Government’s present lack of support.

Premier Will Hodgman said he was concerned the legislation could create a black market for tobacco products in the state. “While it sounds good in theory, in practice there are issues and concerns for us as a Government,” Mr Hodgman said. He said he would welcome a national discussion on the issue.

Menzies researcher Seana Gall, the chair of the state’s Tobacco Control Coalition, said more was needed to prevent smoking among the young.

The Minderoo Foundation’s eliminate cancer Adviser Bruce Mansfield said Mr Dean’s policy had wide support. A recent You Gov Galaxy poll showed 78 per cent of Tasmanians supported raising the purchasing age for tobacco from 18 to 21.