Lake Rotoma used to be crime free. Not anymore.
Thieves stole Lake Rotoma’s children’s playground equipment worth $270,000.
Our dairy has been ram-raided three times.
Professionals stole our caravan. They knew how to spring the ball lock.
What has changed in the past decade?
In 2010, Parliament legislated to increase the price of cigarettes 10 per cent a year plus inflation. In March 2010, the average pack of 25 cigarettes cost $13.46. Today that pack costs $38.30.
The cost of cigarettes has triggered a crime wave.
Crime is going to get a lot worse. In the end-of-year rush of legislation, Labour, the Greens and the Māori Party passed the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Bill.
The minister claims the bill will reduce nicotine in cigarettes, reduce the number of outlets able to sell cigarettes from 6000 to just 600 and make it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born after January 1, 2009. Actually, Labour has legislated to make New Zealand the only country to have prohibition for smoking.
Prohibition in America was a spectacular failure. Crime boomed. Alcohol consumption increased.
Under Prohibition, the sale of beer, wine and spirits in America was still legal, provided it was alcohol-free.
The sale of tobacco will still be legal in New Zealand provided its nicotine free.
Drinkers drink for the alcohol. Smokers smoke for the nicotine.
It is daydreaming to believe that when tobacco is nicotine-less and cigarettes taste like sawdust smokers will kick the habit.
When the only way to get a real smoke is from illegal tobacco, that is what smokers will buy. Organised crime will not stop their criminality at the supply of illegal tobacco. Prohibition corrupts society.
We know this because we already have prohibition. The sale of methamphetamine to people of any age is illegal. It is a failure. Wastewater testing reveals there are 45,000 P users.
Customs reports tobacco smuggling is already more profitable than smuggling cocaine. When legal cigarettes are nicotine free there will be no shortage of willing mules.
Smoking is very bad for your health. The prohibitive cost has led many to quit smoking. But prohibition is not necessary. Cigarette smoking is declining. Over a third of the population smoked in 1976. Just 13.4 per cent smoke today.
In the US in the 1960s, 40 per cent of the adult population smoked. Now it is 12.5 per cent. The average US retail price of cigarettes is US$6.43 per pack. The excessive price in New Zealand was never needed.
It is no longer cool to smoke. Even smokers think smoking is dumb.
The excessive excise duty on cigarettes is taxing the poor. In households I know where the children do not always get breakfast every one of the adults are smokers. Addicts feed their addiction first.
Reducing the price of cigarettes would reduce child poverty. Tax cigarettes so they are not cheap but not so expensive they are worth robbing for.
Reducing the tax would end ram raids.
The decision to reduce the number of outlets able to sell tobacco to 600 is Labour’s casual discrimination against rural New Zealand. It is 18km to our nearest supermarket. It would devastate our community if our dairy closes.
Politicians make poor decisions when they first create the advertising slogan and then try to get the policy to fit. Officials and ministers set an “aspirational goal”. Then they set a target date far enough ahead so they cannot be held responsible.
Politicians love 2050. “Zero Road toll by 2050″. “Predator Free 2050″ “Carbon neutral 2050″.
It is replacing policy with billboards.
“Aotearoa smokefree 2025″. With smoking, politicians and officials got carried away. They set a target date that means that many can be held responsible for the failure to reach their aspirational goal.
The Health Department has admitted New Zealand will not be smoke-free by 2025. Instead of admitting the goal was never realistic Labour has doubled down.
Without the absurd Smokefree 2025 goal, the Government could have pointed out smoking is going the same way as chewing tobacco. Labour could have even eased back on the tax. Instead, Labour is introducing prohibition.
Do not believe that as a non-smoker this does not affect you. Today it is Lake Rotoma and my caravan. Next it will be your neighbourhood. Labour has legislated to make New Zealand the Chicago of the South Pacific.
- Richard Prebble is a former leader of the Act Party and a former member of the Labour Party.
