While Border Force cracks down on tobacco shops across Queensland selling tonnes of illicit tobacco under the counter, cheap tobacco (chop chop) is now hard to find.
Member for Hill Shane Knuth is calling on Queensland and Federal Governments to reinstate a regulated tobacco industry on the Atherton Tablelands, citing economic opportunity, agricultural heritage, and the need to combat a booming illicit tobacco trade laced with harsh chemicals.
Mr Knuth says the Tablelands – including Dimbulah, Mutchilba, and Mareeba – was once Australia’s largest tobacco-producing region until deregulation wiped out the legal industry.
“Here on the Tablelands was once the biggest tobacco producing region in Australia until deregulation, which totally wiped out the industry. But it’s now caused this illicit tobacco trade that’s costing this country billions of dollars,” Mr Knuth said.
“To help stamp out that illicit trade, we need to reinstate the tobacco industry here in Queensland and Australia.”
Mr Knuth emphasised that local production would allow for strict regulation, traceability, and quality control.
“This is the golden opportunity to actually grow our own tobacco here, not source it from overseas. No one knows where it’s coming from. No one knows what chemicals they use.”
“We’ve got the resources, we’ve got the soil, we’ve got the water, we’ve got the farmers ready to go.
“All that we need now is the permits so the farmers can actually make it happen,” Mr Knuth said.
“We’re not promoting smoking, but while it’s been sourced illegally from overseas, why don’t we produce it here?”
Joe Trimarchi from Red Hill Farming hails from generations of agriculture on the Tablelands and says with the regions capacity and rich tobacco history, reigniting the industry would ensure quality without the harsh chemicals used in overseas sources.
“We have some relics of the past, that’s all that’s left of the tobacco industry. I believe there’s an opportunity to revive the industry again.”
“My dad and his father, when they first came here to the Atherton Tablelands, they were growing tobacco and producing it. I believe it was quite successful in that time,” he said.
Mr Trimarchi, who has held licences to grow medicinal cannabis and hemp for seed and fibre, believes a similar licensing framework could support a modern, regulated tobacco sector – including organic production.
“I’ve had a licence to grow medicinal cannabis, I’ve had the opportunity to grow hemp for seed and fibre, and I think they could possibly be done again along the same ways with a licensing arrangement to grow tobacco,” Mr Trimachi said.