NSW Premier Calls for Tobacco Tax Rethink as Federal Ministers Criticise NT Child Laws and Refuse Help for IS Fighter

NSW Premier Chris Minns called for a rethink of the tobacco excise on July 22, 2026, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the share of illicit tobacco consumption rose from 12 per cent in 2017 to 80 per cent in 2025. Minns told ABC Radio National Breakfast that the excise is driving lawful people to the black market and fueling organised crime.

"It feels sometimes like we're standing on a beach trying to stop the tide from coming in," he said.

"I just think we need a rethink on the excise. " Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised concerns about a Chinese nuclear-capable missile test that flew over multiple Pacific nations earlier in July during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Manila. Wong also raised the detention of Australian democracy activist Dr Yang Hengjun on spying charges.

The meeting marked the 12th time the two ministers have met, Abc reported. Environment Minister Murray Watt criticised the Northern Territory government's passage of new child protection laws during a late-night sitting of parliament. The laws replace the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle with a universal child placement principle.

Watt described the change as a backwards step and said connection to country remains important, though he was not aware of plans for Commonwealth intervention. Murray Watt also stated that the government will not provide assistance to Australian doctor Tareq Kamleh, who joined Islamic State and is imprisoned in Iraq. Watt cited constitutional limits on preventing citizens from returning home.

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O'Brien called on the government to explain how it will prevent former Islamic State fighters from returning to Australia. Labor's National Conference is scheduled to begin in Adelaide on July 23, 2026.