Dying at Deadloch's pastry-fication of Wentworth's most vicious villains.

literature muses.

daisy jones and the six.

billy dunne, lead singer of the six, twenty-thirties/forties, sam claflin, bisexual. camila alvarez/dunne, photographer, twenty-thirties/forties, camila morrone, bisexual. margaret/daisy jones, lead singer for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, riley keough, bisexual. eddie roundtree, guitarist/bassist for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, josh whitehouse, bisexual. graham dunne, guitarist for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, will harrison, bisexual. karen sirko, keyboardist for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, suki waterhouse, bisexual. simone jackson, disco queen, twenty-thirties/forties, nabiyah be, lesbian. warren rojas, drummer and stoner for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, sebastian chacon, bisexual.

malibu rising.

nina riva, nepo baby ( unfortunally ) eldest daughter of singer mick riva and mother june riva. love surfing and doesn’t like to be the center of attentions. loves her sliblings so much, she would do anything for them. twenty/thrity, victoria bronova, bisexual.

off campus / briar u.

allie hayes, drama queen of briar and college student, twenty, scarlet leithold, bisexual. brian crowes, hockey player of briar and college student, twenty, jacob elordi, bisexual. daisy abrahams, hockey player for the girl of briar and college student, twenty, benedetta porcaroli, bisexual. garrett graham, stars of the hockey team of briar and the bruins, twenty, froy gutierrez, bisexual. hannah wells, singer of briar and college student, twenty, diana silver, bisexual. ivana loveslange, influencer of briar and college student, twenty, sahar luna, straight, ship exclusive with. jake connelly, stars of the hockey team of harvard and the bruins, twenty, xavier serrano, bisexual. john logan, stars of the hockey team of briar and the bruins + garagist, twenty, drew starkey, bisexual. sabrina james, baby mama of jamie and law student at harvard and briar, twenty, cindy kimberly, bisexual. demi davis, twenty-one years old girl who loves to show confidence, nailea devora, bisexual. taylor marsh, twenty-one years old, loves educating children from hasting's elementary school, iskra lawrence, pansexual. conor edwards, surfer and hockey player from briar , twenty-two, neels visser, pansexual. summer heyward-di laurentis, sunshine who's living her best life at briar, twenty-one, kaley mcpherson .

twilight.

alice cullen, vampire who’s a little bit lunatic at times and psychic, nineteen in apparence but 186+, ashley moore, bisexual. rosalie hale, beauty queen who’s a little bit cold but is a cinamon, twenty in apparence but 73+, samantha logan, bisexual.

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo.

evelyn hugo, porto-rican godess who hated everything about herself so she build an image of perfections, actress, twenty/thirty/forty, ana de armas, lesbian ( closeted at the begining )

the secret circle.

diana meade, witchy woo and student, twenty, lea seydoux, bisexual.

the vampire diaries.

damon salvatore, brooding brother who’s obessessed with a evil vampire, +500 years, louis garell, bisexual.

after.

theresa lynn young, student and writer, eighteen years old girl who tries not to attact attentions but doesn't suceed, bisexual, olivia dejonge.

offside.

chase carter, twenty-two years, likes to pushes men against ice rinks when they says outrageous and bad things about women, straights, elmo o'dwyer. bailey james, twenty-one who got dumped on her birthday and hates her own college, so, likes to hang with the enemy, straight, marissa grace long.

the maze runner.

thomas, subject a2, the leader, greenie, chuck's older brother, runner from the glade, group a, impulsive at times, will do anything for his friends and people in general. seventeen-nineteen. bisexual. dylan o'brien. minho, subject a7, keeper of the runners, is thomas's and newt's sidekick, will do anything for his friends, people in general. bisexual, seventeen-nineteen, ki hong lee.

twisted games.

rhys larsen, thirty-one years, former military now a bodyguard, stoic broody and arrogant, is pretty good at his joband tries not to let it get too personal, straight, hakan adalı.

pjo.

piper mclean, piper is a demigod, meaning she is the offspring of a mortal and a god. her parentage is revealed later in the series: she is the daughter of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. piper's father is Tristan McLean, a famous actor. seventeen-nineteen, bisexual, madison bailey. jason grace, jason is a demigod, born to the Roman god Jupiter ( the equivalent of the Greek god Zeus ) and a mortal woman named Beryl Grace. he was raised at Camp Jupiter, the Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood, where Greek demigods are trained. like his Greek counterpart Percy Jackson, Jason plays a crucial role in the events that unfold in the series., seventeen-nineteen, bisexual, rudy pankow.

literature muses.

daisy jones and the six.

billy dunne, lead singer of the six, twenty-thirties/forties, sam claflin, bisexual. camila alvarez/dunne, photographer, twenty-thirties/forties, camila morrone, bisexual. margaret/daisy jones, lead singer for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, riley keough, bisexual. eddie roundtree, guitarist/bassist for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, josh whitehouse, bisexual. graham dunne, guitarist for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, will harrison, bisexual. karen sirko, keyboardist for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, suki waterhouse, bisexual. simone jackson, disco queen, twenty-thirties/forties, nabiyah be, lesbian. warren rojas, drummer and stoner for the six, twenty-thirties/forties, sebastian chacon, bisexual.

malibu rising.

nina riva, nepo baby ( unfortunally ) eldest daughter of singer mick riva and mother june riva. love surfing and doesn’t like to be the center of attentions. loves her sliblings so much, she would do anything for them. twenty/thrity, victoria bronova, bisexual.

off campus / briar u.

allie hayes, drama queen of briar and college student, twenty, scarlet leithold, bisexual. brian crowes, hockey player of briar and college student, twenty, jacob elordi, bisexual. daisy abrahams, hockey player for the girl of briar and college student, twenty, benedetta porcaroli, bisexual. garrett graham, stars of the hockey team of briar and the bruins, twenty, froy gutierrez, bisexual. hannah wells, singer of briar and college student, twenty, diana silver, bisexual. ivana loveslange, influencer of briar and college student, twenty, sahar luna, straight, ship exclusive with. jake connelly, stars of the hockey team of harvard and the bruins, twenty, xavier serrano, bisexual. john logan, stars of the hockey team of briar and the bruins + garagist, twenty, drew starkey, bisexual. sabrina james, baby mama of jamie and law student at harvard and briar, twenty, cindy kimberly, bisexual. demi davis, twenty-one years old girl who loves to show confidence, nailea devora, bisexual. taylor marsh, twenty-one years old, loves educating children from hasting's elementary school, iskra lawrence, pansexual. conor edwards, surfer and hockey player from briar , twenty-two, neels visser, pansexual. summer heyward-di laurentis, sunshine who's living her best life at briar, twenty-one, kaley mcpherson .

twilight.

alice cullen, vampire who’s a little bit lunatic at times and psychic, nineteen in apparence but 186+, ashley moore, bisexual. rosalie hale, beauty queen who’s a little bit cold but is a cinamon, twenty in apparence but 73+, samantha logan, bisexual.

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo.

evelyn hugo, porto-rican godess who hated everything about herself so she build an image of perfections, actress, twenty/thirty/forty, ana de armas, lesbian ( closeted at the begining )

the secret circle.

diana meade, witchy woo and student, twenty, lea seydoux, bisexual.

the vampire diaries.

damon salvatore, brooding brother who’s obessessed with a evil vampire, +500 years, louis garell, bisexual.

after.

theresa lynn young, student and writer, eighteen years old girl who tries not to attact attentions but doesn't suceed, bisexual, olivia dejonge.

offside.

chase carter, twenty-two years, likes to pushes men against ice rinks when they says outrageous and bad things about women, straights, elmo o'dwyer. bailey james, twenty-one who got dumped on her birthday and hates her own college, so, likes to hang with the enemy, straight, marissa grace long.

the maze runner.

thomas, subject a2, the leader, greenie, chuck's older brother, runner from the glade, group a, impulsive at times, will do anything for his friends and people in general. seventeen-nineteen. bisexual. dylan o'brien. minho, subject a7, keeper of the runners, is thomas's and newt's sidekick, will do anything for his friends, people in general. bisexual, seventeen-nineteen, ki hong lee.

twisted games.

rhys larsen, thirty-one years, former military now a bodyguard, stoic broody and arrogant, is pretty good at his joband tries not to let it get too personal, straight, hakan adalı.

Petitions

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Motherhood offers greater rewards than parliament

I wish Kelly O'Dwyer well in her choice to spend more time with her family. I advise her that young children ask a lot of questions and want answers relevant to the subject. -Bea Hodgson, Gerringong Kelly O'Dwyer has legitimate reasons for quitting politics, but no doubt other Coalition members will be jumping ship in the lead up to the election for less than honourable reasons. I suspect the prospect of at least six years in opposition, or worse still, suffering the humiliation of losing their seat, will prompt some not to recontest as election day draws nearer. -Graham Lum, North Rocks The Liberals' Kelly O'Dwyer and Senator David Bushby ("Liberal senator announces resignation, gets plum overseas post 60 minutes later", January 19-20) have announced their resignations. There will be more to come as the thought of those long, lonely years in Opposition begin to keep our Coalition representatives awake at night. And if you are a woman in the Liberals and Nationals? You could be the last one standing. -Wendy Atkins, Cooks Hill Our environment should be an Australian value I was prompted by the values ("Australian values: what the bloody hell are they?", January 19-20) article to read the government's booklet for would-be Australian citizens, Our Common Bond. Not one serious hint of Australia's amazing biodiversity, except for floral emblems and the odd picture of a gum tree. Not even a koala or kangaroo, except for the coat of arms. Many people new to a place find connection, beauty and solace in the natural environment of their new home, just as many Australians serving overseas in world wars found comfort in receiving gum leaves or wattle sprigs pressed between pages of letters from home. Maybe even a mention in the government booklet that Australia is the home of the gum tree would be some acknowledgement of what contributes to make Australia distinctive, and hopefully engender a love of the incredible animals and plants that exist only here. -Jane Gye, Cowan When I came to Australia in 1970, the widely held values of the time supported separating Indigenous children from their parents, keeping married women out of work, racism, keeping "new Australians" in their place and hating Japanese. The White Australia policy was still widely supported. Corruption, in NSW and Victoria, was widely tolerated. Rather than having an obligation to accept the values of my new country, I had a clear obligation to oppose them and to lend my support to those who sought to change them. New South African citizens at that time had an obligation to oppose, not support, the values of apartheid. And, for goodness sake, what values should new German citizens have adopted at the start of the 20th century? The very idea that anyone has an obligation to adopt Australian values just because those values are Australian is absurd. -Martin Bibby, Beecroft In 1956, I "swore allegiance to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors" at a ceremony conducted in the Blacktown Shire Council. I sent my Certificate of Naturalisation securely encased as a scroll to the NSW Department of Education to qualify for permanency of employment. The document was returned to me folded several times and no longer suitable for mounting and display. As an avowed Republican, I have made inquiries about renewing my allegiance to Australia and its people, rather than the British monarchy. (PS I will abide by any dress code nominated by ScoMo but will not wear a baseball cap.) -Ferdo Mathews, Robina (Qld) Diversity equals quality in politics The excellent editorial ("It is time to bring outsiders inside Canberra's bubble", January 19-20) gets to the heart of Australia's political system problems. Lack of diversity and quality in the parliaments. It goes beyond the gender issue. Remarkably two other articles in that edition concentrate on the same problem: Eryk Bagshaw's "No more diversity, lots more staffers" (January 19-20) and Michael Koziol's "Why era of box seat independents is almost over" (January 19-20). What is missing in these pieces are two crucial questions: why is it so? and what can be done about it? The cause is the single-member-district electoral system. The remedy: introduction of proportional representation open party list, used in 90 other countries. As the major parties have no plans for governance system change, the minors and independents should get the ball rolling. In addition, drop the Westminster practice of selecting governments only from elected MPs. The talent pool available in the wider society is really much larger. -Klaas Woldring, Pearl Beach Is it better to have a "bubble" than a "swamp" in Canberra? -Ciaran Donnelly, Lane Cove West Hemp is the answer If the cotton farm fields are so empty of crop, and the return on harvest as low as reported ("Cotton industry rejects blame for ailing Darling", January 19-20), now would be an excellent time to transition to growing hemp. The move at this time would give them everything to gain and very little to lose. -Anthony Healy, Willougby East No butts about it So Wendy Squires was "talking out of her butt", was she ("True blue furphy: Australia is changing, but not for the best", January 19-20)? Sorry, luv, here in Australia the word is "bum" or "arse" or, if you are in polite company, "bottom" or "behind", although those who have upper-class pretensions might use "derriere". -Ian Falconer, Turramurra Lack of support That the alleged killer of Aiia Maasarwe ("Aspiring rapper held over student's 'horrific' killing", January 19-20) has been arrested is good news. More disturbing is the young man may be suffering from mental health issues and is perhaps homeless. That such a young man is no doubt filled with our society's many unhealthy attitudes towards women, the other question to be asked, is how is it okay that in such a wealthy country as ours do we tolerate the failure to support those suffering from mental health issues, and their all-too-common partners of unemployment and homelessness? We should all be able to walk our streets in safety, but we should also look at the growing disparity in wealth and how that affects the lives of those born into poverty and hopelessness. -Colin Hesse, Marrickville Engineering consent Thank you for your article, Elizabeth Farrelly ("NSW, where any mug can be an engineer", January 19-20). Should we wish for a tsunami to destabilise these atrocious buildings? Seriously, we've never had really good buildings in Sydney, nor in the whole state. No wonder we pay to stay in weird European flats that were built in the 16th century. Despite the wars, they stand. The showers beggars belief, the kitchens are invariably minuscule, but we like the streets they line, the towns they blend into. Ah well. -Carolyn van Langenberg, Blackheath Elizabeth Farrelly points out a lot of the problems that have been around for a long time in the engineering and construction industry. The peak professional engineering membership body, which only accepts engineers who have qualifications acceptable to the body, is the Institution of Engineers Australia. Members have the post-nominal MIEAust, but there is no requirement for engineering/construction companies to employ engineers with this qualification in NSW. For many years the institution tried to get a distinguishing word for "professional engineer", which could only be used by MIEAust members. This appears to have been unsuccessful, consequently anyone can call themselves an engineer with or without qualifications. -Ian Nicholls, Baulkham Hills Long weekends a must In answer to Stuart Dorney's letter about the placement of Australia Day (Letters, January 19-20), before 1988 that is what happened, the last Monday of January was Australia Day, until a politician decided we should celebrate it on the actual day. The "last Monday" was low-key, none of the hype and hyperbole we have now, plus most businesses were closed so the majority of the population could have a weekend to celebrate or commiserate the day. Remember when Australia was "the land of the long weekend", now we are a global city business must be open for the tourists or the locals who forgot the bread. In this election year, both state and federal, let's pressure the politicians to give us back our long weekend. So Michael and Bill, if you win, can we go back to the future, give us back our long weekends? -Robert Pallister, Punchbowl Last century Australia Day used to be moved about to make it a long weekend. Does that mean you would change your birthday to the nearest Friday or Monday? -Ron Field, Bermagui Germany's friendly fire Edward Houghton-Ward declaimed De Gaulle's antipathy towards England and Churchill in particular (Letters, January 19-20). Elsewhere in Europe, the Germans had their own problems. Due to vaulting ambitions and professional egos, Admiral Raeder (Kriegsmarine) clashed with Marshall Goring (Luftwaffe) over the tactical use of air power in support of their naval operations. Communications were so poor that once, early in the war, the Luftwaffe managed to sink two German destroyers. The Royal Navy was delighted. Inter-service rivalries are a killer. -Mike Fogarty, Weston (ACT) More design flaws? Given the problems surrounding the construction of Arthur Phillip High School are sufficiently serious to inspire a decision to build no more high-rise schools in NSW ("Blowouts spell end for school high-rises", January 19-20), it seems reasonable to ask why the design process did not reveal at least some of them? -Norm Neill, Darlinghurst Service interrupted Also, Rob Hughes (Letters, January 19-20), the tennis champions you named don't go through an elaborate, time-consuming routine before serving, unlike Nadal, Murray and many women. With all their years of experience could they not learn the simpler way? And with ball boys and ball girls available there is no need for players to keep spare balls. Keeping one in a pocket is one thing but there is no such special provision in women's pants. Why do they do it? -Roger Henderson, Wollstonecraft CANARY TIME How delighted I was to see Clive Palmer's political advertisement in the Herald (January 19-20) highlighted in yellow. It helped my eye look elsewhere immediately. The colour is so appropriate, just like a canary in a nickel mine. -Deb McPherson, Gerringong I see from Clive Palmer's large in-your-face ad that we need more women in parliament. Palmer says that women "should be accepted not just because of their beauty". If that is the barometer for their acceptance in parliament then it seems we really do have a long way to go. Sack your copywriter, Clive. -Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl CASSETTE REVIVAL I hope they know they'll need a pencil to wind the spool on when it gets loose ("Music fans hit rewind in cassette fad", January 19-21). -Michael Deeth, Como West ROYAL PAIN It's a stain on Australian bodies and institutions that we need royal commissions, with probably more to come, to investigate wrongdoing in society. Why not have a royal commission into royal commissions, and while we are at it, one into the Tomic and Hewitt feud? -Corrado Tavella, Rosslyn Park (SA) Most Viewed in National Loading https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/motherhood-offers-greater-rewards-than-parliament-20190120-p50sin.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

CBD: Is Rupert's hometown hero the Post's comeback kid?

There is now public speculation among Post staffers that Allan is about to come back into the fold. Meanwhile, back at News Corp's local operations, local advertising boss Lou Barrett has had to look outside the Holt Street bunker for a good speechwriter. She's brought in former journalist and Network Ten corporate affairs manager Neil Shoebridge, who left the broadcaster last April to start his own consultancy. Barrett will no doubt deliver the advertising equivalent of the Gettysburg Address shortly. High hopes in Higgins after Liberal shock You could almost feel the earth move in Victoria on Saturday as jaws hit the floor en masse after Kelly O'Dwyer's shock decision to vacate the blue-ribbon seat of Higgins. O'Dwyer is a moderate, and a group of young, conservative factional opponents celebrated the announcement in predictable fashion by popping corks at the Portsea Pub. High-profile critics were more reflective. Former Higgins 200 committee member, millionaire and vocal O'Dwyer opponent John McMurrick told CBD he would closely watch the new preselection for candidates who have any appetite to roll back deeply unpopular (in Higgins, anyway) superannuation changes shepherded in by O'Dwyer. Former Liberal Party member turned Higgins candidate Robert Kennedy says he's now reconsidering plans to run against the Liberals in the seat as a Liberal Democrat. Kennedy will make his final call once the new candidate is selected. "Please, please, please: no more left-wing political staffers," Kennedy said of potential candidates. And then there's former treasurer and erstwhile Higgins MP Peter Costello, who once employed O'Dwyer as a staffer. Costello has been quiet on the matter, but this might be because the news broke the morning after the wedding of his son Sebastian on Friday night. Meanwhile, former state president Michael Kroger is back from holidays. Given his 40-year association with Higgins, he'll play a key role in determining the candidate. Kroger was spotted enjoying the Australian Open in the meantime. An update! As discussed last week, Emma Waltersno longer works at law firm Gordon Legal as a "union services manager". Walters, who is married to controversial CFMEU boss John Setka, made headlines over the Christmas holidays when she was allegedly caught drink-driving after police pulled her over for allegedly speeding after an alleged Boxing Day altercation with her husband. Her December departure from Gordon Legal, a go-to firm for union heavies, has garnered far less publicity. It turns out the departure was part of a sensitive arrangement brokered with the help of rival plaintiff firm Maurice Blackburn and its employment relations partner Josh Bornstein. Bornstein says he provided advice to Walters and represented her in negotiations with her former employer. A settlement paid out in December suggests the parting of ways was far from amicable. Neither side will comment on the precise nature of the dispute. All this raises the obvious question: what exactly did the "union services manager" do to earn an annual salary said to be worth more than $200,000? For the record, the CFMEU says it will continue to use Gordon Legal even though Walters has left. "They're the best in the business when it comes to labour law firms," deputy secretary Shaun Reardon told CBD. Liveris can always hope Darwin boy Andrew Liveris made a name for himself running the Michigan-based conglomerate Dow Chemicals and for his enthusiastic use of the corporate jet and corporate credit card. Relinquishing the high-flying lifestyle of a multinational CEO was never going to be easy. Fortunately, Liveris has since found gainful employment working for Saudi Arabia's Mohammad Bin Salman as special advisor to the kingdoms sovereign wealth fund and as a director of Saudi Aramco, the worlds largest oil company. "Bone Saw bin Salam", of course, is the "liberalising reformer" many believe ordered the murder of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi. But it seems this wasn't the only government work Liveris chased last year. He had his long-time schnauzer poodle Tom Harley lobby then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull for a plum gig on a government-run science or manufacturing council even if one didn't exist (yet). Among a series of suggestions put to Turnbull was the ludicrous idea of serving his country as a roving trade envoy travelling the world in search of investment. Liveris never got the gigs, but he sure did provide Turnbull's staff with much-needed amusement. Samantha is the The Age's CBD columnist. She recently covered Victorian and NSW politics and business for News Corp, and previously worked for the Australian Financial Review. Kylar Loussikian is The Sydney Morning Herald's CBD columnist. Most Viewed in National Loading https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/cbd-is-rupert-s-hometown-hero-the-post-s-comeback-kid-20190120-p50sit.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Government 'butt-squad' to chase billions in criminal tobacco fraud

And a new multi-agencyTobacco Taskforce, to be formally announced in the budget on Tuesday, will crack down on criminal gangs and organised crime syndicates which each year, move a staggering amount of the product beyond the taxman's reach in the black economy. To be led by the Australian Border Force, the Tobacco Taskforce's operating brief will be to enforce the toughened laws and to "dismantle illicit tobacco supply chains". Authorities believe significant quantities of cigarettes are illegally removed from tobacco warehouses for sale on the black market. Some of this theft may be piecemeal by employees, but larger-scale removal of cigarettes from warehouses is also occurring. To address this "leakage", a tightened regulatory framework will ensure the integrity of the tobacco duty regime and new resources will be provided to the ATO to meet the challenge of home-grown supply for the illicit tobacco trade. Among those changes will be a new requirement to obtain a permit to import tobacco. The government says it has seized an estimated 98 tonnes of illicit tobacco this financial year alone, which would have netted the taxpayer almost $90 million in revenue had it been sold legally. In a single operation in Queensland, 31 tonnes was seized, which would have netted $29 million in duty. In Victoria, $48 million has been foregone on the tobacco seized, which weighed in at a nation-leading 53 tonnes. Seizures in NSW so far this year have accounted for 14 tonnes or $13 million in foregone revenue. The previous financial year, the ATO seized 117 tonnes at an estimated total value in terms of duty of $90 million. Estimates from the Departmentof Home Affairs and the ATO say this is merely a fraction of the total revenue foregone each year, which is as high as $600 million. In January this year, three people allegedly connected to a tobacco smuggling syndicate operating through Melbourne Airport's international terminal were charged in relation to a haul of 1 million cigarettes. Authorities say that had a street value of $682,500 and would have raised duties close to three-quarters of a million dollars if sold legally. In another instance, Australian Border Force officers in conjunctionwith the Australian Federal Police's Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce, seized luxury vehicles, jewellery and $9 million in cash regarded as the proceeds of crime. Ms O'Dwyer said the extent of the problem called for even tougher anti-corruption measures, particularly because criminals operating in the tobacco black market were using it to finance other off-book endeavours. "The illicit tobacco market is dominated by organised crime groups, which use tobacco profits to fund their other criminal and black economy activities, she said. These strong new measures will shut down the avenues that organised crime syndicates have to access illicit tobacco to fund criminal activity. The changes build on those introduced in legislation earlier this year dealing with illicit tobacco offences, which included tougher penalties for tobacco-related offences of up to 10 years' imprisonment. Government figures revealed the ATO had undertaken 26 operations since July 2016 in which the seizure and destruction of 215 tonnes of illicit tobacco had occurred. It said this would have netted $179 million in tobacco duty. Over the same time, the ATO had executed 55 warrants relating to breaches of the Excise Act. The attraction of black market cigarettes has grown because of the ease with which successive governments have increased imposts without fear of political backlash. In his first budget in 2016, Treasurer Scott Morrison announced an annual 12.5 per cent rise in tobacco excise for each of the next four years. This continued the sharp upward trajectory of cigarette prices which have climbed by more than 340 per cent since 1996. The crackdown on illegal tobacco is unlikely to garner any opposition within Parliament with all major parties aware of the lethal risks of smoking. On Friday, Mr Morrison announced a tax reduction for the smaller capacity beer kegs favoured by craft beer makers, putting them on a par with the larger ones used by the major brewers. Comments disabled

Mark Kenny is the national affairs editor for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House Morning & Afternoon NewsletterDelivered MonFri. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/federal/government-butt-squad-to-chase-billions-in-criminal-tobacco-fraud-20180505-p4zdiv.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Vic didn't kill him.

Hard agree. If Sam O'Dwyer's head wound was the cause of death, them, sure, charge Vic. Charge them all as accessories, but that's not what fucking happened.

Vic O'Dwyer's quiet solidarity with Vanessa Latham means so much to me actually.

Waikato District Council: Stop Mainland Poultry factory farming 400,000 hens for cheap eggs! - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2HXtIQN via @ChangeAUS

Premier Gladys Berejiklian:  Save North Sydney's historic trees from Destruction - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2HXtGs9 via @ChangeAUS

Daniel Andrews: Rape victims like me are being failed in Victoria - please act now! - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2DNN3RM via @ChangeAUS

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Health Commitee: My son took his life. Urgent independent nationwide mental health inquiry needed. - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2DNBUk4 via @ChangeAUS

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Julie Bishop, ​act now ​to ​#BringJamesRicketsonHome​ or my innocent father will die in jail - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2DOv1Pj via @ChangeAUS

Starbucks, we know you can #BreakFreeFromPlastic and make a #BetterCup. - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2DKSBMZ via @ChangeAUS

Peter Dutton: Bring Priya Back to Biloela - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2HYBb1E via @ChangeAUS

“Praying the Gay Away” nearly killed me -- outlaw conversion therapy - Sign the Petition! http://chn.ge/2HYBaL8 via @ChangeAUS