MGA CEO Martin Stirling appeared on ABC Radio Melbourne Breakfast on June 18, 2026, to discuss the emerging threat of an illicit alcohol market in Australia and the risk that organised crime groups could expand from tobacco into alcohol.
Martin warned that the same distribution networks and retail channels that organised crime had built through the illegal tobacco trade could easily be repurposed to distribute illegal alcohol — and that the consequences could be deadly.
“We know that illegal tobacco is everywhere. They’ve got the distribution channels. They’ve got the retail channels. And we’re concerned it’s only a matter of time until this explodes into a fully blown crisis,” Martin said.
Martin outlined that the emergency meeting called by MGA for that afternoon would bring together retailers directly impacted by organised crime — including those who had received extortion threats that resulted in destroyed shopfronts — alongside law enforcement, political leaders and illicit trade experts, to develop solutions and identify what government must do to avoid repeating the mistakes of the tobacco crisis.
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Kath Markov, Marketing & Partnerships Manager
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0452 660 506
