MGA CEO Martin Stirling tells Senate inquiry tobacco price disparity driving customer aggression
Master Grocers Australia CEO Martin Stirling appeared before a Senate inquiry warning that the normalisation of cheap illicit tobacco prices is driving customer aggression towards retail workers who sell legal tobacco at significantly higher prices.
In NewsWire coverage titled “Aussie business owners, ex-health chief plead for tobacco excise cut warning industry could go under ‘in 12 to 24 months’,” published on May 19, 2026, Martin detailed the dangerous situations facing retail workers.
“The price of illicit tobacco has now been normalised. There is a normalised baseline of about $10 per pack (of cigarettes),” Martin told the inquiry. “When customers complete their grocery shop at an independent supermarket and perhaps want to purchase some tobacco, they become irate when they’re told (the price) will be $50 or $60.”
Martin emphasised the impact on frontline workers, particularly younger staff members facing aggression for the first time.
“That then leads to aggression, and it leads to incredibly dangerous and uncomfortable situations, especially for young retail workers who might be confronting that kind of aggression for the first time in their lives,” he said.
The inquiry heard warnings from business owners that the legitimate tobacco industry could be completely taken over by criminals within 12 to 24 months, with the illegal trade costing the federal government $5.4 billion in lost tax revenue.
The article also featured testimony from Australian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Theo Foukkare, who revealed that some retailers in high-risk areas have been forced to set up “safe rooms” where staff can escape if attacked.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Kath Markov, Marketing & Partnerships Manager
kath.markov@mgaiba.org.au
0452 660 506
