Opposition Leader Angus Taylor on Thursday pledged to reduce the excise on a standard packet of 20 cigarettes from about $30 to just $6 if elected, declaring the dramatic price reduction would smash the thriving black market.

More than half of the tobacco consumed in Australia last year was bought illegally, with the illicit market share jumping to 80 per cent when vapes and nicotine pouches are included. A 20 pack of cigarettes typically costs between $40 and $50. With the Coalition’s proposed cut the price would drop to about $16-$26, assuming the tobacco retailers passed on the full tax reduction.

The Coalition has also vowed to legalise, regulate and tax vapes and nicotine pouches for adults. Australians aged over 18 can purchase legal vapes through pharmacies, while pouches are banned.

Modelling of the Coalition’s policy package by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found it would increase tax revenue by about $8 billion over the first four years, which is about double current forecasts. University of Sydney public health professor Becky Freeman described the policy as a “terrible idea”, because lowering the price of regulated products means the criminals can just lower their prices as well.

Qantas ground handling crews may soon walk off the job after overwhelmingly voting in favour of taking industrial action to demand better pay and conditions.

The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) says 97% of its members employed by Qantas Ground Services (QGS) workers voted for the right to strike in the coming weeks. The workers had also voted to strike less than a week after Qantas reported its financial results for the last year, revealing it may hike fares after its profits dipped to a four-year low.

QGS is a subsidiary company owned by the airline, set up when Alan Joyce was still its CEO, which – according to the union – pays workers less than its “legacy” workforce. Its ground crews also perform work for Qantas Freight and the company’s regional Q-Link service, the union says.

The TWU says its health and safety reps in New South Wales have served Qantas with 14 provisional improvement notices over alleged safety failings at Qantas Freight, where a labour hire worker died last year.

The TWU national secretary the workers had had enough with the company’s false promises, which was why they had gone on strike. A Qantas spokesperson said they remain committed to reaching an agreement with our Qantas Ground Services employees that includes annual pay rises for their employees.

The Victorian Liberals are promising new hybrid trains for commuters in Melbourne’s booming west, as a newly upgraded station at Melton opens today.

If elected in November, the Coalition is promising $1.7 billion for 25 new hybrid diesel-electric trains on the Melton and Wyndham Vale lines.

The lines are currently served by smaller V-Line trains, with local communities waiting for promised electrification of the line to run larger, more frequent Metro services. The state government said it would run higher-capacity V-Line trains on the Melton line from next year, while it finishes investigating electrification.

Mt Atkinson resident Jaksha Shah said residents have long been waiting for the line to be electrified so trains can run more often, and for new train stations to be built in growing suburbs at Mt Atkinson and Thornhill Park. Meanwhile, Infrastructure Victoria said hybrid trains were already operating in some areas of Europe, but that it would not be the best long term solution for Melbourne’s west.