Obviously the illicit tobacco trade is a large/primary driver of this, but illicit vapes are also becoming a part of their business.
Are you saying that legitimate tobacco stores are being burned down by illicit tobacco traffickers? To eliminate competition?
There have been few isolated incidents of the tobacconist stores having been set ablaze, but it does not equate to, e.g. east coast Australian capital cities, being engulfed in putrid smouldering fires emanating from the said tobacconist shops.
Australian government introduced a (rushed) law in July this year that outlawed street sales of vapes and obligated local pharmacies to sell the officially licensed vapes instead, which has caused a uproar and a revolt on behalf of the Pharmacist Guild who bluntly refused to stock and distribute the vapes. The pharmacies that are not the guild members have made decisions at their own discretion. The drama is still unfolding.
There have been more than 70 arson attacks on tobacco stores and other businesses believed to be involved in the sale of illicit tobacco since March 2023, according to the Victoria police assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien.
ABC[0] reports following numbers for arson attacks on tobacconists across Australian states:
NSW: 14
Victoria: 130
Queensland: 30
South Australia: 12
Western Australia: 8
Whilst 14 (NSW) is more than a few, the order of magnitude difference compared with 130 (VIC) is a bewildering revelation, indeed, especially considering that NSW has a larger population. I do not know what makes NSW and VIC so different with respect to the matter at hand.
[0] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-29/two-men-arrested-over...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-15/tweed-tobacconist-ram...
Organizers of what? The businesses, or illicit tobacco?
What does standing over mean?
It's not clear to me why standing over would be a motivation for attacks.
To “stand over” is a verb meaning roughly to “threaten, with menace”.
But it doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s the party or parties that have undertaken the attacks.
Both these parties run tobacco stores in many states - licensing was/is non-existant or minimal, although they are now increasing the overview and requirements in states that were lax.
These stores were mostly branded as vape/convenience stores until the recent regulation changes, now they often sell american candy and various random things along with local gov sanctioned cigarettes ($50/pack minimum) or the imported packs ($15-25 pack) - you can guess which one they pretty much exclusively sell.
Asians (Vietnamese/Chinese) are also selling the imported cigarettes out of their own branded stores and also some of the big chain tobacco stores (TSG, Cignall).
There have been dozens of arson attacks against the Lebanese and Biker stores over the last few years, supposedly over territory and payments.
A lebanese nearby had its security facade destroyed and was torched black the day after last years Christmas.
The asians don't seem to be involved in the arson attacks, they may be importing it as many of the packs are korean/chinese, but unsure as also eastern european and english brands are available.
The government engineered this situation with its ridiculous taxation policy, it was effective up to a point but it's becoming reminiscent of the era of alcohol prohibition in the USA.
IMO this is only causing more problems. It won't put people off smoking because cheaper illegal alternatives arrive and it will create heavy crime syndicates.