http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=680881&vId
Updated: 22:49, Wednesday November 2, 2011
The federal government plans to force its tobacco plain packaging legislation through the Senate next week.
Labor wants all cigarettes to be sold in drab olive-brown packs from the end of 2012.
Government Senate leader Chris Evans said the upper house would debate and vote on the legislation on Thursday, November 10.
Labor has tabled a motion outlining changes to the upper house’s legislation schedule with the support of the Australian Greens.
The coalition supports the main plain packaging legislation but not an associated trademarks bill.
However, both will pass the Senate with the support of the Greens.
Earlier on Wednesday, Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced the implementation of the world-first move would be delayed from July 1 next year to December 1, 2012.
Ms Roxon said the delay was necessary because it had taken longer than expected for the upper house to pass the legislation after it sailed through the House of Representatives in August.
‘I think that it is important that industry gets a reasonable timeframe to make an orderly transition to plain packaging,’ she said in a statement.