Detailed plans by tobacco giants Philip Morris and British American Tobacco to manipulate Australia's most senior politicians have been uncovered in internal company documents.
The documents, which the companies were ordered to disclose in a settlement of litigation in the United States, show how Big Tobacco targeted federal and state leaders in the 1990s to overturn plans for stronger warnings on cigarette packs.
They show that a policy identical to one drawn up by the tobacco industry - softer warnings, while raising the age for buying cigarettes to 18 - was adopted by the Kennett government in September 1993.
Victoria's decision to legislate for the weaker warnings reneged on a national agreement reached two months earlier with the approval of then Victorian health minister Marie Tehan.
A BAT report of a meeting between its representatives and Mr Kennett on July 15, 1993, records Mr Kennett as being "clearly annoyed his health minister had not achieved that result (the softer warnings)".
"He warned that the situation would be difficult to reverse but would take the matter back to his cabinet," the BAT file note said.
On September 28, Mrs Tehan announced Victoria was ditching the national agreement in favour of softer warnings adopted by the European Community. Mrs Tehan would not comment this week on the reasons.
Mr Kennett told The Age he could not remember the meeting with BAT. He could not remember whether cabinet approved the policy change or he simply told Mrs Tehan to do it.
"This was not because of representations by companies but because my view has consistently been that unless governments have the courage of their convictions they can't treat as illegal a product they deem legal," he said.
Around the same time, Mr Kennett successfully lobbied Philip Morris to drop a lawsuit against the Victorian Anti-Cancer Council over the proposed warnings.
The Philip Morris documents are contained on a website set up in 1998 after the company made a multi-billion-dollar legal settlement with American state governments over the cost of treating patients with smoking-related illnesses.
Australian tobacco control campaigners uncovered the files on the back-room political manoeuvring over recent weeks.
A memo from Phil Francis, Philip Morris' government relations executive in Australia, to the company's international chief, Geoffrey Bible, in March 1993, says Mr Kennett had phoned Western Australian Premier Richard Court "and told him to override" his health minister, who was in favour of the stronger warnings. Mr Kennett said he might have made such a call but he could not remember.
Memos written by Mr Bible reveal he regarded the Australian warnings as a serious threat to the company's multi-billion-dollar tobacco business.
In December, 1992, Mr Bible wrote of "our great concern over the warning label and ad ban issues in Australia . . . which has the potential to spread worldwide". Four months later, in a memo to Mr Francis, he again expressed his concern about the pack warnings. He asked if sponsoring Australia's forthcoming America's Cup challenge would buy any political favours.
