Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill that’s before the Senate. The legislation

mandates the use of drab packaging from July 2012 in a bid to make

smoking less appealing, and reduce deaths from smoking-related

illnesses. Amid shouting about the "nanny state", Big Tobacco is

planning a High Court challenge potentially claiming billions of dollars

worth of compensation for the Commonwealth’s acquisition of

intellectual property. Despite the core argument about public good,

University of New South Wales’ law professor George Williams says the

outcome of such a case is unpredictable.