O'Connor Simon: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Simon: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 20 October 2015. Volume:709;Page:7336. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.SIMON O’CONNOR (National—Tāmaki) to the Minister of Health: Can he confirm the number of referrals from B4 School Checks for obesity-related advice and support is expected to treble as a result of the childhood obesity package announced yesterday?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes I can. Yesterday I announced a comprehensive plan to reduce childhood obesity. At the core of the plan is a new health target for 95 percent of children identified as obese in the B4 School Check to be referred to an appropriate health professional. To support this a range of new and improved practical advice will be available for families and to assist health professionals. This new target is one of the Government’s six national health targets and means—Hon David Cunliffe: Too little too late.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: —listen to this it is important—we are now virtually the only nation with such a target and an extensive programme supporting it.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Before I call for a supplementary question there is one particular interjector coming from my left who is too loud.Simon O’Connor: What other elements make up the Government’s package?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: There is no single solution that will fix obesity so that is why we have developed a range of evidence-based actions that include the free health checks for children that I have already mentioned more physical education in schools more access to sport increased advice and stronger food labelling. Our package includes 22 initiatives involving Government agencies the private sector communities schools family and whānau. There are interventions for each life stage starting during pregnancy through to early adulthood.Sue Moroney: Does he agree with the World Health Organization that there is a mounting body of evidence showing breastfeeding plays a role in protecting children against obesity and therefore will he recommend support for the Labour Party’s proposal to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks so mums can aim to breastfeed to 6 months as recommended by the World Health Organization?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I agree on the first point but the second is not necessarily related.Sue Moroney: Point of order. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have a point of order on my left that I cannot accept until there is some quiet.Sue Moroney: I seek leave to table a document dated 2012 entitled Systematic Review and Meta-analyses of Risk Factors for Childhood Overweight Identifiable During Infancy.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I just need whose document it is.Sue Moroney: The names of the authors are Weng Redsell Swift Yang and Glazebrook.Mr SPEAKER: On the basis that it may not be freely available I will put the leave. Leave is sought to table that particular document. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Sue Moroney: I seek leave to table a document dated 2009 entitled Breastmilk Hormones and Their Protective Effect on Obesity. The authors are Savino Liguoro Fissore and Oggero.Mr SPEAKER: Are there any other documents that the member is seeking leave to table?Sue Moroney: I also seek leave to table a document from the World Health Organization of 25 such pieces of research—Mr SPEAKER: No. World Health Organization information will be freely available. I will put the leave for the document first mentioned. Leave is sought to table that particular document. Any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Simon O’Connor: How is he bringing together sport and health to increase healthy activity amongst children?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Nutritional advice and support is important but so is getting kids active so the package contains a number of actions to be led by Sport New Zealand many of which involve working alongside the Ministry of Education to reach kids in our schools. One initiative Play.sport is a national approach aligned with global best practice and will improve the quality of physical education in schools. Another initiative Sport in Education is an innovative approach to engaging students by placing learning in the context of sport. These are exciting initiatives that are being welcomed by school principals.Rt Hon Winston Peters: In light of his effusive announcement that included children being given more opportunities to be physically active will he instruct the Northland District Health Board to reinstate the health promotion in schools funding cut in June 2015; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As the member knows if he comes up and visits the district health board it is a devolved system and it gets to make choices about what is best for people in its communities. That district health board is doing very well and I trust it to make the right decision about that.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek leave to table a letter dated 16 July to the Mangonui School in Northland from the district health board outlining the cuts outlined in my question.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that information. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.