Kedgley Sue: General Debates 
Kedgley Sue: General Debates 
[Volume:619;Page:15032] 
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
: 
 One of the worst indicators in the social report that the Minister has just referred to is our rates of obesity which are amongst the worst in the world and getting worse all the time. I was therefore astonished at the summary dismissal by the Minister of Health yesterday of the very well-researched positive report on obesity by Diabetes New Zealand on fighting the obesity epidemic. Its key recommendation is that the Government investigate—just investigate—a tax on high-sugar soft drinks and high-fat food. The Government’s outright rejection of the report and its key recommendations show that despite all the lip service this Government pays to the obesity epidemic it is simply not serious about tackling it or perhaps it is just too worried about getting off side with the food industry to take any serious action to combat it. 
The new report contains frightening statistics that New Zealand children are amongst the fattest in the world and that we have a higher percentage of overweight and obese children than the United States for heaven’s sake. That is hard to believe but is fuelled no doubt by the relentless saturation targeting of unhealthy food and drink at our children and adolescents by the food industry through television advertisements in schools at bus stops on packages and even in school diaries like the one I have for a college in Wellington that advertises McDonald’s. Indeed it is everywhere that one turns. 
The saturation marketing of unhealthy food and drink to our children has become so pervasive that trying to reduce obesity in the present environment is a bit like trying to treat an alcoholic in a town that has a bar on every corner. Surely a Government that is serious about trying to change this environment would seek to protect our children from these pressures by banning the screening of advertisements on television that promote unhealthy food by getting soft drink vending machines out of our schools and by investigating a tax on soft drinks. 
The Government’s own Ministry of Health estimates that twice as many New Zealanders die from dietary-related risk factors than they do from smoking so why do we not have the same strong action on obesity as we do on tobacco? We have a tax on tobacco and alcohol because of the harm they cause to the individual consumer and to our society. Why then would we not consider at least investigating a tax on fizzy drinks? The consumption of high-sugar fizzy drinks causes tremendous harm to our children and our adolescents. We have an epidemic of rotting teeth we have escalating obesity rates diabetes and so forth and costs to the wider society in terms of the health costs of obesity diabetes and other diseases. But despite the tremendous harm that they do to our health the consumption of fizzy drinks has risen by an astonishing 45 percent over the past 5 years. Surely a Government that was serious about obesity would want to reduce the consumption of soft drinks and would at least investigate a tax on soft drinks as just one way of doing that. But no our Government has stubbornly refused to take any action that could get it off side with the food industry and its key strategy—we could call it its “King hit”—is a voluntary accord with the food industry which it will announce next Thursday. 
There is nothing wrong with working with the food industry to try to get it to make improvements in the food it sells and markets to young children but frankly it is simply naive to expect the industry to curb its highly profitable promotion of fatty sugary foods and drinks to our children voluntarily. The Government knows this. Experience with the marketing of tobacco and milk industries has shown that voluntary approaches are ineffective and it is quite simply naive to expect that our food industry will voluntarily give up its relentless targeting of unhealthy food and drink at children in our society. 
The food industry is thrilled with this voluntary accord because it sees it as a wonderful public relations opportunity and as a way of avoiding regulation. It will make all the statements in the world. It will be full of platitudes but short on action.