5. Childhood Obesity—Government ResponseHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of HealthChildhood Obesity—Government Response5. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Is he satisfied his response to the childhood obesity epidemic is fit for purpose; if so why?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Yes tackling the issue of obesity is a key priority for this Government. That is why we launched the Childhood Obesity Plan with a range of interventions across Government the private sector communities schools and families. The package has three focus areas made up of 22 initiatives dealing with food the environment and being active at each stage of life starting during pregnancy and early childhood. Development of this initial package drew on recent New Zealand and international evidence including the interim report from the World Health Organization's Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. A technical advisory group also provided advice to the Ministry of Health on evidence for effective interventions and targets.Hon Annette King: If the initiatives his Government has put in place to reduce childhood obesity since 2009 including dumping tuck shop food guidelines have worked why has obesity in children aged between 2 and 14 increased from 8.3 percent to almost 11 percent under this Government's watch?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The member needs to remember that this is a long-term challenge. Governments across the world are facing up to the issue but it is not an easy one to turn around and I welcome her constructive comments in the wider debate.Hon Annette King: If he backs his recently announced New Zealand Health Strategy which states that it focuses on evidence-based initiatives will he now adjust his 22-point plan following research from Auckland University which said his plan was just business as usual and unlikely to make a difference"?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I will be backing our plan and I do not intend to readjust it—unlike Mrs King who last November ruled out a sugar tax and then recently said that actually they might do a sugar tax.Hon Annette King: Why don't you answer your own question?Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Because this is a chance for the Opposition to ask Ministers questions.Hon Annette King: If he believes in an evidence-based approach will he heed the warning from Consumer New Zealand and public health experts who say the star-rating model he is promoting is flawed and is misleading parents into thinking they are giving their children healthy breakfast food when it is loaded with sugar?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I have not seen those comments from Consumer New Zealand but what I can tell you is that the Health Star Rating has had an interim assessment and it is going to have a full assessment in 2019. We are constantly looking at ways in which we can make sure that we turn this problem around. Rather than criticism I think Mrs King should get on board and come up with something constructive.Hon Annette King: I have Mr Speaker plenty—if you want me to table it?Mr SPEAKER: No but I would be interested in the supplementary question.Hon Annette King: Is Healthy Families a programme that was brought over from Australia a success when so far it has spent $14 million with one provider collapsing and its main project appears to be implementing water-only policies in schools—something that could have been done for nothing if the Government had been prepared to show some courage and commitment?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I am very pleased that the member brought up Healthy Families. I invite her to come with me to visit any of those 10 programmes in places like West Auckland where Labour is trying to get its polling rate above 26 percent or places like Invercargill which used to be a Labour stronghold—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: —because there is a lot of good stuff that is going on there. I invite her to come to places like the East Coast where of course no one votes Labour any more. But she should come and see the wide variety of initiatives bought into by communities that used to vote Labour.Mr SPEAKER: Order! We do not need that as part of the answer. [Interruption] Order!"