Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:616;Page:11834] 
5.  
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What new action is the Government taking in response to the study of almost 900 Hawke’s Bay schoolchildren which reveals that the number of obese children has more than trebled in the past 11 years? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Health) 
: 
 The following are some of the actions undertaken in response to the growing obesity problem in New Zealand: the development of the New Zealand Health Strategy which identifies nutrition and diet as priorities for district health boards; the carrying out of the first-ever child nutrition survey which first identified the growing problem; the release of the Healthy Eating - Healthy Action strategy and New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world to have a strategy in this respect; and the development of an inter-sectorial approach across health education and Sport and Recreation New Zealand. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does the Minister agree that if we want to reduce childhood obesity and encourage children to eat healthy diets we need to control the advertising of unhealthy food on television; if so will the Government legislate to remove such advertising around children’s programmes; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The Government has no intention of legislating to ban advertising on television. I do not believe that behaviour would change just by our banning advertising on television. A multi-sector approach involving communities homes and families is needed—more than just banning television advertising. When we look at this problem we have to look across the whole sector. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: What action has been taken on the Healthy Eating - Healthy Action strategy? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: That is a very good question because a lot of action is taking place on that strategy. As I said we are one of the few countries in the world to have such a strategy and it is something that the World Health Organization recommends. The implementation plan for the strategy which will be released in May sets out concrete action to be taken by a range of agencies and organisations. For example we have already undertaken a pilot—free fruit in low-decile schools—and it will be evaluated; and the Minister of Education and myself are planning a major initiative to build on the Health Promoting Schools strategy in the near future. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Does the Minister having focused on cigarette smoking with all the millions of dollars she spent on it have a sense of conscience that she should have spent more time on diabetes on young children who are overweight and on this issue rather than her asking a bunch of academics questions that we all know the answer to? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The member makes a good point: this is a serious issue. Diabetes and obesity are serious issues. The research is showing that obesity is an issue that has been growing rapidly over the last decade. We certainly will put into it the same attention as we have put into trying to reduce the consumption of tobacco which after all kills around 4700 New Zealanders a year. 
Judy Turner 
: Does the Minister agree that the responsibility for child obesity lies squarely with parents not food manufacturers and retailers; if so can she assure the House that her Government will support parents making informed choices rather than taxing or banning certain kinds of food; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The answer to the second part of that question is “Yes”. With regard to the first part it is a parental responsibility but I think we all have a responsibility to provide some of the tools that parents need to be able to make those informed choices. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Further to the Minister’s response to the Rt Hon Winston Peters and given the Government’s action about vending machines selling cigarettes does the Minister agree that the presence in schools of vending machines selling fizzy drinks normalises and encourages the consumption of unhealthy food by children and will she be calling on her ministry to develop national guidelines on vending machines that schools must follow; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Guidelines for vending machines in schools are being developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. I cannot recall what the first part of the question was. 
Dail Jones 
: I seek the leave of the House to ask the Minister whether it was 470 people who are alleged to have died from smoking not the 4700 she said or that there is not even one death certificate that establishes that a death was from smoking. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The answer is that 4700 New Zealanders die from smoking-related diseases each year and that evidence is available. 
Nandor Tanczos 
: Given that the Minister said she was unable to answer fully the last question because she could not remember the first part I ask permission for my colleague Sue Kedgley to repeat the question so that the Minister can remember the first part and answer it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member did not say whether that was a point of order or a supplementary question. I took it as a supplementary question. He should have said— 
Nandor Tanczos 
: I said it was a point of order. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I ask Sue Kedgley to ask the first part of the question again. 
Sue Kedgley 
: In the first part of my question I asked whether further to the question of the Rt Hon Winston Peters and the Government’s actions to restrict vending machines in respect of smoking the Minister would then be seeking to etc. etc. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: In fact I did answer that question. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Will the Minister follow the lead of the British Food Standards Agency and develop guidelines for the food industry on reducing the amount of fat sugar and salt in food that is marketed at children and then identify for consumers which foods do not meet those guidelines; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I think we have probably gone a step further. In fact we mandatorily require labelling of fats sugars and salt in our food. Any food in New Zealand that is able to be labelled must carry a label identifying it. That has been done under the joint food code between Australia and New Zealand. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Has the Minister actually read the new initiative by the Food Standards Agency in England which goes far far further than our nutrition guidelines which are actually very hard for people to understand and is she aware that they will be simple guidelines that say: “These are foods that are high in fat high in sugar…” and so on and that identify very simply for consumers which foods are unhealthy for children to eat? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I am totally confused by that member’s question because she came to my office with a basket of goodies to congratulate me on the labelling regime that we had put in place to identify fats sugars and salt in food because it is so comprehensive.