Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I, also, rise today to contribute to the debate on the Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising (Broadcasting Amendment) Bill 2010. I have listened to a number of speakers this morning and have to concur that a number of points have been raised which are relevant to this particular issue—and they are good points. They are points that need to be considered in advance. The government is in a position where we recognise that obesity is a serious issue, but at this particular time we are not in a position to support this bill. If we reflect on some of the speakers who have risen this morning, they have made the relevant point, a point that I can relate to—that is, parental responsibility.

I have three children—I would not call them children any longer; all three are of adult age—and I have had to grow up in a society in which my wife and I have had to meet challenges as parents. I think Senator Stephens made the point about walking through the halls of supermarkets with her grandchildren and having to deal with the challenges of lollies and chocolate. I can relate to that. I have met those same challenges. You have to deal with all those variables when you are shopping with children or grandchildren or when you are driving down the road past fast-food outlets, whether it be the golden arches or others. They are the attractions and the challenges that parents need to meet; it is not necessarily about a bill enshrining the issues that associate obesity with the environment we are in. We need to focus on those sorts of challenges as well and look at better ways to equip parents and grandparents—there are all sorts of family make-ups these days—to deal with the issue of obesity

This year on McHappy Day I spent time at McDonald’s at Albany Creek, on the north side of Brisbane—a day that I attend regularly each year now. I must say that I was very encouraged by the number of healthy lifestyle Heart Foundation ticks on their menu and their advertising in the store. There is definitely an attempt being made by fast-food outlets and the food industry as a whole to try and educate people so that they understand the need to eat healthily. That is another positive area; it is an area that needs to be encouraged. I am sure that over time, as we have seen, more and more examples like that will appear in both supermarkets and food outlets.

If you reflect on the times, and I think Senator Barnett made the relevant point, you note lifestyles are changing. People, in particular children, are involved in different lifestyles. I can recall going to school by riding a pushbike and riding the bike home and going out and playing with friends. But these days children seem to be driven either to or from school or, in some cases, they catch the bus. Generally, when they arrive home it is a case of their sitting in front of the computer and being on the internet, on Facebook or other types of programs, and doing their homework as well. So I think these sorts of issues need to be examined and considered.

There has been some discussion around tuckshops and veggie gardens in schools. As a senator for Queensland, I have opened new halls and libraries and other facilities under the Building the Education Revolution program and I have noted on just about all occasions that there have been vegetable gardens, quite successful ones, put into operation by the children in those schools. I think over time such children are adopting a better lifestyle and are certainly being educated at the same time on how to eat better and appropriately. It is the same for tuckshop venues where there has been some significant change in terms of the types of food and drinks provided in them.

Food marketing is but one element. Obesity and this particular problem is a really complex challenge to address. If we look at some of the stats out there, we see something like one in four children is overweight or obese. That really is not acceptable. That is why, in relation to COAG, the government have made investments to tackle this particular health challenge. So far we have made the largest-ever health investment of $872.1 million for prevention over six years. That is a huge investment and demonstration of how committed we are to tackling this particular issue. That includes up to $325.5 million for the Healthy Children initiative to increase physical activity and improve nutrition in settings such as schools and early childhood sites. Up to $366 million is available for programs in the workplace—Healthy Workers, and there is Healthy Communities—that target adults as well. There is $52 million for Australian health surveys to provide valuable information on rates of those overweight, obesity, healthy eating and physical activity. In addition there is $59 million over four years to extend the Measure Up campaign, to increase its research and to target at-risk groups.

I want to focus on one of the initiatives, the national Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program, which received $12.8 million to be established, and up to 190 primary schools will receive grants of up to $60,000 to commit to bringing better lifestyles and healthy eating alternatives into their schools. One of the opportunities I had in opening a BER project in Chevallum, up in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, which is close to Palmwoods, was to witness firsthand the great success of the national Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Part of the money had gone towards a kitchen in the multipurpose hall and I was fortunate enough to taste some of the fruits of their labour, the things the students cooked in that kitchen with the ingredients and things that came from their garden. It was such a pleasure to be there on that day and see the joy and satisfaction on the children’s faces in being able to serve those types of food thanks to the school in an area such as Palmwoods ensuring that their students are living and surviving in a healthy environment. Currently 19 schools in Queensland are actively participating in this great initiative. I will not rattle them all off but they include Cairns, Farnborough, Biggenden, Proston, Rosedale, Benarkin, Jandowae, Kulpi, Lowood, Golden Beach, North Arm, Inglewood, Rockville, Bulimba, Geebung, Wellington Point and Nerang. It really demonstrates the capacity and the volume of those schools in Queensland where they have grasped the opportunity of this program with both hands and are making a difference for the children in those school communities.

One other particular area, and I think Senator Moore might have touched on this in her deliberations on this particular issue, is Indigenous communities. I was fortunate to participate in regional, remote and Indigenous committee hearings throughout Queensland. One of the points I made in those hearings was to do with the concerns about nutrition particularly in the far remote Indigenous communities. One of the issues and challenges we face—and that certainly the people in those environments face—is the cost of getting fresh fruit and fresh vegetables to those locations. It is a near-impossible thing to do properly given the tyranny of distance and the issues associated with flooding and rain in those particular areas. So on some occasions there is always a sizeable issue to be dealt with in getting fresh fruit and fresh vegetables out into some of those locations. Taking that example, it is not just an easy fix to whack a ban on television advertisements to satisfy issues associated with obesity. In 2008 a Senate standing committee also dealt with this issue with an inquiry into a former bill, the Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertisement (Broadcasting Amendment) Bill 2008. At that stage the government did not support it on those grounds.

In conclusion, we do not believe this bill is the right way to address this problem of obesity in children. (Time expired)