Mr MATT KEAN (Hornsby-Parliamentary Secretary) [11.35 a.m.]: Currently in New South Wales, 52.6 per cent of adults and 22.8 per cent of children have been determined to be obese. That will have enormous impacts on our health system, on the delivery of health services and on the health and wellbeing of many Australians.
No-one on this side of the House opposes those measures. In fact, the New South Wales Government supports the nutritional star rating. But the member for Macquarie Fields did not mention that in his speech. He did not mention that the Minister for Health was one of the strongest advocates for and champions of the health star rating system. This motion is a cheap political stunt by the member for Macquarie Fields, who is attempting to score cheap political points against the Federal Government, which is also committed to implementing the health star rating system. At its latest meeting on 27 June 2014 the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation, which is made up of Commonwealth, State and Territory, and New Zealand food Ministers, agreed that the health star rating system should be implemented voluntarily over the next five years and that there will be a review of the progress of implementation after two years.
I would like to debunk a number of claims made by the member for Macquarie Fields about why the website for the health star rating system was taken down. He failed to mention that there were concerns about the system. We have some examples of why consumers in New South Wales and across the Commonwealth needed further information. For example, low-fat yoghurt scored five stars and full-cream yoghurt scored two stars. That could be confusing for parents with children less than two years old, because those children should have full-cream products, as stated in the National Health and Medical Research Council guidelines.
Orange juice was rated five stars but there is currently nothing in the health star rating system explaining quantities. We do not want to mislead consumers that drinking a litre of orange juice a day is healthy. This is the problem when we have a one-size-fits-all approach: a blunt instrument. When Labor members are lost what do they do? They go to their favourite old chestnut—more regulation.
More regulation, more red tape and more restrictions on people's lives. Those opposite want the Government to tell people what to do. The member for Macquarie Fields wants to put more restrictions on people's lives. Members opposite say they have abandoned the socialist objective. But here we have it, plain and simple. They are standing up for more socialism, regulation and interference in people's lives. We do not oppose the health star rating system. Indeed, we support it. But I will not let the socialist member for Macquarie Fields spruik his lies for his own political benefit. Again, the website was taken down because the community needed more information. It had not been developed adequately; a number of kinks in the system needed to be ironed out. A cost-benefit analysis, which was a requirement under the Council of Australian Governments agreement, had not been done.
Surprisingly, the previous Government had not done a cost-benefit analysis of a huge piece of legislation! That is extraordinary. I am sure that people reading Hansard will be shocked to learn that Labor had not done due diligence before rolling out a policy that would put more red tape in people's lives. But did the member for Macquarie Fields mention that minor detail? No. He simply forgot; he airbrushed that out of his argument. There was no explanatory communication or education information. That is still being developed. To put up the website without an explanatory and education program—helping people to understand what the rating system referred to, the differences in it, et cetera—would have confused consumers. I know that Labor members like to confuse consumers. They like telling porky pies when it comes to measures that restrict people's freedoms, regulate their lives and raise taxes.
Members on this side of the House believe in openness, accountability and transparency. When it comes to rolling out policies such as the health star rating system, we think the community deserves to know the impact that it will have on people's lives. I have a great deal of respect for the member for Macquarie Fields; I like him very much. He is not a bad cricketer to boot. However, I will not let him mislead the community about why the website was taken down. The Government believes in the health star rating system. The Minister for Health is a great champion of the idea to help improve education so that people can make good choices. We know that it is a fairly simple formula. The message could not be clearer: Eat less fat, sugar, salt and processed foods, eat more vegetables and fruit, and do more exercise. If the health star rating system helps us do that, bring it on.
Read the full transcript in Hansard here.
