Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the member for Newcastle on her fine contribution to this debate. She is a colleague of mine form the Hunter and I have been able to observe how active she has been in the community in advocating for strong preventive health action. She was very active when Newcastle led the way in addressing the issue of binge drinking and alcohol consumption. I congratulate the member for Newcastle and acknowledge her fine contribution in this area and the fact that she does get it. She does understand how important preventive health care is and how decisions of government can impact on people's health. She understands how the government ripping $80 billion out of health and education will impact on her constituents and how the GP co-payment will affect those people she represents in this parliament as much as the people I represent.

The Australian National Preventive Health Agency (Abolition) Bill 2014 is bad, short sighted legislation and the Abbott government needs to recognise that the abolition of the agency in combination with ripping money out of the health system and the GP tax will lead to poor health outcomes. In other words, Australians will become sicker and die younger. The agency was established in 2011, and I remember speaking in the original debate in 2010. At that time I implored the then shadow minister for health to support the legislation. I emphasised the importance of making sure we work hard to address on issues of preventable diseases. This is best done through a strong preventive health strategy. This government has always looked aversely on preventive health. It has never been supportive of actions to address obesity or drug and alcohol abuse and smoking. They were dragged kicking and screaming to stop accepting donations from tobacco companies.

We on this side of the House believe in a sustainable investment in public health because we believe that will benefit Australian people. It will lower the burden of disease; it will have enormous economic benefits for all Australians. The government's position is a false economy. It shows a total lack of understanding of health that any government would get rid of something like the National Preventive Health Agency. Labor recognises the need for long-term, sustained investment in preventive health and the benefits it achieves in leading to positive health outcomes.

This government is not interested in preventive health. It is more concerned with protecting its mates. The minister responsible for the area of preventive health has removed the food-labelling website. I would like to spend a little bit of time on this. Back in February this year, the minister, Senator Fiona Nash, failed to meet with major health bodies central to her portfolio, despite taking significant decisions, including the removal of the healthy food-rating website. In addition to that, this minister employed a lobbyist as her chief of staff—somebody who was involved in the fast-food industry. When this government has a minister who employs somebody who works in the junk-food industry, it has a total lack of commitment to preventive health and to the issues surrounding preventive health.

The Australian government has introduced in this budget a number of changes to the current preventive health arrangements. An essential function of the National Preventive Health Agency will be transferred to the Department of Health by 30 June 2014 with a view to closing the agency. Closing the agency will come to fruition with the passing of this bill through the parliament. As well, the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health will be terminated and programs transferred to the department will be integrated into the department's own work. That will handle issues like tobacco usage, obesity and the use of alcohol.

I have touched a little on the way the government has related to tobacco and how it has a long history of being close to the tobacco industry. They finally supported the plain packaging legislation, but they did so reluctantly. It is interesting to see that they are moving away from money that has been invested in the national tobacco control campaign. It is also very interesting to note their approach to obesity. As everybody in this parliament knows, obesity is probably one of the major issues confronting our community. Australia has the second fastest growth rate, and this government, by getting rid of the Preventive Health Agency, is showing that it is not interested in putting in place a strategy to address obesity and to monitor that strategy. This lack of interest will lead to this generation's dying at a younger age. The generation being born now could be the first generation that dies at a younger age than their parents. It is interesting and important to note that the rate of childhood obesity has slowed down since the Preventive Health Agency has been in place. I can only say that with the abolition of the agency there is no guarantee that that will continue. The government has never been committed to addressing the issue of obesity.

In May 2009, a report entitled 'Weighing it up' was tabled in the parliament. In that report a number of recommendations were made. I remember that the member for Mayo, the Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, who is at the table, spent some time on that committee, as did the member for Cook, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. On that committee we had some quite heated debates that tended to be about advertising, the promotion of junk food and putting in place proper strategies to address the obesity epidemic that was taking place in Australia. Some wonderful recommendations were made about diet, weight and physical exercise and about involving the states and territories in programs and negotiations so that there was a whole-of-government approach to addressing the issues of obesity and preventative health.

I do not think the government has moved on from the position that the member for Mayo and the member for Cook took when they were on that committee. They support the fast food industry. They support the tobacco companies. And of course they also support the alcohol industry. It is interesting to note that if there is an area that we as a government need to address it is alcohol consumption. There has been a lot of media interest in issues surrounding alcohol consumption and the fact of young people losing their lives. In the Kings Cross area of Sydney they have put in a curfew, a strategy similar to the one that has been put in place in Newcastle. It is really important to note a few facts about alcohol consumption. The AMA sees it is one of the biggest problems in our society. Not only can alcohol affect a person's health it can lead to road accidents, domestic violence, vandalism and chaos within our community. As I mentioned just a moment ago, alcohol has led to the death of many young people from one-punch attacks, which have taken place a number of times. I have looked at this very closely. There is evidence of a high level of alcohol use and abuse in Australia, showing that 90 per cent of people have tried alcohol and 83 per cent have consumed an alcoholic drink in the last 12 months. Only about 10 per cent of people have never tried alcohol. The AMA found that about eight per cent of Australians drink daily and about 41 per cent drink weekly. There is an enormous cost associated with alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse, along with those over two factors—tobacco smoking and obesity—that I spoke about, is responsible for a large number of hospital beds being occupied in this country. Obesity leads to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. The way to address all these issues is through the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, which this government is seeking to abolish.

Currently, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health is looking at issues surrounding skin cancer. One of the issues that come up time and time again is the need for more research and for education programs. Educating the Australian people on the best way to prevent developing skin cancer, about the way to eat and about ensuring that they do not get sick from the consumption of alcohol and tobacco are very important roles played by the Preventive Health Agency. The agency actually tracks the progress of preventative health programs.

I have heard a number of people on the other side of this House talking about individual responsibility and individual choice. Yes, an individual does have responsibility for their actions, but they need education and they need to be able to develop the knowledge and skills to make the right decisions. Unfortunately, under this government that will not happen. There has been criticism about the My QuitBuddy app at Summernats. That app actually attracted 100,000 hits from 25- to 40-year-olds. It is working to educate people. There has been talk about the fact that $200,000 was spent on a recipe book. If you can teach people how to eat properly, if that recipe book goes out and teaches people the exact kinds of food they need to eat, it has been successful.

This government is a failure in the area of health. It rips money out of basic services. It is going to tax Australians to go and see the doctor. It is going to rip money out of the health budgets of the states. It is going to ensure that Australians end up getting sicker and dying younger. At the same time it is not putting in place any strategies to address the gap that will be left by the removal of this agency. I condemn the government.

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