Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that diabetes is a serious health concern with an estimated 382 million people worldwide living with diabetes;

(2) recognises that:

(a) 8 per cent of Australians are living with diabetes;

(b) by 2035, 14 per cent of Australians will be living with diabetes; and

(c) incidences of diabetes are three to four times higher in Indigenous communities;

(3) acknowledges that the World Diabetes Congress was:

(a) held in Melbourne, from 2 to 6 December 2013;

(b) attended by 50 international parliamentarians; and

(c) successful in passing the Melbourne Declaration and appointing International Parliamentary Champions for Diabetes;

(4) recognises that the International Parliamentary Champions for Diabetes will:

(a) exchange policy views and practical ideas for prevention and management of diabetes;

(b) encourage all governments to acknowledge that diabetes is a national health priority that requires a comprehensive action plan leading to action; and

(c) aim to improve health outcomes for people with diabetes, stop discrimination towards people with diabetes and prevent development of Type 2 diabetes;

(5) calls on the Government, individuals, families, communities, health care services and industry, to take urgent action to:

(a) ensure prevention of diabetes;

(b) improve early diagnosis of diabetes;

(c) support ongoing research into treatment and medications for diabetes; and

(d) effectively manage and treat diabetes; and

(6) acknowledges the Government's contribution:

(a) with an expert Advisory Group to consider available evidence and consult with a wide range of stakeholders to inform the development of the National Diabetes Strategy;

(b) to ongoing research into a cure for Type 1 diabetes with a $35 million contribution into the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Clinical Research Network; and

(c) in providing an additional $1.4 million for the Diabetes Insulin Pump Programme.

Diabetes mellitus currently represents one of the most challenging public health problems of the 21st century. There are over 1.5 million Australians with diabetes, including those who are undiagnosed. Diabetes is a chronic condition marked by high levels of glucose in the blood and can be caused by: the inability to produce insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood glucose levels; by the body not being able to use insulin effectively; or by a combination of the two. Over time high blood glucose levels are associated with complications such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, eye disease and neuropathy. Diabetes in its various forms places a significant burden on individuals and on their families as well as on the health system. The most common forms of diabetes are type I, type II and gestational diabetes. Even within each type of diabetes there are differences between individuals in what causes diabetes and in the course of the disease.

While lifestyle factors play an important role in preventing type II diabetes and in managing existing diabetes, the mechanisms are complex and not completely understood. Genetic factors and environmental influences are also important, particularly during gestation and early childhood. A major goal of diabetes management is preventing progression to complications. Depending on the nature of each individual's condition, diabetes may be managed with insulin injections, oral medication and/or diet and exercise.

When I look at the data for my own electorate of Hasluck, I see some very interesting statistical comparisons. The total number of Australians who have registered as having diabetes is 1,093,125. In the seat of Hasluck the number is 8,070. If we look at the number per hundred thousand, we see that 4,725 have registered Australia-wide compared to 4,951 in my electorate—slightly higher than the Australian average. In my electorate, 90.1 per cent have type II diabetes compared to the Australian average of 86.3 per cent. For type I, it is 7.5 per cent compared to the Australian average of 10.9 per cent. For gestational, we are slightly better off, at 1.8 per cent, compared to the Australian figure of 2.3 per cent.

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that in 2013 there were 382 million people worldwide living with diabetes. In 2011 to 2012, based on results from biomedical tests among Australian adults 18 years and over, diabetes prevalence was five per cent. This comprised just over four per cent with known diabetes and around one per cent of adults newly diagnosed with diabetes. This equates to about 999,000 of Australians living with diabetes in that period from 2011 to 2012. For the same period, it was estimated that an additional 3.1 per cent of Australian adults aged 18 and over had impaired fasting-glucose levels, indicating they were at high risk of developing type II diabetes. This means that, overall, around eight per cent of Australians either had diabetes or were at risk of developing it.

Another study, using different methodology with additional testing, AusDiab 2,000, estimated that 16.3 per cent of Australian adults aged 25 and over had pre-diabetes prevalence, based on self-reports from the Australian Health Survey, and this has doubled between 1989 and 1990, and 2004 to 2005. From 2007 to 2008 to the latest data from 2011 to 2012, the rate of self-reported known diabetes has been stable at around four per cent.

Type I diabetes, which commonly emerges in childhood, is an autoimmune disease and accounts for one in every 10 cases of diabetes. Gestational diabetes mellitus is estimated to affect women in more than five per cent of Australian pregnancies each year and is related to the complex interplay of hormones during pregnancy. More than eight in every 10 cases of diabetes is type II diabetes, which may be prevented or delayed through adequate physical activity, adhering to an appropriate diet and maintaining a healthy weight. Increasing age is also a risk factor.

Diabetes, particularly type II, is three to four times more common in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, with rates of hospitalisation of diabetes being four times higher for Indigenous Australians than for the general population. In 2011, diabetes was the second-leading underlying cause of death in Indigenous Australians. The rate of death from diabetes in Indigenous populations was over six times the rate than for non-Indigenous Australians.

In conjunction with the World Diabetes Congress, international parliamentarians held a Parliamentary Champions the Diabetes Forum and established the Parliamentarians for Diabetes Global Network, at which Minister Dutton gave the keynote address. I was in attendance and had the privilege of meeting parliamentarians from across the globe who had a strong interest in reducing the levels and impact of diabetes within their communities. The network is committed to working across parliaments to ensure diabetes is high on the political agenda in every country. They want to see more preventative work and to ensure that the early diagnosis, management and access to adequate care, treatment and medicines is available for all those living with diabetes.

The Hon. Judi Moylan established Australia's federal Parliamentary Diabetes Support Group in 2000 and served as the chair of this group until her retirement in 2013. She is the global coordinator of the Parliamentarians for Diabetes Global Network. The forum endorsed the Melbourne Declaration on Diabetes, which recognises that the Parliamentarians for Diabetes Global Network will exchange policy views and practical ideas for prevention and management of diabetes, encourage all governments to acknowledge that diabetes is a national health priority that requires a comprehensive action plan leading to action, and aims to improve health outcomes for people with diabetes, stop discrimination towards people with diabetes and prevent the development of type II diabetes.

The coalition government has committed to developing a new national diabetes strategy to inform how existing resources can be better coordinated and targeted across all levels of government and to prioritise the national response in existing resources, through an emphasis on prevention, early diagnosis, intervention, management and treatment, including the role of primary care. The government has important roles in maintaining access to affordable high-quality devices, medicines and services to support people with diabetes in self-management and treatment. The Australian government provides support to people with diabetes through the National Diabetes Service Scheme, NDSS; the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, PBS; the insulin pump program, IPP; and Medicare. The government also contributes to supporting research into the causes, effects, treatments, impacts and complications of diabetes.

Developing a new national diabetes strategy provides a valuable opportunity to take stock of approaches to diabetes services and care, consider the role of governments and other stakeholders, look at where efforts and investments are currently being made and how well these match needs and then develop a vision for where we want to be in terms of prevention, detection, management and research efforts. Governments cannot solve the problems alone but need to act did not collaboration with individuals, families, communities, healthcare services and industry.

The government has established an advisory group to consider the evidence and consult with a wide range of stakeholders to inform the development of the national diabetes strategy. The first meeting was held on 11 February 2014 and was addressed by the Minister for Health, Peter Dutton. The government has recently announced an election commitment to provide $35 million to support research into a cure for type 1 diabetes through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation clinical research network and $1.4 million for subsidies for an additional 136 children on the Type 1 Diabetes Insulin Pump Program administered by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

As chair of the group which the Hon. Judi Moylan led previously I will continue the work that she was a strong advocate for. I will certainly be linking with state and territory parliaments to enjoin other parliamentarians within our jurisdictions to focus on some key initiatives and issues that will make a difference for the future.

Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

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

I congratulate the member for Hasluck for bringing this motion to the parliament. I have acknowledged the role that he is set to play in the parliament in replacing Judi Moylan as convener of the parliamentary friends of diabetes. I know that he is totally committed to this cause. I know that he is a person who really believes that these serious health issues need to be addressed. In doing so, I would like to support the facts and what he has put to the House today

I would like to touch on a different aspect of this debate, that which relates to obesity. Obesity is probably the No. 1 cause of type 1 diabetes and is an issue that we as a nation need to address. In a previous parliament, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing did an inquiry into obesity. We were presented with information about the links between obesity and diabetes, and a series of recommendations were put in place. It makes me quite sad that the current government is overseeing a change in policy—a change in direction—that I believe could actually lead to an increase in the level of diabetes in our society. Over the last couple of weeks we have heard that the health star food rating system, which was a tool developed by all the states and the Commonwealth to address the really important issue of obesity, has been taken down. It is particularly worrying when ones looks at the influence that I believe companies that promote unhealthy eating have had in relation to the taking down of this website.

I hope that Assistant Minister Fiona Nash will address these decisions since her former chief of staff is married to the director of the company which handles Cadbury, Kraft and—I think—Oreo and since the products made under these brands are not noted for their contribution to good health. Governments must show leadership. When they show leadership, sometimes they have to make hard decisions. Sometimes they make decisions which do not necessarily please their friends outside the parliament. It is important that both sides of the House promote healthy eating and healthy lifestyles. Unfortunately, there has been a big move away from doing so with the decision to remove the health star rating system, which was up for, I think, only one day. It provided information to people so that they could choose to eat healthily—and, by choosing to eat healthily, they can address the issue of obesity. One thing that can really help control type II diabetes is making sure that you eat a healthy diet: cut down on your sugars and cut down on your fats. You can do this by knowing what is in the food you eat. The question of good diet is very important to this motion.

The National Preventive Health Agency, which was designing programs to address diabetes and undertaking studies into the impact of diet and its relationship with diabetes, has now been abandoned by the government. The agency, which was a preventative health tool, has—like the health star rating website—gone. It is no longer in place. Let us face it: obesity, because of its relationship to diabetes, is one of the greatest medical challenges facing our country today. Obesity is linked not only to diabetes but also to forms of cancer. We need to adopt a similar approach to the extremely healthy approach that the previous government adopted in tackling smoking. The funding of advertisements to address smoking was very important to the previous government's policy.

There needs to be a three-pronged approach to diabetes: prevention, early detection and—subsequently—early intervention. There needs to be a situation in which funding for health is not cut, but the new Minister for Health is promoting the cutting of health funding and the increasing of the cost of health care to Australians. If people have to pay more to go to see the doctor and to access the diabetes programs which are available through their GPs, a very poor situation is going to develop. People's health is going to deteriorate, and obesity and diabetes rates are going to increase.

I implore the Minister for Health to move away from his philosophy and policies of cutting and implementing taxes on Australian people and instead to really look at the important issues around diabetes. When the Labor government were in power they invested $872 million for a six-year period, commencing 2009-2010, under the COAG National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health. That was a very important commitment by government. I implore those on the other side to fight very hard to see that that continues. The member for Hasluck talked about investment in diabetes pumps. That was championed by Labor when they were in government, along with a number of key initiatives in that area.

The thing that really worries me is the impact that obesity and diabetes will have on the morbidity and mortality rates of Australians. We are facing a threat where the next generation could be the first generation in Australia's history to actually die at a younger age than their parents. To a large extent, that is contributed to by lifestyle issues such as obesity. Unless education becomes a very important part of the way that we address diabetes and unless preventative health is one of those key factors, then the level of diabetes in our community will continue to increase.

My message to the Minister for Health is: talk to assistant minister Fiona Nash and get the healthy star rating system back on the web so that people can make decisions about the types of foods they eat; move away from your decision to abandon the National Preventative Health Agency; do not tax Australian people to visit their GP; and encourage them to get the kind of treatment and help that they need.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank my good friend and member for Hasluck for putting forward this motion on diabetes. I would like to take a few notes out of the motion just to set the scene for where we are with diabetes in Australia. Diabetes is a serious health concern, with an estimated 382 million people worldwide living with the disease. The motion also recognises that some eight per cent of Australians are currently living with diabetes and, by 2035, some 14 per cent of Australians will be living with diabetes. Worst of all, incidences of diabetes are three to four times higher in Indigenous communities than in the broader population. The motion goes on to call on the government, individuals, families, communities, healthcare services and industry, to take urgent action to:

(a) ensure prevention of diabetes;

(b) improve early diagnosis of diabetes;

(c) support ongoing research into treatment and medications for diabetes; and

(d) effectively manage and treat diabetes …

I also think it is worthwhile noting that the government has committed to developing a new national diabetes strategy to inform how existing resources can be better coordinated and targeted across all levels of government and to prioritise a national response and existing resources through an emphasis on prevention; early diagnosis and intervention; and management and treatment, including the role of primary care.

As we all know, there are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type I diabetes requires a different approach. One misconception of type I diabetes is that it is lifestyle related, but that is not the case. Type I diabetes is an auto-immune disease where the pancreas stops making insulin needed to break down the sugar from food into energy. The consequences of that can be deadly.

There is ongoing research into finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, with the federal government recently making an election commitment of $35 million as a contribution to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's clinical research network.

In relation to type 2 diabetes, there are some 10,500 individuals in the electorate of Forde who live with type 2 diabetes. According to Diabetes Queensland, your risk for type 2 diabetes is higher if you have a family history of type 2 diabetes; developed diabetes during pregnancy; are more than 40 years of age; are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; do not get enough exercise; have high blood pressure; are overweight; have a waist measurement of more than 94 centimetres for men and 80 centimetres for women; or have a poor diet containing too much fatty or sugary food. I think it is obvious that, in order to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, some of the things that can be done are reducing the amount of fat and sugar in your diet; eating healthy foods, including fresh fruit and vegetables; losing weight; exercising for more than 30 minutes a day; and reducing your alcohol intake.

I must stress the importance of preventative health. I think that with a lot of health measures we focus on dealing with the symptoms rather than dealing with how we prevent it in the first place. In a speech by the Minister for Health addressing the CEDA conference last week, it was noted that the number of overweight and obese adults has risen by 63 per cent in the latest 2011-12 figures. It is not just adult waistlines that are increasing. Sadly, one-quarter of children aged two to 17 years are overweight or obese. In 2012 there were some 2,200 youngsters diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

We as a society cannot afford to ignore these statistics, and more has to be done to prevent lifestyle related diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Viktor Frankl, in his book Man's Search for Meaning, stated:

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

Preventative measures not only will improve the individual's quality of life but should also reduce the strain on our health resources. In conclusion, I support the member for Hasluck's motion and thank him for bringing this important issue to the attention of the House.

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Hasluck for moving this motion, because diabetes is a very serious problem in Australia and it is a growing one. It is one of the emerging health epidemics we are dealing with in Australia and indeed around the world. I have a particular interest in this matter because my electorate is the diabetes capital of urban Australia. It is not something we are proud of, not an honour which we seek, but is something which we deal with and which we are challenging.

The Australian Diabetes Council shows that diabetes rates have been increasing in my electorate very dramatically. We have 2,298 people with type 1 diabetes in McMahon and 21,995 people with type 2 diabetes. What is even more concerning than those figures is the rate of increase. Fairfield, in my electorate, saw diabetes rates increase by 21.2 per cent over the last five years. In Smithfield the increase has been 30.37 per cent over five years—a 30 per cent increase in the prevalence of diabetes over the last five years.

Diabetes is a serious condition. It can lead to very serious and negative health outcomes. We can and do see an increase in heart disease, in kidney disease, in blindness, in high blood pressure and in dental problems for people suffering diabetes. We can and must do more about this. We can and must do more about it nationally and locally.

In my area, I hosted a diabetes awareness forum at Smithfield RSL last April. I was very pleased that Dr Nadia Tejani, who is a lecturer at the University of New South Wales and a consultant endocrinologist at Fairfield Hospital, came to that, as did Kristen Hazelwood, the Head of Education and Prevention at the Australian Diabetes Council. That was a well-attended forum, and we are doing other things: mail-outs and developing a diabetes plan for the local area. Fairfield City Council has a very proactive plan for improving the quality of exercise equipment in our parks to encourage more physical activity.

The honourable member for Forde, who spoke previously, referred to the importance of preventative health and healthy eating. He is right. I said before that there are things that we can do locally and nationally. We are not doing enough nationally. In fact, we are going backwards. We have seen the five-star rating program, which was negotiated by my honourable friend the member for Blair in office, taken down—in quite a scandalous set of arrangements—by the chief of staff to the Assistant Minister for Health. You cannot say to people, 'You've got to take more responsibility for what you eat and what you feed your children,' and then take down, hours after it went up on the website, something which was designed by the federal, state and territory governments to assist people make those decisions. There is a lot more to be heard about this particular scandal, because it goes to the very heart of the character of this government. A chief of staff with shareholdings in a food-lobbying firm was able, on behalf of the government of Australia, to give that direction with the authority of his minister.

I do not intend to belabour political points in this debate, but this is nothing short of a scandal. This is an appropriate debate in which to raise this issue, because diabetes is prevalent throughout our nation. It is particularly prevalent in rural areas with high Indigenous populations. That is something that we need to deal with. As I said, it is also very prevalent in my area of western Sydney, and it is growing very rapidly.

The other thing we can do is have more emphasis on preventative health, which the honourable member for Forde also referred to. Yet we see this government attacking preventative health by abolishing the preventative health council—again, a very backward step. The Minister for Health, the member for Dickson, talks about the importance of preventative health and personal responsibility but then we see this action by the government.

In the short time remaining I want to put on record that the government needs to tread carefully in relation to the drug januvia, which is being dealt with by the PBS. I do not intend to provide a prescriptive outcome here, but this is a drug which serves between 80,000 and 100,000 people. There are moves to delist this drug. I am sure the PBS has reasons for examining this issue but where you have between 80,000 and 100,000 people on a drug, I would urge this government to be very cautious about the steps taken. (Time expired)

Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to support the motion moved by the member for Hasluck. Like the member for McMahon, who is in my neighbouring electorate, I am concerned about the rapid increase of diabetes in western Sydney. It is something that all of us who represent this part of Australia are quite concerned about and it is nice to see the member for McMahon here today supporting this motion.

As many previous speakers have noted, diabetes is a serious health concern for our entire nation. With eight per cent of Australians living with diabetes it is fair to say that everyone would know someone who is affected in some way. In January this year, I was pleased to meet a remarkable young advocate, Emma Hogan from Glenmore Park, who, at just 12 years of age, is working for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Emma was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of seven. Emma knows, firsthand, what it is like to live with diabetes—the discipline and lifestyle that it requires to keep her diabetes under control. Luckily for Emma, she is an amazing advocate and has a very supportive and loving family. This has enabled her to be a trailblazer in her work in getting the message out about juvenile diabetes. Unlike her friends, she cannot fill up on fairy bread at parties. She has to weigh her food and estimate its nutritional content.

Emma is just one of the many people across Australia who have been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Emma is particularly special because of her work with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Each year she participates in the Walk to Cure Diabetes, where last year she raised funds for diabetes research. What impresses me most about Emma is how effective she is at raising awareness of juvenile diabetes, particularly across her school communities. I am also impressed at how she has worked and engaged with our local media. Next year she hopes to participate in Jump to Cure Diabetes, where she has set herself the ambitious target of raising $5,000. With this passion and commitment I am sure there are no bounds that Emma will not see. I am sure she will reach this goal.

Emma's aim, though, is simple, and I quote. Her aim is 'to raise both funds and awareness for type 1 diabetes so one day there will be a cure for me and for the 119,154 people in Australia suffering from type 1 diabetes'—a very noble cause from a very young and wise local woman. Through Emma's positivity and determination, I too have become extremely passionate about finding a cure for diabetes. As such, it gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the government's contribution in finding a cure for this terrible condition. I particularly want to acknowledge the government's commitment to ongoing diabetes research, with a $35 million contribution to the JDRF clinical research network and, further, for providing an additional $1.4 million for the Diabetes Insulin Pump Program.

As previous speakers have noted, the number of people living with diabetes in Australia is on the rise—and, as the previous member noted, also in Western Sydney. By 2035, it is anticipated that 14 per cent of Australians will live with diabetes. Alarmingly, incidents of diabetes are three to four times higher in the Indigenous communities, which makes this a significant concern, for my electorate in Western Sydney also has one of the highest urbanised populations of Indigenous persons.

I seek to reiterate the concern of the member for Hasluck and call on families, communities and healthcare services and industry to take urgent action to ensure, firstly, the prevention of diabetes; secondly, improve early diagnosis of diabetes; thirdly, support ongoing research into treatment and medications for diabetes; and, fourthly, effectively manage and treat diabetes. Once again, I would like to thank the member for bringing this important issue to the House.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Diabetes affects about 1.7 million Australians and over two million Australians have pre-diabetes and are at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states that over 70 per cent of Australian adults aged 15 and over do little or no exercise; four million Australians are obese; 10 million Australians are overweight; and Indigenous children are twice as likely as non-Indigenous children to be overweight.

This is a big issue for my electorate. I was having discussions with representatives of the West Moreton-Oxley Medicare Local earlier last week to discuss this issue to see what can be undertaken in my area to address the challenge of diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes. An Ipswich study conducted by the University of Queensland's Healthy Communities Research Centre at the Ipswich campus has been undertaking work in this space, and I commend them for the work that they have been doing.

As shadow minister for Indigenous affairs, I am particularly concerned at the incidence of diabetes amongst Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples. ABS results from 2012-13 show that eight per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this country report to have diabetes and/or high sugar levels in their blood or urine. This means that one in 12 of Australia's first peoples are suffering from diabetes. Indigenous females are significantly more likely to have diabetes—10 per cent compared to seven per cent of Indigenous males.

The former federal Labor government listened to local members, particularly to people like myself, and we initiated things like the insulin pumps subsidy program in 2008. The subsidies were particularly important and were well received by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Diabetes Australia and by constituents such Phoenix Weaver and Chloe Shaw in my electorate. We also did important things like the Healthy Kids Check for four-year-olds and the Get Set 4 Life—Habits for Healthy Kids Guide, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program has also made a big impact in my electorate—for example, in Lowood State Primary School and Ipswich West State School, where they promote successful and healthy eating and diet amongst young people. Exercise is also vital to prevent disease, and that is why the former federal Labor government introduced the Active After-school Communities program.

It is so wrong, unhelpful and scandalous what the chief of staff and assistant health minister has done in relation to this space. When the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was the minister for health and I was her parliamentary secretary, we negotiated a star-rating system for packaged and processed foods in this country. We have the final communique of the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation, which I chaired on 14 June 2013. I remember how happy CHOICEand the public health advocates were as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and I did the press conference and issued that press release on 14 June.

In the press release of 14 June there was no mention of the need for a cost benefit analysis or of the two years voluntarily carrying out the scheme across the country. The health ministers across the country, and the states and territories agreed that if it was not widespread there would be mandatory regulation across this space. What we have seen from this government is: not listening to health advocates; not concerned about the health, exercise and diet of Australians; but listening to the lobbyists from the Food and Grocery Council. We know the star system will contribute to alleviating the burden of chronic disease, overweight and obesity which leads to type II diabetes. I will read from the final communique so that the assistant health minister might have regard to this. The final communique 14 June says:

Food regulation ministers noted that the system had significant potential to support consumers to make healthier food choices and acknowledged that FoPL is one tool in a suite of initiatives that will, in the long-term, contribute to alleviating the burden of chronic disease, overweight and obesity issues in Australia.

And of course will assist in relation to type II diabetes.

This is a retrograde step by the coalition. It is an absolute disgrace and scandal what they have done—putting up the front-of-pack labelling and taking it down at the behest of the Food and Grocery Council. There are a lot more questions that need to be put and certainly a lot more answers that the assistant health minister needs to give to the Senate and to the Australian public. I do not know how she sleeps at night in relation to this issue because what they are doing is exactly the opposite of what the public health in this country needs. If you are serious about type II diabetes, you will carry out the agreement from 4 June 2013—the communique—to help Australians health and welfare.

Debate adjourned.