Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on an issue that is affecting two industries that are critically important to the Australian horticultural sector and to my electorate of Mallee, namely, the citrus and dried fruits industries. The issue relates to the Health Star Rating System that is seen on many products in Australia and is intended to guide consumers to make healthier choices. What I thought was a relatively simple and inconspicuous rating system has turned out to be a complex calculator that has the potential to impact the bottom line of producers across Australia and my electorate of Mallee. The Health Star Rating System was implemented as a voluntary labelling program in 2014, following agreement by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation. The membership of the forum consists of representatives from the Commonwealth government and each Australian state and territory government, as well as representatives from the government of New Zealand.

Recently a five-year review of the system was completed, which proposed several changes. The most significant of them has been to strongly penalise total sugars in foods and beverages. For example, under the changes to the system, fresh orange juice with no added sugar will lose its current five-star rating, which it has held since the system was implemented in 2014, and will now receive a rating as low as two stars, which will be similar to soft drinks such as diet cola. This is because the algorithm that underpins the system focuses on sugar content alone and does not consider essential nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, folate, magnesium or antioxidants, which of course are in fresh orange juice. The logic underpinning these changes is that consumers should be encouraged to drink water as much as possible. This simply isn't a common-sense approach to everyday consumption. Many people will not drink solely water, so, when consumers are faced with a choice in a supermarket aisle, the health star rating system should guide them to a healthy orange juice instead of an unhealthy diet cola. I've spoken to both Citrus Australia and the Australian Beverages Council, who are concerned that the proposed changes will have an immediate and detrimental effect on industry. What we need to remember is that fresh fruit juice currently contributes $736 million to the Australian economy.

Dried Fruits Australia have expressed similar concerns to me relating to dried grapes. Under the changes to the system, fresh grapes will receive the maximum star rating of five, while sultanas, for example, will be rated much lower. Again, this is due to the way in which the new guidelines treat total sugars. Australian dried grapes contain no added sugar and are known for their fibre content as well as being high in potassium, magnesium and iron. A great deal of research has been and continues to be applied to the health benefits of consuming dried grapes. With 95 per cent of Australian dried grapes produced in the tri-state region of north-west Victoria, south-west New South Wales and the Riverland of South Australia, it is critically important to my electorate that this issue is addressed so that Australian consumers continue to understand that dried grapes are a naturally healthy product. Moderation should be an issue for the consumer, not the government.

The changes to the health star rating by the ministerial forum will have a detrimental impact on the Australian horticultural industry and will disproportionately affect regional economies that are heavily reliant on these industries. The Commonwealth government, represented by Minister Colbeck and Minister Littleproud, displayed its support for our horticultural industries at the last meeting of the ministerial forum, in July. The ministers called for a policy override to ensure that fresh fruit and vegetable juices receive an automatic four-star rating. Unfortunately this resolution was not carried by the forum. I've written to every minister involved in the forum, to support a call by a number of peak industry bodies to reconsider this policy position for an automatic four-star rating for fresh juice at the upcoming meeting of the forum at the end of November. I've also asked the forum to give further consideration to how these changes will affect dried grapes. What started out as an innocent idea to guide consumers towards healthier options has morphed into an unmanageable beast that is threatening regional industries and communities. I hope that forum ministers will approach the upcoming forum with common sense and with regional communities in mind.