Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising Bill 2006 [2008] seeks to amend the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 and the Schools Assistance (Learning Together—Achievement Through Choice and Opportunity) Act 2004 to impose restrictions on food and beverage advertising on television during children’s viewing times and provides that financial assistance for schools is conditional upon schools not displaying advertisements or sponsorships by companies whose principal activity is the manufacture, distribution or sale of junk food.

The bill was referred to the Senate Community Affairs Committee on 4 September 2008 and the committee’s report was tabled on 2 December 2008. The report recommended that the bill not be passed. An inquiry into obesity in Australia was recently undertaken by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, and the report was tabled in parliament on 1 June 2009. The inquiry considered the factors that affect obesity in Australia, including advertising and what governments, individuals and the community can do to manage increasing obesity levels. Recommendation No. 11 of the report seeks more research on the effects of advertising on the eating behaviour of children and other vulnerable groups. The report did not recommend a ban on junk food advertising.

This bill pre-empts a number of very important and detailed policy development and evidence-gathering processes which look at this issue as part of an integrated approach. I think that an outline of the government’s actions and outlook will provide some useful context and backdrop for this debate.

Let me state at the outset that there is no doubt that obesity, and childhood obesity in particular, is a serious issue. I think that health experts from across Australia would agree that the causes of the problem are multifactoral and require an integrated range of measures. Ad hoc or piecemeal responses are unlikely to succeed. The government has demonstrated policy leadership in this respect, as it recognises that children’s health, eating habits and lifestyle are very important. This is why the government is implementing a range of measures aimed at improving the health of Australian children and adults. First, the government has put its money where its mouth is. Our commitment is demonstrated by the $872 million over six years provided by the Rudd Labor government towards preventative health through COAG. There has been nothing like this level of investment commitment ever before, and I think that all senators would support the government’s actions.

Programs will be implemented in settings such as preschools, schools and workplaces to help individuals modify their lifestyles in order to reduce their risk of chronic disease, and the development of a national preventative health agency designed to provide ongoing policy leadership is currently in development. This unprecedented investment in preventative health programs builds on the more than $50 million provided for obesity prevention initiatives in the government’s first budget, including a range of initiatives targeting children. The initiatives include $25.6 million over four years for Healthy Kids Checks for all four-year-olds to improve childhood health, claimable under Medicare. That was launched on 1 July 2008. The Get Set 4 Life—habits for healthy kids guide, was launched on 1 July 2008 and provides $2.9 million over two years for parents of four-year-olds receiving the Healthy Kids Check. Under the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program, up to 190 government primary schools will receive a grant of up to $60,000 to build a vegetable garden and kitchen facilities. That program was launched on 21 August 2008 and will provide $12.8 million over four years. The Active After-schools Communities program, through the Australian Sports Commission, encourages participation in after-school physical activity and is funded at $124.4 million over four years from 2007-08; and the Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings is funded at $4.5 million over five years. So the Rudd Labor government’s commitment has been solid, tangible and there for all to see. One of the hallmarks of this government has been the recognition that a good and rigorous evidence base is essential if policy development is to be effective and have a lasting effect. Once again, I think all senators would agree with this proposition.

There are currently a number of interrelated policy processes underway which are relevant to the objectives of this bill. The government has established the National Preventative Health Taskforce, chaired by Professor Rob Moodie, to examine ways to reduce health problems caused by alcohol, tobacco and, as is especially relevant here, obesity. I would like to emphasise that this task force underlines our commitment to identify root causes and the best evidence to help us develop a policy prescription. In October 2008, the task force released a discussion paper, Australia: the healthiest country by 2020, and three comprehensive technical reports on obesity, tobacco and alcohol for public comment. The discussion paper aimed to initiate debate that will assist in the development of a national preventative health strategy. The task force will be reporting in the near future. To introduce legislation now would pre-empt the work of the task force and is, therefore, inappropriate.

As with any complex issue, there is no magic cure for the trend towards childhood obesity. There are many and varied causes of for being overweight and obese amongst our children. During the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s recent review of the Children’s Television Standards, ACMA commissioned independent research on the issue. ACMA has issued a draft report for comment and will be issuing its final report in the near future. Once again, to introduce sweeping legislation now would inappropriately pre-empt the work of ACMA.

Food and beverage advertising is already subject to substantial regulation. Rules about advertising to children are set out in broadcasting standards and codes. The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 sets out a co-regulatory system for the regulation of broadcasting content, in which commercial free-to-air broadcasters comply with the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice and Children’s Television Standards. Under the system, the viewing day is divided into a series of time zones or bands to ensure appropriate material is broadcast, to assist viewers to make informed choices about the content they access and to provide parents with information regarding the suitability of material for children.

Under the current Children’s Television Standards, no commercials are permitted to be broadcast in P periods, and each 30 minutes of C periods may contain no more than five minutes of commercials, with the exception of some Australian drama programs. The standard also includes strict content rules, which include:

An advertisement for a food product may not contain any misleading or incorrect information about the nutritional value of that product.

Under the Children’s Television Standards:

No material broadcast during a C period or P period may:

(a)      demean any person or group on the basis of ethnicity, nationality, race, gender, sexual preference, religion, or mental or physical disability;

(b)      present images or events in a way which is unduly frightening or unduly distressing to children;

(c)      present images or events which depict unsafe uses of a product or unsafe situations which may encourage children to engage in activities dangerous to them;

(d)      advertise products or services which have been officially declared unsafe or dangerous by a Commonwealth authority or by an authority having jurisdiction within the licensee’s licence area.

These requirements may apply equally to program content and advertisements.

The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice provides another layer of protection in relation to advertising to children. The Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice provides that:

Advertisements to Children for food and/or beverages:

(a)      should not encourage or promote an inactive lifestyle combined with unhealthy eating or drinking habits; and

(b)      must not contain any misleading or incorrect information about the nutritional value of that Product.

The merits of co- and self-regulatory systems are well established and apply equally across advertising media channels, including the internet and emergent media. These other increasingly influential media platforms would not be covered by a ban on television advertising. Complaint mechanisms within the existing co-regulatory systems enable broadcasters and advertisers to quickly and transparently respond to complaints and to make adjustments in responding to prevailing community standards.

In addition to the co-regulatory requirements within the broadcasting and advertising sectors, some key industry groups and bodies are implementing their own codes. I could give some further arguments but, due to the nature of the debate and the agreed time limits, I conclude by saying that the government has made obesity a preventative health priority. It is investing heavily to support efforts to reduce the numbers of people who are overweight and obese. The government is determined to take a careful, evidence based approach to this issue. Therefore, the government does not support this bill.