Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's been a great morning here at Parliament House. This morning I launched the Parliamentary Friends of Nutrition, and we heard from very passionate advocates from Dietitians Australia, including the guest speaker, Laureate Professor Clare Collins AO. In thinking about a national nutrition strategy, the Albanese Labor government and the opposition understand the importance of preventative health and the part that nutrition and a healthy lifestyle play in people's lives. As a society, we can do more—from our kids, to those older people living in aged-care residential homes, to Aboriginal health within our Indigenous communities. Good nutrition might just save your life, so I welcome conversations and discourse around this issue as we celebrate Dietitians Week 2023.

This new friendship group, working with Dietitians Australia, will lead a discussion about the importance of nutrition and how we can create a healthier society. The group will also play an important role in agitating for reform and in the creation of a national nutrition policy. I acknowledge the CEO of Dietitians Australia, Robert Hunt, and the Advocacy and Policy Manager at Dietitians Australia, Natalie Stapleton, for helping with the event today. I also thank the board of Dietitians Australia for coming to the event and making a healthy Australia a priority for the national discourse. To think that each year 27,500 Australians die from preventable diet related disease! We all know the health impacts and that the major causes of heart attack, obesity and childhood obesity can be resolved if we invest in better nutrition.