Page 2139 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In the recent ACT budget the government put money behind this framework with a commitment of $3.6 million over four years to implement specific initiatives under the plan. The framework takes in six themes. The first is the food environment, and perhaps the single most important factor in the rise of obesity has been the evolution of our food environment towards energy rich, nutrient poor foods, particularly through the processed food and takeaway cultures.
We know from looking overseas that the most effective way to change this is through substantial regulation and taxation. While a state or territory government has limited ability to regulate this environment, there is meaningful action we can take on improving healthy choices in vending machines, working with supermarkets to try to reduce junk food at checkouts, improving skills in buying and preparing food, increasing the availability of drinking water around the city and looking at where we have the ability to reduce junk food advertising.
In schools, activities to increase physical activity and improve the food environment are well advanced. Sugary drinks are being phased out of government schools this year. We are teaching healthy habits through the fresh taste program and through ride or walk to school. We are developing more support for teachers to incorporate physical activity into daily learning. New water fountains are helping create a school culture where water is the drink of choice.
In workplaces, this is where we get our own house in order through initiatives such as improving food choices at ACT government workplaces and facilities, encouraging daily exercise through sport and initiatives for staff and changing building design where we can build exercise into the working day. The government understands the need to lead by example. From this sharing point, we are looking to expand these initiatives into other workplaces and embed active design principles into Canberra’s future commercial buildings.
On social inclusion, I have touched on the need to help all groups in our community build the skills and confidence to live healthily in a food environment which does not always make it easy. We are looking to use our community services footprint to connect with higher risk groups in the community and improve their ability to make healthy choices through education and incentives.
In urban planning, across the built environment of our city there are opportunities to re-engineer more healthy lifestyles, making the built environment attractive and safe for walking, jogging and cycling, encouraging more people into public spaces and increasing the use of public transport. For example, the government’s decision to build light rail in Canberra is expected to double the distance people will walk to ride it compared to buses. We are already seeing some private sector leadership in the design of major new developments, and this is a key area for government and industry to be working in unison.
The evaluation of this area goes to our management and evaluation of data around body weight and physical health. We are continuing to build the evidence base for these policies to guide our next steps, improve public access to health information and help underpin the push for change at other levels of government.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video