Two law academics from The University of Western Australia who played a prominent role in the development of a Private Member’s Bill calling for action on junk food advertising targeted at children said the proposed legislation addresses an urgent public health issue which must be acted on.
“We participated in a national roundtable discussion with Dr Scamp as well as advising on legislative measures and reviewing policy documents in connection with this proposal.”
Associate Professor Meredith Blake, UWA Law School
Independent MP for Mackellar Dr Sophie Scamp’s Healthy Kids Advertising Bill, which is being tabled today, aims to protect kids from junk food marketing by removing ads from TV and radio between the hours of 6am and 9.30pm.
The Bill would also place an outright ban on junk food marketing on social media and in other online environments, with substantial fines being proposed for broadcasters, internet service providers and food companies that fail to adhere to the guidelines.
The push comes as about a quarter of Australian children aged 5–14 are overweight or obese, with the average child aged 5-8 exposed to at least 827 unhealthy food advertisements on television each year.
Associate Professor Meredith Blake and Dr Marilyn Bromberg, from the UWA Law School, have spent over six years researching the effect evidence-based policy making can have on children’s health and obesity.
“Our research consistently highlights the detrimental effects of junk food advertising on the health of Australian children,” Associate Professor Blake said.
“We participated in a national roundtable discussion with Dr Scamp as well as advising on legislative measures and reviewing policy documents in connection with this proposal. We fully support this ground-breaking Bill as a significant stride in the right direction.”
Dr Bromberg said UWA research had highlighted the urgent need for regulatory measures and suggested there were a plethora of actions the Federal Government could take.
“Not only by regulating junk food advertising, but also modifying planning laws to help reduce the number of outlets selling unhealthy junk food and by creating a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, just for starters,” Dr Bromberg said.
“There are many possibilities which work well in other parts of the world. Australians need to do more to address the increasingly high number of children who are overweight and obese and developing diseases like Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses.
“Children are so vulnerable, we need to protect them and create a healthy environment for them to flourish – this is an urgent public health issue and we must do more,” Dr Bromberg said.
