EXCLUSIVE Fresh Labor push for a new that will impact every Australian: What it means for you
A Labor MP has issued a call for a new tax on sugary drinks such as Coke, fruit juices and sports drinks - a year after a controversial national inquiry into the diabetes epidemic recommended the levy.
Dr Mike Freelander, MP for the federal seat of Macarthur on Sydney 's south-western edge, told Daily Mail Australia this week that he supports a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages.
Dr Freelander, a medically-trained doctor, called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to support a proposal, pushed by a parliamentary inquiry he chaired, to force beverage producers to make healthier drinks.
The tax would also raise an additional $1.4billion of government revenue over four years - coming at a time where tobacco excise collection dropped almost $5billion this financial year.
'The levy is a way to encourage manufacturers to reduce sugar content in their products and there is increasing global evidence of the benefits on community health and wellbeing,' said Dr Freelander, a backbencher.
According to the report he still supports, sugar-sweetened beverages are defined as water-based drinks with added caloric sweeteners - such as sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, or fruit juice concentrate.
This the tax would include soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks, cordials and drinks made with added fruit juice concentrate.
A number of Coalition members of the diabetes inquiry committee opposed the introduction of a levy in the final report.
Deputy chair of the committee Julian Leeser, Liberal MP for Berowra, said the impost of the tax would disproportionately fall upon Australia's lowest earners.
'People are doing it tough and struggling to pay bills and put food on the table,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald last year.
'There's also a real issue about whether a sugar tax would change behaviour.'
Dr Freelander's comments come as a new study showed public support for a sugar tax, despite criticism that it could disproportionately affect low-income Australians.
The study was published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health on Wednesday and led by professor Caroline Miller, president of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA).
More than half (56 per cent) of the study's 1800 respondents supported a health levy tax on sugary drinks in line earlier research from 2017.
Dr Miller said sugary drinks were a significant contributor to obesity - a disease which has overtaken cancer as the leading cause of Australia's preventable disease burden.
She said Australia is facing a serious public health issue, one that warrants a policy approach defined by 'strong leadership'.
Critics of the sugar tax claim dietary choices should be left to the individual and that lower-earning Australians would be hardest hit by the levy.
The Australian Beverages Council has led the opposition against the sugary drinks tax - claiming declining consumption rates suggested something else was to blame.
'The tax is a misguided attempt to address a complex problem like obesity that lacks real world evidence it has any discernible impact on weight,' Geoff Parker, chief executive of the Council said in a statement last year.
'Consumption of sugar from drinks in Australia has decreased significantly over the last 20 years at the same time overweight, obesity and diabetes rates have continued to rise.
'Clearly soft drinks aren't driving the nation's expanding waistline which makes this call for a tax illogical and clearly just a revenue raiser for public health groups.'
Sugar taxes are already in place in a number of European and American countries including the UK, France, Norway, Mexico and Chile.
One study suggested the daily sugar intake of UK children fell by five grams within a year of the tax being introduced in 2018, while adults cut their intake by 11 grams.
But chief executive of the PHAA Terry Slevin said the study proved there was 'genuine community concern about unhealthy drinks'.
'Minister Mark Butler and the Albanese government have implemented strong and effective measures to curb smoking and vaping, we believe similarly decisive action is needed to tackle obesity.'
'We know what needs to be done, now is the time to do it.'
The Australian Medical Association, the peak representative body for doctors in Australia, advocates for a tax of $0.40 per 100 grams of sugar.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Australia news live: community to hold vigil for Pheobe Bishop; embattled Tasmanian premier pulls privatisation study
Update: Date: 2025-06-07T23:06:23.000Z Title: James Content: Shadow finance Minister Paterson will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning. Earlier this morning federal trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell spoke to Sky News. He was followed by Coalition MP Tim Wilson. Resources Minister Madeleine King will hold a presser in Western Australia this morning. We will bring you the latest as it develops. Update: Date: 2025-06-07T23:04:10.000Z Title: Privatisation shelved as premier fights to stay afloat Content: Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has intervened to end his government's push to sell off state assets after a turbulent week in which he lost a no-confidence motion in parliament. Rockliff has stopped prominent economist Saul Eslake from preparing a report on viable opportunities to sell government-owned businesses to support Tasmania's troubled finances. In a post to social media, he promised legislation ensuring that any sales would require a two-thirds majority support in parliament. Today, I can confirm that there will be no privatisation under a Government I lead. We will also be changing the law so that a government business can only be sold in future if it receives a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. An election could be called on Tuesday. Despite feuding over the state's finances, Tasmania's proposed $715m stadium looms as the biggest issue. The roofed Macquarie Point proposal is a condition of an AFL licence, with the state government responsible for delivery and cost overruns. Labor and the Liberals support the stadium but recent polls suggest Tasmanians are not sold. Firebrand senator Jacqui Lambie, independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie and acclaimed author Richard Flanagan are among well-known Tasmanians who oppose the project. - AAP Update: Date: 2025-06-07T23:03:58.000Z Title: Vigil for Pheobe Bishop following grim bush discovery Content: A vigil will be held in memory of 17-year-old Pheobe Bishop after the discovery of human remains in rugged national parkland. The vigil follows police confirmation that they found human remains in 'unforgiving' terrain in a national park southwest of Bundaberg. Floral tributes were laid outside the share house where Bishop lived, with a candlelight vigil at Kolan Community Park between 4pm and 6pm on Sunday. Locals have been asked to wear bright colours and butterflies. A second candlelight vigil will be held at Buss Park in nearby Bundaberg on Monday from 5pm. Well-wishers have left tributes on social media sites advertising the events. Bishop was last seen near Bundaberg airport about 8.30am on 15 May after booking a trip to Western Australia to see her boyfriend. Police have charged her housemates with her murder. – with AAP Update: Date: 2025-06-07T23:03:28.000Z Title: Good morning Content: And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog. A vigil will be held for a Queensland teenager Pheobe Bishop on Sunday afternoon after police confirmed they had found human remains in a national park. Bishop's housemates have been charged with her murder after she missed a flight she was expected to board at Bundaberg Airport. Embattled Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff has intervened to stop a privatisation to sell off state assets after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament earlier this week. The Premier is expected to call an election on Tuesday after facing pressure over his government's management of state finances. I'm Royce Kurmelovs and I'll be taking the blog through the day. With that, let's get started …
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
AFL legend Damian Monkhorst reveals how he predicted his own heart attack months in advance
Former Collingwood ruckman Damian Monkhorst has opened up about his recent heart attack, revealing how he predicted the coronary event to his partner several months beforehand. Monkhorst, 55, survived a heart attack in early April, which he claims he foresaw due to the mounting stress in his life and other troubling health issues. The 1990 premiership hero who runs his own plumbing business had been grappling with anxiety for months regarding the building industry and the challenging times ahead. Normally a relaxed character, Monkhorst found himself waking up in the early hours of the morning to worry about work matters. Monkhorst was also exercising less, snacking more and experiencing fairly regular headaches and neck pain. 'I predicted this to my missus (Trudi), I said "this stuff is going to give me a heart attack",' Monkhorst told News Corp. 'I had a sore shoulder and neck, which I initially put down to riding my motorbike. I had been getting random headaches for six to 12 months. 'I was looking at the other reasons why I was getting these headaches without looking at the real reasons, which was a build up of blood pressure and my head was pumping.' Monkhorst experienced the heart attack one morning before work. 'I started to feel like I couldn't catch my breath,' he revealed. 'I started sweating, I had a sore shoulder and I felt really uncomfortable in my chest.' 'The pain got so bad that I was dry retching … I ended up on the veranda throwing up, I thought I must have had some sort of bug. 'Again, I was in denial. I finished my coffee, jumped in my LandCruiser and took off for work.' Things got worse for Monkhorst, so he called Trudi and she told him to head straight to hospital. It was a decision that probably saved his life. 'The doctor said how lucky I was,' he said. 'Stupid me, if I hadn't made that call (to Trudi), I was highly likely to go into work and ignore what was going on, or if I still wasn't feeling good, I was just going to drive home.' The former footy star, who had two stents put in by surgeons to fix blockages in his heart, has been told that stress probably caused the vessels to burst. He's now on blood pressure medication, doing rehabilitation and trying to get his weight back to a healthier level. Monkhorst has also resolved not to let his work stress trouble him like it used to. 'I nearly fell over when I jumped on the scales in there (the hospital),' he said of his weight. 'I usually stay at a certain weight, which is just under 150kgs, but in recent times, with the stress and everything else, it was a bit over. 'I'm back under that now, and I have got a long way further to go. I'm not starving myself, it is all about eating well and stopping the snacks.' Monkhorst's heart attack this year came shortly after the death of former Collingwood and Richmond player Andrew Krakouer. Krakouer, who played 137 games between 2001 and 2013, died of a suspected heart attack.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Scott Morrison sought advice to obstruct Nauru asylum seekers from accessing abortions, documents reveal
Scott Morrison overrode medical advice in the case of an asylum seeker in offshore detention trying to access an abortion, and had previously sought advice that would effectively prevent access to terminations entirely, ministerial advice reveals. Documents released under freedom of information laws show Morrison, in 2014 as immigration minister, had sought advice to deny the transfer of women to a hospital on the Australian mainland to access termination services before 20 weeks' gestation. Abortion is illegal on Nauru, except to save the mother's life, and carries a prison term of up to 14 years. Termination laws differ across Australian states, but if pregnant women in offshore detention were prohibited from accessing abortion services in Australia until after 20 weeks, it would be far more difficult to access those services at all. A handwritten note by Morrison, on a document dated June 2014, stated: 'I would also like advice on denying transfer pre 20 weeks for pregnant women.' In the same document, Morrison specified that women should only be transferred to Brisbane, not South Australia, the Northern Territory or Victoria for abortion services. Morrison did not respond to requests for comment, and Guardian Australia cannot confirm what advice he received. In the case of a woman, who was not identified in the redacted documents, medical advice recommended she be transferred to Victoria for an abortion, over Brisbane where she would have had to have waited a week for a hospital ethics panel to consider her case. That policy was in place in Queensland for women seeking a termination after 20 weeks' gestation. In Victoria, a woman could seek a termination without approval of a hospital ethics board until 24 weeks. Guardian Australia understands the woman was taken to Brisbane, rather than Melbourne, where the panel deliberated on her case. One senior source, who spoke to Guardian Australia on the condition of anonymity, said Morrison did not specifically target abortion access. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email David Manne, a prominent refugee advocate and lawyer, said in his view the broader immigration policy at the time was part of an 'extreme deterrence agenda'. 'Inherent in the [broader] policy was conscious, calculated cruelty,' he said. 'Clearly, [the policy] was far more than reckless indifference, it was deliberate. '[It was] part of a system that was underpinned by the extreme deterrence agenda … the basic rights and dignity of people subject to the policy were essentially irrelevant.' Jana Favero, the deputy CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), who was an advocate for the centre at the time, said the documents were 'outrageous' and 'consistent' with the ASRC's experience trying to help asylum seekers get medical transfers. 'It was extremely challenging and difficult for the medical transfer from people offshore, in particular women who were pregnant,' she said. Manne claimed the Abbott government was concerned asylum seekers and refugees were using medical transfers as a back door to get into Australia. Once in Australia, and in the Australian onshore detention system, an asylum seeker could go to the court to seek an injunction to prevent being sent back to offshore detention. '[They] could plead their case under law to resist being sent back to Nauru, to further dangers of the kinds that they'd already faced,' Manne said. This wasn't the only concern held by the government. Manne said the policy was based on deterrence, to stop others seeking asylum arriving by boat. 'If we make some exception, if there's a perceived crack of light in this policy, this could see the resumption of boat arrivals, that was clearly the thinking.' Later, in 2019, Peter Dutton, by then the home affairs minister in the Morrison government, accused women in Nauru refugee centres of using rape and abortion claims as a ploy to get to Australia. Over the 18 months from 1 January 2013 to 20 June 2014, IHMS, the government contracted healthcare provider for Nauru, said there were six pregnant transferees who were taken to the mainland for a termination. In June 2014, there were 289 women in detention on Nauru, according to data collated by the Refugee Council of Australia. Numerous internal and external reviews of offshore detention centres found instances of violence and traumatic living conditions, amid allegations and reports of rape, sexual assaults. An independent investigation, by the former integrity commissioner Philip Moss, commissioned by Morrison in October 2014, found evidence of rapes and sexual violence on Nauru and Manus Island, and said incidents were often under-reported. In 2016, Guardian Australia released the Nauru files, a collection of 2,000 leaked incident reports detailing harrowing instances of abuse on the island between May 2013 and October 2015. More than half of the reports (51.3%) involved children, even though children made up only about 18% of those in detention on Nauru during the time covered by the reports. Favero said the ASRC had performed its own audit on medical transfers at the time, and said it sometimes took up to 18 months for an asylum seeker to get help on the mainland. 'From the point where there was a [doctor's] recommendation for a medical transfer, sometimes it took up to 12 to 18 months for that to happen, and it only happened as a result of a huge amount of pressure including legal action,' Favero said. In February 2019, five years later, after Morrison became prime minister, Labor and the crossbench passed the medevac bill, against the Coalition government, that established a medical panel to oversee medical transfers of people from offshore detention. That law lasted less than 10 months, before it was repealed by the Morrison government in December that year. 'The decision [to transfer a patient] should have been in doctors' hands not in bureaucrats and politicians hands which is what that legislation was,' Favero said.
