Spectacular backflip on sugary drinks in schools
Health Minister described the policy his government has just adopted as “nanny statism at its worst”
Liberals also adopted Labor’s policy on e-cigarettes
The Liberal Government should be embarrassed by its announcement on sugary drinks in schools after it described the same idea put forward by Labor as “nanny statism at its worst”.
Shadow Education Minister Michelle O’Byrne said it’s a galling example of hypocrisy from the Liberals.
“The Government has gone from attacking Labor’s policy* to adopting it,” Ms O’Byrne said.
“When Shadow Health Minister Rebecca White announced a policy in May 2015 to address sugary drinks in schools for preventative health reasons, Michael Ferguson described it as “nanny statism at its worst”**.
He went onto say: “Labor’s lazy thought-bubble of prohibition and regulation would see Tasmania become a nanny state where, according to their own release, we’d all be drinking nothing but water,”***
“This is a very embarrassing situation for the Government,” Ms O’Byrne said.
“Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff is now pushing for exactly the same policy that Will Hodgman rejected because he said his government didn’t “tell Tasmanian parents what they should and shouldn’t do”. (see attached)
“The backlip follows a similar adoption of Labor’s policy to regulate e-cigarettes in Tasmania.
“When it comes to preventative health initiatives, the Liberals are years behind.
“It’s taken two and a half years for the Government to copy Labor’s policy.
“Instead of politically attacking the policy at the time, the Liberals could have adopted it and started to improve health outcomes for Tasmanian children.”
*http://taslabor.com/labor-committed-to-better-health-outcomes/
**http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/releases/sugar_tax_labors_health_policy_for_a_nanny_state
***http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3084874/sugary-drinks-on-labors-hit-list/
Michelle O’Byrne MP Deputy Labor Leader Shadow Education Minister
