Politicians on a diet? Nova 106.9 host suggests food bans in parliament just like school tuck shops

Breakfast show host Ashley Bradnam has delivered a tongue-in-cheek proposal, advocating for the same food restrictions in parliament as being proposed for schools.

Brisbane’s Nova 106.9’s breakfast show host Ashley Bradnam has cheekily suggested Queensland’s politicians should be subjected to the same food bans being considered for schoolchildren.

Bradnam made the suggestion on the breakfast show on Tuesday alongside David ‘Luttsy’ Lutteral and Susie O’Neill, amid discussions of a potential tax on sugary drinks and restrictions on certain foods in school canteens.

“Whatever the rule is for tuck shops, the rules should be for Parliament House as well. And I’m serious about it,” Bradnam said.

“I look at our politicians and think ‘they could lose a couple’ [of kilos].”

Nova Brisbane breakfast hosts Ash Bradnam, Susie O'Neill and David Lutteral.

Bradnam said any new rules around healthier eating for children should be followed by community leaders.

“My point is, if they are going to introduce these rules for our kids, which is great. Well, they’re the leaders of the community, they are setting the example,” he said.

“Let’s take it out of Parliament House too, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

Speaking about taxing soft drinks, Bradnam joked that the costs were already comparable to something you’d buy in a nightclub.

“As someone who spends half my life going into service stations, driving up and down the coast, I’m always grabbing a drink,” he said. “Like, am I at a nightclub? No! Now, it could be $2.50, that would be pretty good for a soft drink, but you could be charged $3.50 just for a can, and five bucks for a water,” he said.

Lutteral said the price difference between a bottle of water and a can of soft drink was off kilter.

“Water is the same price though, that’s the weird thing. It’s hard to buy a bottle of water when you can buy something with, you know, colour in it, for the same price,” Lutteral said.

“Sorry if I want some flavour in my life,” Bradnam added.

O’Neill, taking a nostalgic stance, pointed out that the issue arises partly from remembering a time when cans of soft drinks were significantly cheaper.

“Because we remember when they were only 50 cents, that’s the problem,” she said.