Canegrowers vow to fight ‘demonising’ sugar tax

‘It ultimately cascades to the farmer in terms of price’

REJECTED: Canegrowers vow to fight proposed sugar tax.

THE leader of a peak body for Australian sugarcane growers has vowed to “fight tooth and nail” against any proposed sugar tax.

Canegrowers Queensland chairman Paul Schembri has accused the 2020 Australian of the Year – and others calling for a sugar tax – of “demonising the sugar industry”.

South Australian eye surgeon James Muecke – who earned the top Australian honour for his work in preventing blindness – believes a tax on sugary drinks is needed to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Mr Schembri has hit back at the suggestion, saying he was “extremely disappointed” in Dr Muecke’s comments.

“This is all about moderation. We’ve consistently said sugar, if consumed in moderation, can be part of a healthy and balanced diet,” he said.

“I think the debate is becoming irrational, it has somewhat derailed.

“A cohort of people have now found sugar guilty as the leading cause of these contemporary ailments like diabetes, heart disease and obesity – it’s far too simplistic.”

Canegrowers Queensland chairman Paul Schembri.

Mr Schembri said Canegrowers would strongly resist any calls for a sugar tax, which he claimed would have a range of repercussions for growers.

“It ultimately cascades to the farmer in terms of price. That farmer has to bear the cost of it, a sugar tax causes enormous reputational damage and that would affect our investment channels both external and internal,” he said.

“We think there is no need for it, the issues around obesity and diabetes are complex in nature but not simplistic in solution, such as a sugar tax.”

Both levels of government have rejected calls for a tax on sugary drinks.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt told ABC radio earlier this week that the Federal Government did not believe “driving up the price of household goods for families is the way of achieving this outcome”.

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said no “single initiative” would solve the obesity problem.

“I hope that through Health and Wellbeing Queensland we can start working together, industry, health promoters, state and federal governments, to change what makes poor people and indigenous people more likely to be fat,” he said.

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