Pressure mounts for Andrews Government to ban junk food ads on Victoria’s public transport

Daniel Andrews says he has no plans to ban junk food advertising from Victoria’s public transport network as pressure mounts to remove the promotions for targeting kids.

Pakenham grandfather Ian Rowed 71 treats grandchildren Savannah, 11, and Sophia, 5, to some junk food. Picture: Mark Stewart

Daniel Andrews has slapped down calls to ban all junk food advertising from Victoria’s public transport network.

As revealed by the Herald Sun, the Victorian Greens have teamed up with leading community health organisations including Cancer Council Victoria, VicHealth and Deakin University to urge the government to take action.

It follows research from the Cancer Council which revealed that Victorian children are being subjected to at least 25 unhealthy food and drink ads every day, including on public transport and near schools.

Experts say this advertising has a strong influence on what children eat, what they want to eat, and what they nag their parents to buy.

But Mr Andrews said he had no plans to ban any advertising on the network.

The Andrews Government is being urged to immediately ban all junk food and drink advertising across Victoria’s public transport network. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“I don’t know that that necessarily works,” he said.

“You know, there’s a thing called the internet.

“People get their information from lots of different sources.

“I don’t want to speak against the advertising interest in our trams because that money gets pushed back into the public transport network.

“But it’s not like that’s the only place you can advertise. I don’t know. It seems to me like the Greens have lots of different views on things.

“I’m not here today to talk about healthy eating choices. To acknowledge my good friend and former colleague Bronwyn Pike (former Education Minister) who used to talk about — there are sometimes foods and always foods.”

Restrictions on junk food advertising on public transport were enforced in London, while other Australian jurisdictions have also cracked down on fast food ads.

Victorian Greens population health spokesman Tim Read said the government must act now to ban unhealthy food and drink advertising across Victoria’s public transport network in a bid to prevent further strain on the already-struggling health system.

Health bodies are calling for a ban on junk food advertising on public transport so students like South Yarra Primary’s Maya can enjoy a healthy diet. Picture: David Caird

“Food companies bombard our children with unhealthy food and drink advertisements every day because it works – our children are buying and consuming these products because they see them advertised everywhere they go,” Dr Read said.

“Unhealthy diets set children up for lifelong health issues, including preventable cancers, type 2 diabetes, obesity and dental decay. We should be doing everything we can to give children the best start in life, including protecting them from unhealthy food and drink advertisements.

“If we’re genuinely committed to reducing hospital waiting lists, it’s time we stopped corporations from actively promoting disease-causing products.”