Think tank’s weight of opinion decries tax on sugar

SEAN PARNELL
January 23, 2018
The Australian

Economists engaged by conser­vative think tank the Menzies ­Research Centre have poured scorn on calls for a sugar tax, saying such policies have proved ­in­effective overseas and are based on flawed science.

Health groups in Australia, including the Australian Medical Association, have long called for a sugar tax to make soft drinks, in particular, less affordable. Neither the Coalition nor the Labor Party have adopted the policy, meaning a sugar tax is unlikely to be introduced any time soon.

Menzies Research Centre executive director Nick Cater said a research review by economists had found several flaws, including a lack of any proven link between general soft drink consumption and ill health.

“It is up to individuals and parents — not governments — to make responsible choices guided by their doctors,” said Cater, a columnist at The Australian who has long railed against “nanny state” approaches to health.

“The evidence is this is exactly what is happening, helped by the industry’s investment in sugar-free alternatives.”

Sugar tax would leave sour taste

The obesity rate in Australian adults increased from 19 per cent in 1995 to 28 per cent in 2014-15, with the high sugar contents in cheap soft drinks and processed foods cited by health groups as cause for alarm.

A spokesman for Health Minister Greg Hunt said fresh fruit and vegetables were made more ­affordable because of the absence of the GST, which is applied to soft drinks, and “we don’t believe ­increasing the family grocery bill at the supermarket is the answer to this challenge”.

The World Health Organisation recommends governments introduce effective taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages to help reduce sugar intake. 

A research review published last month in the journal Obesity Facts, the journal of the European Association for the Study of ­Obesity, concluded there was ­evidence sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with obesity.