Daniel Andrews has hit back at a plan by the Greens to ban junk food from Victorian public transport amid the dramatic new proposal.
The Premier made the comments on Tuesday morning after the minority party said the government must make the change to prevent further strain on the embattled health system.
“I think we should try and educate families across the state and make the right choices,” Mr Andrews said.
“I’m not looking to ban anything today, I’m not sure that necessarily works.
“You know, there’s a thing called internet.”
It comes after the Victorian Greens population health spokesman Tim Read made the connection between transport advertising and kids’ hospital admissions.
“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.”
However, the Premier said the proposal would be ineffective in having any impact on children’s health or food choices.
“I don’t want to speak against the advertising interest in our trams because that money gets pushed back into the public transport network,” Mr Andrews said.
“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.”
The Greens’ proposal comes after research from the Cancer Council which revealed Victorian children are subjected to at least 25 unhealthy food and drink ads each day.