2. H V ROSS ROBERTSON (Labour—Manukau East) Link to this
to the Minister of Education
What is the Government doing in schools to promote healthy, active children and reduce obesity?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) Link to this
On the subject of healthy, confident kids, which we have just been discussing, I am pleased to say that today the Government, along with Sue Kedgley from the Green Party, has launched the Food and Nutrition for Healthy Confident Kids guidelines for schools. The guidelines are in my hands and will be available to all members of the House who may want to use them personally, or who would like to make sure they are available in their local schools. This is part of the $67 million Mission-On campaign that will run over a number of years. In practice, these guidelines will influence what is eaten in the tuck shops in our schools and what children will bring to school, and it will impact on what they learn through the curriculum, because a number of learning units can be taken from these guidelines to be used in the curriculum, as well. So the campaign will have a substantial impact on what happens in our schools.
H V Ross Robertson Link to this
What else is the Government doing to encourage young New Zealanders to live healthy and confident lives?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
The $67 million campaign I mentioned earlier covers not only nutrition but physical activity amongst younger New Zealanders. The programme, for example, will involve making use of high-profile New Zealanders, who will be setting an example to young New Zealanders; youth-focused websites; encouraging the advertising industry to decrease children’s exposure to unhealthy foods; the sponsorship of television and radio programmes that contain healthy choices within them; a television and computer free - time campaign; and an expansion of Green Prescription programmes such as the ones that encourage young people to get out and exercise rather than rely on other forms of prescription—say, medication—to resolve an issue. It is a very good campaign.
Sue KedgleyCan the Minister confirm that a $12 million Nutrition Fund, secured by the Green Party in last year’s Budget, will help to implement the new nutrition guidelines; and does he hope that children’s ability to learn and concentrate in the classroom will improve as all schools move towards ensuring that only healthy food is sold?
Hon STEVE MAHAREY Link to this
Yes, I can confirm that. The $12 million Nutrition Fund runs over 4 years and is now available to schools. That funding was secured by the Green Party as part of its post-election agreement with the Government. As a first step, the Nutrition Fund will provide for two people from every school to be able to attend a workshop so that they can learn more about how to incorporate all of this into the school curriculum and the life of the school. From July, funding will be available to early childhood education services and schools to establish their own ideas or programmes to support sustainable healthy eating environments.