Kiwi kids health ignored by Education Minister
Education Minister Anne Tolley confirmed in Parliament today that she totally ignored risks to young New Zealander’s health when she removed the School Food Guidelines, said Green Party MP Sue Kedgley.
Anne Tolley admitted during Parliament’s Question Time that she had not sought any advice from Ministry of Health officials regarding the consequences to kiwi kids health when she removed the School Food Guidelines.
“The Minister’s grudging admission in Parliament today that she had not sought any advice from the Ministry of Health before she scrapped the School Food Guidelines, confirmed that she made the decision for purely ideological reasons,” said Ms Kedgley.
A briefing paper from education officials to Ms Tolley, obtained by the Green Party, showed that a week before Ms Tolley made her final decision to scrap the School Food Guidelines concerns were raised about children’s health:
“Numerous studies have shown poor nutrition and health adversely affects educational achievement, and Pacific and Maori students are especially vulnerable in this respect. For example in a recent study of seven South Auckland secondary schools 58% of students were found to be overweight or obese. The same study reported that tuck shops were the primary source of lunch for around half of these students.” Advice to the Minister 30 January 2009.
The Ministry of Health spent more than four years working on the guidelines, at a cost of $4.5 million dollars. According to an Education Review Office report more than 90% of schools were meeting the School Food Guidelines when the Minister pulled the plug.
“It is astonishing that the Minister chose to scrap a programme that 90% of schools were happily succeeding in implementing,” said Ms Kedgley.
“The Minister’s actions will ultimately mean a generation of young people face obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases because of poor nutrition – which will have hugely negative impacts on both the health system and the economy.”
Link to the briefing paper written by the Minister’s own officials alerting her to the health risks of getting rid of the School Food Guidelines: