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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-04-10 Daily Xml
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EPODE PROGRAM

Mr PISONI (Unley) (15:21): My question is to the Minister for Education and Children's Services. Before deciding to implement the French EPODE program in South Australian schools, was the minister aware that the program was developed using funding from sugar promotion organisations, multinational processed food groups and even pharmaceutical companies which produce drugs to combat health problems which can be avoided by good diet? I will explain.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley must seek leave to explain.

Mr PISONI: I seek leave to explain, sir.

The SPEAKER: Leave is granted.

Mr PISONI: Thank you, sir. Opposition research has revealed that the French EPODE program was developed with funding from private companies, which include CEDUS (which represents the French sugar industry), Fournier Pharmaceuticals, candy bar maker Nestle group, and Lesieur ( which controls over 50 per cent of France's edible oil market). Many of the companies funding the development of the program are themselves involved in producing and marketing junk food which contributes greatly to obesity, cholesterol problems and high blood pressure.

The Hon. J.D. HILL (Kaurna—Minister for Health, Minister for the Southern Suburbs, Minister Assisting the Premier in the Arts) (15:23): Mr Speaker, I know all about this. Let me explain to the house from where the member for Unley is coming. I am aware of all this, and I know the member is aware of all this also because he attended a briefing I conducted only last week with the promoter of EPODE, who was in Adelaide to talk to a conference, and he was quite open about the very fact that they get sponsorship from a whole range of other companies.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Unley has already been warned once.

The Hon. J.D. HILL: The member for Unley should be very careful. I have been very open about what EPODE is about. Let me explain to the house about EPODE. It is about working together against obesity in children. I have looked at programs that are available across the planet that are helping communities reduce the amount of obesity in children. There are not very many places in the world where there has been success in doing this. There are two places that I am aware of. One is Singapore, where children who are overweight or obese are singled out, put into a separate classroom at lunchtime and made to eat special food. They are kept in after school and made to undertake special exercise. It does not seem to me that that would be a program that would work in South Australia.

Also, I have looked at another program in France, where EPODE, a non-government organisation which has had to get its funding from non-government sources, has worked with communities such as schools, doctors, restaurants, local councils, industry and academics to try to change the social norms in the community in which they are working. It is now operating in 100 or so communities in France. It is also operating in Spain, Belgium and Canada. In the 100 or so communities in which it is operating within France, over the last few years of this program it has been able to demonstrate a reduction of something like 10 to 15 per cent on average in the rate of obesity in children from those communities.

It is a profoundly successful program. It has very strict ethical guidelines about how those who are sponsoring the program are involved. They cannot promote their products to the schoolchildren. They cannot use the fact that they are sponsoring this program to promote themselves. There is a range of ethical standards. The member for Unley knows this because he attended the meeting where all this information was explained. His interest is not in helping children reduce weight: his interest is in trying to play politics—something I have to say he does not do very well. He has not even bothered to stay in the chamber to listen to the answer to the question which he asked. He is a reprehensible person and he should be ashamed of himself for reducing this very fine program.

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