Critics have warned that Australia’s proposed 20 per cent tax on sugary drinks unfairly targets financially struggling households and the move lacks evidence it tackles obesity.
In 2022, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that nearly two-thirds of adults and over a quarter of children in Australia were overweight or obese, while the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found a 37 per cent rise in the age-standardised prevalence of Type 2 diabetes from 2001 to 2017-18.
To combat its these issues, the World Health Organisation called for sugar-sweetened beverage taxes globally in December 2022, but Australia is yet to implement the tax, lagging behind 100 other countries.
Australian Beverages Council Ltd corporate affairs head Cathy Cook argues the tax could hit low-income households, already grappling with food insecurity and highlighted instead the industry’s own efforts, like its Sugar Reduction Pledge which has removed 192,000 tonnes of sugar from Australian diets since 2015.
Ms Cook said that data from the Mexican Government showed that 62 per cent of the revenue collected from Mexico’s sugar tax comes from the country’s lowest income households.
In addition, despite the implementation of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in several countries, there hadn’t been a measurable reduction in obesity or related health issues.
In Australia, ABS figures show that more than half of all beverage sales were low or no sugar, with this percentage rising each year.
However, Cancer Council’s Nutrition, Alcohol, and Physical Activity Committee chair and national spokesperson Clare Hughes supports a sugar tax.
“Sugary drink manufacturers have been resistant to public health policies and recommendations as they look to profits before people’s health,” Ms Hughes said.
“If the recommendation is adopted, we know this policy will encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of sugar in sugary drink products. When the UK announced their tiered tax, manufacturers responded by taking around 45 million kilos of sugar out of soft drinks alone each year.
“While sugar itself is not a carcinogenic [cancer-causing] substance, over-consumption of sugar, particularly added sugars in processed beverages and foods, can contribute to excess weight gain and obesity which is an important risk factor for 13 different types of cancer.”
Clare Hughes
According to modelling by public policy thinktank the Grattan Institute, a tiered tax could reduce sugar consumption by 700 grams per person per year and improve Australians’ diets.
Australia’s proposed tax is projected to generate $1.4 billion in revenue over two years and would apply to a range of beverages including soft drinks, cordial, energy drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, and flavoured mineral waters starting July 1, 2025.
Ms Hughes hopes the tax revenue will fund obesity prevention and healthy eating initiatives and calls for the government to act on the evidence, viewing the tax as a good investment into public health.