Page 2130 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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There is also a smaller funding opportunity called the health promotion innovation fund, which also focuses on tackling obesity and improving children’s health through innovative health promotion projects. This fund is continually open for applications and is assessed three times a year. The aim is to support community organisations to test new models of health promotion and prevention and to develop those that can be expanded to allow wider health reach in the ACT context.
The innovation fund covers a wide range of exciting projects. They focus on improving eating habits of children and their families, increasing engagement of children and the youth in sporting activities and supporting vulnerable groups to engage in physical activity and to choose healthier food and drink choices.
For example, one innovation grant, Koori Kids Health, focuses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children between the ages of four and 15 years to support them to build skills in growing fruit and vegetables in the garden and to create healthy meals. Innovation fund grants have been awarded to schools and organisations to make our schools healthier environments for our children. One grant supports Nutrition Australia to develop materials to align with the Australian health and physical education curriculum called Food&ME for years 5 and 6.
Community organisations have been supported to incorporate into their programs physical activity and healthy eating messages and interventions. Community sporting programs have also been supported. Skateboarding Australia, for example, aims to deliver free and fun skate clinics to children who otherwise may not engage in traditional sporting activities.
I call on all members of the Assembly to support the continued implementation of preventive health policies and programs to reduce the levels of overweight and obesity in the ACT and to assist at-risk members of the community through the provision of a range of treatment options. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.53): I thank Dr Bourke for bringing this important motion before the Assembly today, and I hope that this is one that we can all agree on, to continue the spirit of cooperation that has broken out in the chamber.
It is a motion that addresses an issue that challenges the long-term health of our community and the quality of life of many Canberrans. If this issue is not addressed it could permanently derail the Canberra health budget. We all know how much the health budget is—about $1.4 billion. It is a very significant portion of the entire budget.
I have regularly raised the issue of obesity and, more broadly, preventative health in this place and in the community. I have raised concerns about the great number of people who are treated in expensive hospital beds who could have avoided that hospitalisation if they had been treated elsewhere, if there had been early interventions or if we had better preventative health.
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