Right:The fast food giants want a "voluntary" code of advertising practice, while medical and other groups want government regulation, especially in regard to children's TV advertising.web links and documents
On Monday June 1, 2009, the Federal House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing tabled its report into obesity in Australia titled 'Weighing it up: Obesity in Australia'.The full text of the Committee's report can be found at
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/haa/obesity/report.htm
The consumer information and advocacy group Choice has conducted a long-term campaign to have fast food advertising to children banned. The section of the Choice Internet site dealing with this issue can be found at http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=105388&catId=100384&tid=100008
Choice has set up a page of links to discussions of further aspects of the issue. This page of links can be found at http://search.choice.com.au/consumer/Fast%20Food%20Advertising
A briefing paper presenting a detailed case against fast food advertising in Australia can be found at http://www.choice.com.au/files/f132260.pdf
The case is clearly laid out and includes a variety of additional sources. It has been prepared by the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children (CFAC) which includes Choice.
On June 26, 2009, the ABC carried a news report detailing a voluntary agreement reached by the seven major suppliers of fast food in Australia which would put limitations on how these products were marketed to children. The report includes the reservations of a number of health and consumer groups who are said to be sceptical about the agreement. The full text of the news report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/26/2609922.htm
Another account of the agreement reached by the seven major fast food companies can be found at
http://www.bandt.com.au/news/95/0C061E95.asp
On July 1, 2009, the Australian Association of National Advertisers announced that the seven major suppliers of fast food in Australia would restrict their advertising to the promotion of products that were nutritionally sound according to an agreed set of criteria. These criteria can be found at http://www.aana.com.au/documents/NutritionCriteriaforAssessingChildrensMeals.pdf
A report detailing this agreement can be found on the Diabetes Australia website at http://www.diabetesnsw.com.au/news_pages/fastfood.asp
On February 9, 2008, the ABC broadcast a report detailing the South Australian government's plans to ban fast food advertising during children's television viewing times. The full text of this report can be found at http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/09/2158517.htm?section=australia