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Labour is fending off accusations it has caved in to pressure from junk food companies and advertisers, after it put the controversial Public Health Bill so far down its legislation list that it won't pass before the election.
The bill updates public health legislation that is more than
50 years old - and introduces new measures that allow for action to be taken against suspected causes of obesity.
It opens the door to regulation being used to promote healthy eating and to hit advertising of unhealthy foods to children.
But as Parliament prepares to wind up for the election, Labour has prioritised other legislation ahead of the health bill and now it will not be passed by the current House.
An upset Sue Kedgley, the Green Party's health spokeswoman, said she found it extraordinary "that the Government has put political expediency - the fear of upsetting the food industry and the advertising lobby - ahead of the public health and wellbeing of New Zealanders".
Her sentiments were echoed by Obesity Action Coalition executive director Leigh Sturgiss, who said the decision was "more than disappointing".
"I just think Labour did lose the will to put it through," she said.
"They're doing all the Treaty (of Waitangi) settlements, which is good - but let's save some lives."
The Public Health Bill was reported back to Parliament by a select committee in June and has sat on the Government's order paper since then.
It fell behind other legislation but Health Minister David Cunliffe yesterday rejected suggestions Labour gave in to lobbying pressure.
Mr Cunliffe said it was a very large bill and would have taken considerable time to get through the House. When the decision was made about which legislation to prioritise in the final sitting week of Parliament, other bills were put above it.
Those include a number of Treaty settlements and several pieces of financial sector legislation.
"It is easier to pass a bunch of smaller bills than it is a very small number of very large bills," Mr Cunliffe told the Herald. "The Government must make a collective decision about the batting order."
He said Labour was committed to passing the legislation at a later date.
The future of the non-communicable diseases parts of the bill is now uncertain because National intends to remove them if it wins power at the election.
While Labour had enough political support to pass the bill, National would have opposed the measures it labelled "nanny state", and yesterday its health spokesman, Tony Ryall, confirmed changes would be made by a John Key-led government.
"This was a bill that would have allowed the Government to set up a code of practice about what would be in your kid's school lunch box," Mr Ryall said.
"I think the nanny state provisions need to be removed - although there's no doubt the public health act after 50 years does need to be modernised."
Mr Ryall said he believed Labour had pulled back on the bill because it had realised the public would be "appalled" at some provisions and didn't want to debate them during an election campaign.
Among legislation staying on the Government's order paper are several law and order bills. The major Immigration Bill is going to have to be passed by the next Parliament.
ON BACKBURNER
What else won't go through:
* Immigration Bill (a wide-ranging rewrite of immigration laws which strengthens border protection and streamlines deportation processes).
* Protected Disclosures Amendment Bill (makes it easier for people to whistleblow about wrongdoing in workplaces).
* Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill (provides framework for confiscation of property from people who have engaged in or profited from criminal activity).
* Corrections Amendment Bill (No 2) (clamps down on contraband in prisons, allows for information sharing about highest-risk offenders).
