Would-be new Health Minister
THE woman tapped to replace Greg Hunt as health minister if the Coalition government is re-elected wants to make getting Australia’s kids back into sport her priority.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce on Sunday that South Australian Senator Anne Ruston, who is currently Families and Social Services Minister, will move to health if the government is returned next month.
In an exclusive interview with News Corp, Senator Ruston said she was keen to improve activity among the nation’s youngsters.
“Obviously a healthy lifestyle starts from when you were a kid and so we need to make sure that we are encouraging all people, but children, particularly, to make sure that they are living active lives, and we know that, young children often are not as active as they might be,” she said.
“There is a recommendation that children between the age of five and 14 should be active for at least 60 minutes a day and research shows that is not being achieved by a significant number of children.”
To change that, Senator Ruston wants to make sure “schools have got the wherewithal to be providing children with the opportunities to play sport at school”.
She rejected any call for a sugar tax as a way of tackling Australia’s growing obesity epidemic.