Statement Attributed to Geoff Parker, CEO of the Australian Beverages Council Ltd (ABCL)

Friday 28 August 2026  

Recent coverage of the latest call for a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is nothing more than a shifting of the goalposts to distract from the clear evidence that voluntary industry action is already reducing sugar consumption. 

Through the ABCL’s Sugar Reduction Pledge, manufacturers have voluntarily reformulated products, invested in product innovation, and shifted promotion toward low- and no-sugar varieties, supporting Australians to avoid more than 255,000 tonnes of sugar. This has been achieved without the need for a regressive tax on beverages.   

This shift in consumption is evident in an analysis of 28 years of beverage sales data in Australia. Since 1997, sales of sugar-sweetened beverages have halved, falling from 70 per cent in 1997 to 35 per cent in 2024. Over the same period, sales of water and low- and no-sugar varieties have more than doubled, rising from 30 per cent to 65 per cent. These results align with 2023/24 ABS Apparent Consumption data and findings from the 2023 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey. 

Despite this voluntary action delivering clear and demonstrated results, repeated calls for a tax fail to acknowledge shifting dietary behaviours. It also ignores the government has consistently ruled this out, recognising the collaborative role industry has played in supporting efforts to improve dietary intake.  

Internationally, the WHO has repeatedly failed to include sugar-sweetened beverage taxes as a “Best Buy” in its list of recommended interventions to address non-communicable diseases. At least 11 times at global fora, the United Nations has considered and rejected SSB taxes because they have failed to meet the required evidentiary threshold.  

Rather than continue to advocate for a tax that has failed to demonstrate success elsewhere, we would encourage proponents to engage constructively with industry and explore more effective policy solutions that deliver on our shared objective of improving the public health outcomes of Australians. 

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