In this 18/2/17 SMH article, Peter FitzSimons writes about the cost to Australia of obesity due to health outcomes that flow from a chronically overweight population.

And Peter FitzSimons can talk. He has lost 1/3 of his body mass by removing sugar from his diet and quitting alcohol. 32 years later he now weighs less than he did as a representative footballer.

The need for and benefits that would flow from a sugar tax are supported by a 15/2/17 article in the Guardian citing research from the University of Melbourne's School of Public Health.