A new report by 30 community, public health, medical and academic groups called Tipping the Scales is calling for a 20 per cent health levy to sugary drinks as one of eight measures to address the country's obesity problem.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, however, has told the Nine Network he would not back the tax being called for in the report.
"I think we have enough taxes and there are enough imposts on us all when we go to the supermarket and we go shopping," he said.
"The other thing is too where do you draw the line? There is a lot of sugar in a bottle of original juice. Are you going to put a tax on that?"
Under the Tipping the Scales proposal, all non-alcoholic beverages with added sugar would attract the tax, including soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and cordial.
Australian Beverages Council CEO Geoff Parker said it was disappointing that in 2017, the best solution being put forward to address a complex problem like obesity is taxing the household shopping.
“In Australia, the sugar contribution from soft drinks has decreased by 26 per cent per person over a 15 year period,” he said.
“Today, three of the four top selling soft drinks is low or no sugar, and almost half of all water-based beverages is also no sugar. What these health experts are hoping to achieve from such a tax is already happening.”
