Parliament is due next week to consider a Maori Party bill, titled the Goods and Services Tax (Exemption of Healthy Food) Amendment Bill,

which proposes scrapping GST on healthy foods.

The Maori Party's bill to remove GST off healthy food is to have its first reading in parliament later in the month and one university professor believes this may be the way to get people to eat healthier.

Professor Tony Blakely from Otago University's public health department has been looking into whether price discounts change people's eating habits by conducting one of the largest studies of its type.

The study took 1,100 shoppers and randomised them to either receive highly personalised health and nutrition information or price discounts of 12.5% off food.

Blakely said, to their surprise, the nutritional information did not work, but a 12.5% drop in price increased people's consumption of healthy food by 11%.

Public health nutritionist Bronwen King of Canterbury says New Zealand should emulate Australia's policy of not charging GST on basic foods.

She is backed by Auckland University researcher Cliona Ni Mhurchu who investigated the effects of removing GST in a study of more than 1100 shoppers.

Some participants were offered discounts of 12.5% on healthy foods. However, although trial participants purchased more healthy foods, their intake of unhealthy saturated fats did not decrease.

The current bill being proposed includes discounting lean meats and grains, whereas previously only fresh fruit and vegetables had been mooted.

Labour leader Phil Goff says Labour MPs will support the bill to remove GST from a range of healthy foods.

But a Radio New Zealand political reporter says the bill will not pass its first reading without National's support.

Maori Party MP Rahui Katene says she has her fingers crossed for a different outcome so the bill can go to a select committee for further debate.