Michael Bending of the Australian Health Freedom Alliance alerts both Australians and New Zealanders that relative freedom to obtain nutrient supplements is on its way out down under. The project of a TransTasman Joint Health Agency, meant to extend the rather restrictive Australian system to its smaller neighbour and thereby close a loophole through which Australians are able to obtain certain healthy products that are formally prohibited in their country, is making its way through the New Zealand legislature. Here is Michael's warning and alert:
The NZ Government is trying to change the way in which all Natural Health Products (NHPs) are regulated. They plan to treat Natural Health Products as drugs and give the power to control them to the controversial Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).Needless to say, the NZ natural health industry has never had an adverse or negative report with regards to a natural health product. The risks connected with nutritional health products are negligible.
So why is the Australian TGA and the NZ Labour Party trying to make New Zealanders more safe than safe? The answer is obviously more money and a protected market for the big drug companies.
The New Zealand Government has called for submissions with regards to the Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill 2006. This bill seeks to eventually pave the way for the Joint Trans Tasman Treaty (JTA) in which the Australian TGA will set itself up as the regulatory body for both NZ and Aust.
The NZ Labour Party are hoping that they will hear only glowing submissions rather than adverse views, in this regard the NZ Labour party can use the favourable submissions from all the big health businesses and drug companies to push their agenda in the NZ Parliament.
It does not matter if you are a NZ resident or an Australian resident, you can still make a submission to the NZ Government Administration Committee. If you are Australian tell them what life is like under the restrictive TGA banner.
We know that this JTA carries a legal frame work that obligates Australia and NZ to conform to international treaties, this in effect obliges us to harmonise to any Codex standards in the future. On a global basis, Codex seeks to make many natural health products illegal or reclassified as drugs, as well as reducing allowable dosages. For more Codex info: http://www.ahf-au.org/questions.answers.htm
We know that the Australian regulatory system is so top heavy that it favours the bigger companies, as only the bigger companies can afford the red tape and regulatory procedures required to market a natural health product.
In Australia we know that we can source from NZ many health products that are illegal in Australia - why are they illegal in Australia? If NZ goes ahead with the JTA then these products will no doubt be illegal in NZ too, is this the sort of health industry NZ wants and needs? Australia doesn't need it either but unfortunately we already have it by virtue of political manoeuvring by the drug companies and Government in the 1980's.
It doesn't matter if you are a business or and individual, NZ'nder or Australian, please make a submission to the NZ Government Administration Committee and tell them that we do not what the JTA and we do not want the Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill. Dec 2006 passed in the NZ Parliament.
The closing date for submissions is Wednesday, 7 February 2007. Please make a concerted effort and send your submission. For more Information on your submission, David Sloan from the NZ Health Trust has a web page outlining the procedures.
Michael Bending
Alliance for Health Freedom Australia
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Here is the New Zealand side of the story:
It is time to make a submission to ANZTPA.
As most of you will recall the 494 page Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill was slipped into the house just before Christmas and passed its first reading thanks to the about face by Winston Peters and the NZ First Party, making a nonsense of their claim that they put NZ first!
The Bill was referred to the Government Administration Select Committee and anyone including Australians can make a submission to that committee by 7 February. While that is a very short space of time, undoubtedly the Government designed it that way as another attempt to ram this through our Parliament without proper time for discussion.
In the past the NZ Health Trust has provided template submissions to make it easy for many of you to express your views without having to spend too much time on it. On this occasion we have decided to only provide a summary of the key provisions of the Bill and its likely affects for you to make your own submission from your viewpoint. For them to have maximum impact submissions need to be individual, it is more important that they come from you, in your own words and express your own views more than anything else.
You do not need to worry about not expressing yourself well, all that matters is that the MP's get a sense of your concerns.
To help you with your submission
Please download and read our summary of the key provisions of the bill and its likely effects.
http://nzhealthtrust.co.nz/pdf/3205-2_summary_of_bill_7a2901.pdf
Web page with all the information regards the Bill.
http://nzhealthtrust.co.nz/anztpa_submission.html
The NZ Health Trust and New Health will of course both be filing detailed submissions dealing with the legal and technical aspects on behalf of all New Zealand consumers and business and the members of New Health. If you have not already joined New Health I would urge you to do so now so that the New Health submission carries the weight of your voice as well. It's free and imposes no obligation on you. Click here to join and for more information.
As well as the submissions that the NZ Health Trust and New Health NZ will file, as mentioned above it is important that the Committee members hear directly from NZ consumers and affected businesses and so we would urge you to read through the bill or our summary of it and make your own submission.
To write your own submission there is no special form to use, just make sure it contains:
Your name and a daytime telephone number
The name of the Bill you are commenting on - The Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill
Your thoughts and concerns
Whether or not you wish to appear at Select Committee hearings to express your views in person.
You must send 2 copies of your submission to
Clerk of the Committee
Government Administration Committee
Select Committee Office
Parliament Buildings
WELLINGTON
To reach them no later than 7 February.
A submission can be as long or as short as you like and even though we know you are likely to be very busy with other things in your life, please take a few moments to express your concerns in one of the few opportunities the public has to get involved in the passage of legislation.
If people don't make submissions opposing this Bill then you can be sure the Government will use that as evidence that it should go through as is, despite the fact that it would be devastating to NZ health consumers and business.
As ever we thank you for your support and for the role you continue to play in protecting the health freedoms of New Zealanders now and into the future.
Kind Regards
Dave Sloan
NZ Health Trust
A: PO Box 34-057 Christchurch, New Zealand
P: +64 3 3519807
F: +64 3 3517993
E: info@nzht.co.nz
W: www.nzht.co.nz
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