Australian Supplement Laws for New Zealand?

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Legislation

It is called Trans-Tasman harmonization, and it's an effort to make the laws the same on both sides of the Tasman Sea, the body of water separating Australia from New Zealand. In this case, we are talking about the laws regulating the production and sale of food supplements, products containing nutrients in concentrated form and in health-effective quantities. Supplements are regulated as medicines - therapeutic goods - in Australia, while they are more liberally treated and more widely available as foods, according to long established tradition, in New Zealand.

The effort to bring about harmonization seems to be part of a world wide drive to introduce restrictions on supplement availability, which was started in the European Union some years ago and is now in full swing in Canada, in the USA, and now in the area around the Tasman Sea. Australia has recently clamped down on supplements in a major way.

New Zealand has called upon its Parliament to investigate and recommend how supplements should be regulated. A Select Committee was established which heard numerous witnesses and is about to wrap up its work. In a somewhat surprising move, the New Zealand government has now stated that it will not be waiting for the Select Committee's report but will go ahead with harmonization towards Australia's restrictive system, disregarding the wishes of the citizens of New Zealand and the work done by its own Parliament.

Sue Kedgley, member of the New Zealand Parliament, says this decision by the government is nothing less than scandalous.

Government jumps the gun on year-long inquiry

Green MP Sue Kedgley says it is scandalous that the Government is to completely ignore the findings of a Select Committee inquiry into how to regulate dietary supplements.

In answer to Ms Kedgley's question in Parliament today, the Health Minister admitted that the Government has decided to go ahead and regulate dietary supplements through a Trans-Tasman Therapeutics Products Agency, instead of waiting till the Select Committee made its own recommendations next week.

"Clearly the Government had made up its mind before the inquiry had begun its work," said Ms Kedgley, the Green Health spokesperson. "It has turned a year-long inquiry into a farce, wasted taxpayers' money and insulted the hundreds of people who made submissions to the Health select committee inquiry in good faith.

"The government's arrogant decision is an insult to the democratic process. What's the point of having parliamentary select committee inquiries if the government simply ignores them?" Ms Kedgley asked. She pointed out that the joint Health Ministry-TGA website stated that the Government would not make a final decision until after the Select Committee inquiry had been concluded.

Ms Kedgley said the overwhelming majority of submitters, including from the dietary supplements industry, were totally opposed to the regulation of dietary supplements through a trans-Tasman agency, because of the higher compliance costs and loss of sovereignty that would inevitably result.

The Health Select Committee's report into how best to regulate dietary supplements will be reported back early next week.

See also:

No evidence of danger in dietary supplements

Greens against proposed regulation

Critical Dietary Supplements report due soon

Therapeutics Decision Cuts Choice, Ramps Up Costs

Outrage over health pills law New Zealand Herald

Trans-Tasman agency to regulate therapeutic products

Committee recommends against trans-tasman agency

NZ Healthcare Handed To Aussies

King to sign 'draconian' agency deal

Annette King: Public safety at heart of new regulations on herbal lines

At Last Someone Is Listening, Says Health Group

Fascinating Story On Pan Pharmaceuticals

Regulatory Abuse

Citizens for Health Choices website

The PAN Scandal - It's time for a Vitamin Debate on National Television Dr Sandra Cabot

Update December 9, 2003 - The report of the Parliamentary Select Committee can now be found at this address in PDF format for download.

Update December 8, 2003 - some more information from New Zealand, and a call to action for all who live there and appreciate having choices with regard to health.

Political pressure in New Zealand against Trans-Tasman therapeutic products agency:
Govt compromises on therapeutic agency
Monday, 12 December 2005
Delaying the date for establishing the controversial trans-Tasman therapeutics agency will not help the Government get the numbers if it does not change its position on dietary supplements, according to the Green Party.

From: Liston Bateson
To: Natural Medicine Colleagues
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 9:00 AM
Subject: No 1009 Your Betrayal by Stealth

Greetings and Salutations,

For the last few years we have been constantly warning you to be vigilant and resist the attempts by the Government under the instigation of the big drug barons to take full control of the natural medicine industry in this country. They have now succeeded. As you will read below, our government has been telling us one thing and silently doing something completely different which is not in our best interest.

You are about to be deprived of your rights and your freedom of choice as to what type of treatment / medication you want in future. There is more to come. Most natural remedies will be restricted or removed entirely from the market which will be completely dominated by the pharmaceutical industry. Practitioners of natural medicine are also targeted and will be restricted or prevented from practicing.

The drug companies are now in full control, not the citizens. As you would have already gathered from many of the reports received from well placed and authoritive sources, what is happening now has been planned for some time and initiated in Germany and accepted by many governments worldwide. The control of natural medicine products in New Zealand will now be decided in Australia and Europe.

People throughout the world are rising up in protest as the issues begin to bite.

What have you done about it ?  Do you pass these reports on to all your friends or do you simply delete them for the lack of interest ? Get your priorities right. Don't cry out later. Follow up the suggestions in this report and do your duty to yourself and family.
Regards
Kiwi Joe

----- Original Message -----
From: JAN MABEY
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 11:44 PM

To All our Supporters

TRANS TASMAN THERAPEUTIC GOODS AGENCY

THIS ARROGANT GOVERNMENT HAS TAKEN UNBELIEVABLE ACTION

THEY HAVE NOT WAITED FOR THE SELECT COMMITTEE REPORT

Despite all the work Citizens for Health Choices, dietary supplement industry associations and consumers have done since 1992 and the overwhelming evidence against proceeding with the joint agency with Australia for dietary supplements. It has today been revealed in Parliament that Annette King, Minister of Health has deliberately betrayed all New Zealanders who believe in freedom of choice in healthcare.

The following question was to Annette King on her chat room 8th Oct 2003.

GARY: We have been informed that despite complete rejection by the dietary supplement industry and well over 35,000 dietary supplement consumers, constitutional lawyers and economists and before the Health select Committee has submitted its report; you have stated that the Trans Tasman Joint Agency to regulate dietary supplements will proceed as planned. Why are you ignoring the overwhelming opposition in New Zealand to the proposal for a Joint Agency?

ANNETTE:  Gary you have been misinformed.

A transcript of the events in Parliament this afternoon is at the bottom of this communication.

Select Committees are part of the New Zealand constitutional process. I believe it is unheard of for a government to take action before a Select Committee before a Select Committee report has been tabled. This calls into question New Zealand‚s whole "constitutional process". It means that New Zealand Select Committees have no power at all and are a waste of time.

Annette King has now stated in Parliament that the decision was made in November 2002 to proceed. She allowed the Health Select Committee to proceed with their enquiry over the past 8 months, knowing full well that she would ignore totally any recommendations.

She allowed industry, consumers and tax payers to waste tens of thousands of dollars and many thousands of hours providing very valid arguments against the proposal.

The Minister advised Australia, that it was proceeding months ago.

The Minister has still not advised New Zealand interested parties.

The Minister has signed the death knell for hundreds of small New Zealand dietary supplement companies and committed the New Zealand public to having a reduced range of supplements at probably greatly increased prices. She has virtually shut the door to dietary supplements from countries other than Australia.