NZ battle against Trans-Tasman harmonization not yet over

The New Zealand Parliamament has most certainly rejected the bill which aimed to set in place plans to set up a joint Australian-New Zealand authority for medicines and therapeutic products, which would regulate all complementary medicine and natural health products using the onerous Australian pharmaceutically-based model.

Although there may be something to celebrate in the short-term, the group leading the battle against transtasman harmonization in New Zealand, the New Zealand Health Trust, has a much more sober view on this.

Yesterday, Dave Sloan from the NZ Health Trust, told ANH that he is concerned that the new NZ health minister will use ministerial powers to bring in a regime for natural health products that is even more onerous than that expected under the transtasman harmonization scheme. This, says Sloan, could force more support for the transtasman bill – and get it back on the table. He told us that the NZ government will try to hang on to this issue regardless, and it would be utterly wrong to sit back thinking the bill was dead.

The following article supports Dave Sloan’s concerns:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/author/story.cfm?a_id=164&objectid=10451961

For further information, review the NEWS section on the NZ Health Trust website from 12 July 2007.