Therapeutic agency plans opposed

green-party

Wed Mar 28 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Therapeutic agency plans opposed

Wednesday, 28 March 2007, 11:08 am
Press Release: Green Party

28 March 2007

Green Party MP Sue Kedgley will make a submission to the Government and Administration Committee today, opposing the Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill.

"If this legislation is passed, hundreds of natural health products will disappear from our shelves, and become illegal, even if they have been safely used for centuries and have been approved by overseas regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration," Ms Kedgley says.

"More than 700 ingredients that are used in thousands of products on sale in New Zealand, are not permitted under the Australian regime. So far only 75 of these have been approved by the proposed new regulator. Many will not be approved and will become illegal.

"Why is the Government seeking to restrict our access to natural health products? If it gets through our Parliament, are people going to have people being arrested for selling natural products like kawa kawa?"

So little is known about how the new agency would operate that the legislation is essentially a leap in the dark.

"All the details of how the agency will operate will be set out in rules and orders which will be adopted after the legislation has been adopted. This means that the select committee is being asked to approve an unprecedented new, off-shore regulatory system, when it has very little detail before it on how the system will regulate.

"We are being expected to pass legislation before it has even been introduced into the Australian Parliament, before we know any of the detail about how the agency will operate, or how many products will become illegal. It is madness."

Ms Kedgley will present her submission at midday.

ENDS

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