On Wednesday March 13 2013 NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner introduced the Health Legislation Amendment Bill, 2013 (page 60). This amendment to the Health Care Complaints Act effectively closes the loophole which was highlighted by Meryl Dorey and her anti-vaccination organisation, the Australian Vaccination Network.
So, it with great thanks to Meryl Dorey and her tenacious nature and ideological fervour that health practitioners of all stripes, and their unfounded claims and dangerous advice, will now be subject to even greater scrutiny by regulatory authorities. I can already hear scuttling noises at the borders.
Here is what Minister Skinner had to say, in Parliament:
As members will be aware, the Health Care Complaints Act established the Health Care Complaints Commission as an independent body to assess, investigate and prosecute complaints against health practitioners and health service providers. However, a 2012 Supreme Court decision, Australian Vaccination Network Inc. v Health Care Complaints Commission, has led to a limitation on when the Health Care Complaints Commission can investigate matters affecting public health or safety. The structure of the Health Care Complaints Act means the Health Care Complaints Commission has jurisdiction to investigate a matter only when a valid complaint has been made. Section 7 of the Act sets out whom a complaint can be made about and this list includes health service providers. However, the recent case in the Supreme Court found the Health Care Complaints Commission can investigate only if the complaint shows that the health service in question affects the clinical management or care of an individual client.
The judgement has created significant concern that a complaint cannot be investigated by the Health Care Complaints Commission if the matter raises a real likelihood of impacting on public health or safety: There must be a specific case where an individual client is affected, thereby limiting the capacity of the Health Care Complaints Commission to act in the public interest. The bill therefore amends section 7 of the Health Care Complaints Act to make clear that a complaint can be made against a health service if the health service affects, or is likely to affect, the clinical management or care of an individual client.
So, when the Bill passes (which it will, with support from all sides of Parliament), no longer will the HCCC require a complaint from an individual whose care was directly affected. Now, thanks to Meryl Dorey, dubious practitioners can be investigated by the HCCC if their service is “likely” to affect an individual.
So, to the Michael Jensens, Fran Sheffields, Nimrod Weiners, and all of your associates: ALL HAIL MERYL. She has dropped you in it, big time. Time to get your houses in order.
Has the bill been passed?
Not yet. But both parties have asserted full support.
Ah! Good to hear! Well done Stop the AVN!
I fixed the text to make it a little more clear. I wrote this rather hurriedly, this morning.
Fuck yeah!
A great big thank you to Stop The AVN Admin and the like for all their hard work
Fuck yeah cubed!!
There is not enough Bollinger in the country to appropriately celebrate this win!
I imagine Meryl’s sleeping in the safe room tonight with a tin foil hat and her thumb in her mouth.
The AVN likes to brag about how they beat the HCCC. Nice victory, idiots. 😀
Oh, sweet victory, baby. Woooooot!
Suck them apples, Meryl.
I damned well hope the HCCC then uses the new powers to go after the Universal Medicine cult and Serge Benhayon. Photographic images from a ‘Sacred Esoteric Healing Advanced Level 2’ workshop manual showing unqualified, self styled ‘healer’ Benhayon with his hand on a young woman’s vulva and calling it a ‘healing’ for ‘rape recovery’ and sexual dysfunction were recently submitted to the Commission. Their decision – seeing none of his victims living in downtown cultsville have come forward with a complaint – there is no evidence of sexual misconduct.
WTF??
It’s the same lot who have brought us the oh so savoury Esoteric Breast Massage, and Esoteric Uterus and Ovary Massages. And Benhayon’s current wife moved into his home when she was 13 years old, and cult members send their adolescent daughters to stay with Uncle Serge to this day.
All of the above is endorsed by five medical specialists and a Bangalow GP. HCCC have pretty much told me they won’t act against them unless I produce an Esoteric corpse or rape victim.
Pingback: Anti-vaccination network slammed in NSW Parliament | reasonablehank
Pingback: NSW Parliament 135 – Meryl Dorey 0 | reasonablehank
Pingback: Media Watch, WIN TV, and the anti-vaccine Meryl Dorey | reasonablehank
Pingback: Anti-vaccine president Tasha David glorifies dangerous health advice which lands toddler in hospital | reasonablehank
Pingback: Bowral (NSW) preschool owner an anti-vaccine activist – round two of antivax protests | reasonablehank
Pingback: Judy Wilyman has no clothes | reasonablehank
Pingback: ‘The weak are meant to die of infectious disease’ – chicken pox party mum | reasonablehank
Pingback: Queensland drug and bereavement counselor tells clients vaccines cause SIDS | reasonablehank
Pingback: The unparalleled regulatory precedents of the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network | reasonable hank