Australian Vaccination Network being “investigated for fraud”.

Today the Sunday Telegraph revealed that the anti-vaccination pressure group, the Australian Vaccination Network, is being investigated for fraud, by the NSW Office of Fair Trading. This adds to the already dreadful year being had by the AVN, having just spent two days in the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal appealing against an order to change the anti-vaccination organisation’s name to something better reflective of its anti-vaccine agenda. That is, the AVN has been ordered to be honest, and they don’t like it.

Here is the Sunday Telegraph article, by journalist Jane Hansen (full attribution given to the Sunday Telegraph):

Sunday Tele June 16 AVN profits from fear

There are a few links which will assist in getting a deeper understanding of the article.

First, there is the Government Information Public Access (GIPA, formerly FOI) release, painstakingly accessed and documented by Stop the Australian (anti) Vaccination Network members:  The AVN’s troubles with NSW Fair Trading, round 2. The introduction is as follows:

NSW Fair Trading Document Release

On the 4th of April 2013, we applied to NSW Fair Trading for “all correspondence between the Australian Vaccination Network, Inc. and NSW Fair Trading, from 11:52am on 20th October, 2011 to the 4th of April”, less documents related to the previous GIPA (Government Information Public Access) request. This release thus follows on from the previous release of correspondence between the AVN and NSW Fair Trading relating to the AVN’s financial affairs, covering the period from the 2nd of August 2011 to 11:51am on the 20th of October, 2011, available from http://www.scribd.com/doc/133182859/AVN-Docs-GIPA-Releases

Second, there is an excellent financial summary on the Diluted Thinking site:  AVN – Financial Statements.

Background

It is a requirement for New South Wales’ incorporated associations to submit financial statements for the previous financial year to the annual general meeting. The AVN is a Tier 1 category association and therefore is required to submit audited financial statements.

Members of the public can inspect/obtain copies of documents lodged with NSW Fair Trading on the Public Register under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009.

The AVN‘s 2011 financial statement was eventually filed in February 2013, nearly seven months late.

Third, there is an easy to read document compiled by Ken McLeod, which is self-explanatory, really:  Meryl Dorey’s Trouble With Finance. I highly recommend this one.

Revealing Meryl Dorey’s incompetence and dishonesty in administering the finances of the Australian Vaccination Network.

Of interest, Jane Hansen also highlights the money generating machine which is the AVN, from sales of non-existent magazines, through to the tripe sold in the AVN’s online  shop.

New president Greg Beattie also gets a guernsey for the sale of his anti-vaccine book, at $20 a pop. Is this also sold in the AVN shop? Well, yes it is. I hope the new president isn’t making a profit via a not-for-profit organisation. More questions. When will they ever end?

AVN Beattie book in AVN shop

Not released in the Stop the AVN version of the GIPA release was the list of six committee members of the AVN. Two of them are already known, and there wasn’t really any need to release the other four names. That was until one of them started doing media appearances to spread the anti-vaccine line without disclosing that she is a committee member of the AVN. As Jane Hansen notes, when asked why Tasha David didn’t disclose her membership to the media at the time of her interviews, she answered, “I wasn’t asked”. Right. I covered this in my most recent post:  Tasha David: just a “parent” who does not vaccinate?

I have a feeling things are not going to get any better for the AVN any time soon.

About reasonable hank

I'm reasonable, mostly.
This entry was posted in anti-vaccination dishonesty, australian vaccination network, AVN, meryl dorey, stop the australian vaccination network and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

0 Responses to Australian Vaccination Network being “investigated for fraud”.

  1. Kepler says:

    I sincerely hope this leads to criminal action. I would love nothing more than to sit in the public gallery of a court room as Meryl Dorey is sentenced.

  2. Ken McLeod says:

    So who paid for that trip to the USA, Meryl? You know, the one where you went to your high school reunion?

  3. Sue says:

    Good work, Jane Hansen!

  4. tuxcomputers says:

    If Wakefield “wasn’t asked” about his patent on the single shot vaccine why should any other anti-vaxer have to reveal their stake in the game?

  5. Pingback: » AVN vs OFT : The Lulzfest

  6. I have an additional statement about BLACK SALVE (quite lengthy) which I would also like to post. Thanks Hank, for being a great source of info.

  7. Andy says:

    As much as I’m happy to see the intense media coverage being given to the dark-side of the AVN in recent times (and Jane Hansen deserves a medal when all this is over), I wish the media would not simply point out that the AVN are anti-vaccine but also mention their absolute lack of qualifications in anything remotely related to any biological science. Interested bystanders need to know they’re just a bunch of conspiracy-minded nobodies who often show little understanding of even high-school-level maths and science.

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  9. Pingback: AVN breaking the law (again) | complexitydaemon

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