We envision a free health service with complimentary health care and mainstream carers working together with an emphasis on healthy living, and education about taking responsibility for our own health.
Financial control of the medical system and even interference in government policy by large pharmaceutical companies is compromising OUR choice.
How Big Banks Manipulate and Influence Your Health Watch HERE
The suppression of natural health treatments can be traced back to the corrupting influences of our private banking system, and the cancer- and drug industries are directly linked to the banking cartel
Prosperity can be restored, according to the Public Banking Institute, by instituting a system of publicly owned banks
The tyrannical financial structure we’re currently under is supported by the interest siphoned by banks into private coffers, bleeding society dry. The remedy is to replace the privately owned banking system with a public one, where interest is fed right back to the state or local community
Currently, 40 percent of the cost of everything you buy is interest. At every stage of development of a product, interest is paid on loans taken out to conduct business. If the state owns the bank and gives out the loans to local businesses, that interest comes back to the citizens of the state
We do not have a campaign on this topic at this time, but we will working this area in the future.
Recently (Feb 2012) we made a submission to the Health Select Committee about the Natural Health products Bill.
To the Health Select Committee, NZ House of Representatives
Re: The proposed Natural Health Products Bill
I am a regular natural health products consumer and I am most concerned about many aspects of the proposed Natural Health Products bill.
I have long been aware that Sue Kedgley, Dave Sloan, the NZ Health Trust, and a large number of health industry people have put in vast amounts of time and effort creating an appropriate Natural and Traditional Health Products Bill.
A commitment was made by the National Party to implement the model proposed jointly by NGO’s, NHP consumers, and industry, commonly referred to as the Joint Industry Proposal (JIP). The current Bill does not deliver what has unanimously been agreed on in the JIP. The JIP provided a detailed list of principals and rules that would ensure risk proportionate regulation where the rights of the consumer were paramount.
I request that this current bill incorporates those proposals developed by the JIP. I am concerned that the tabled Natural Health Products Bill in its current form does not include most of these proposals. Here is a link to their proposed legislation: http://www.nzhealthtrust.co.nz/pdf/Joint_Industry_NTHPs_Bill_Feb_2009.pdf
It is only logical that those in the industry advise on the making of legislation. I see problems like those arising in the food bill where jam and chutney will incur more legislation than a sausage sizzle, yet the latter is far more suspect in giving people food poisoning! Similar anomalies will arise here without the solid input of the industry concerned.
I am also concerned that the current proposal for the NZ natural health products industry will have to bear most of the costs of the Natural Health Products Regulator. This will cause an increase in the price of natural health products that would make many natural health products unaffordable.
High compliance costs for businesses that manufacture or distribute natural health products also have the potential to drive many small companies out of business. (Is that what the National government wants when trying to move people off benefits?) This would also lead to decreased choice and less competition within the natural health products market in NZ.
I believe that it is important that natural health products in NZ continue to be regulated by a NZ Natural Health Products Regulator, and not one developed as a joint agency with Australia reflecting the regulation of pharmaceutical drugs.
I am concerned that the authority is to be one man – the Directory General of Health. He has the power to delegate the writing of the regulations after the bill has passed to any ‘authority he sees fit’ and that authority has the power to delegate their job to any person they see fit. See clauses 9 and 45. This means that unelected and unaccountable officials can add whatever details they like into the regulations after the bill is passed into law. Under this scenario anything could happen, including the delegation of regulating NHP’s to the Australians.
Obviously there is need to protect the consumer from charlatans, however there have been very few in the industry, and natural health products have had a very high safety record and no deaths.
Having a wide range of quality natural health products available means that people are better able to maintain their own good health or recover more quickly if they are sick, thereby reducing the need for doctors and medical treatment. I believe that the government should assist the natural health products industry by funding the start-up costs for the regulator and paying 50% or more of its ongoing costs.
To conclude, the contents of the JIP absolutely must be delivered in the primary legislation before this bill is passed into law as the Government had originally agreed on.
Yours Sincerely,
Lisa Er
