Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill Obsolete - Therapeutics Products and Medicines Bill on hold - After many years of lobbying and campaigning by the Natural Health Industry and the consumer driven Health Freedom Campaign, on 16th July 2007 the then Labour led Government Minister Annette King announced that it is not proceeding with legislation that would have enabled the establishment of ANZTPA, a joint agency with Australia to regulate therapeutic products.

Minister King, champion of the Bill, said the Therapeutics Products and Medicines Bill (TP&MB) has been postponed, but will remain on the Order Paper to be revisited when sufficient parliamentary support is available.

The Agreement between Australia and New Zealand also remains in place, and can be ratified in the future following the passage of legislation.  The Australian Government has been informed of the situation and agrees that suspending negotiations on the joint authority is a sensible course of action.

Post 2008 Elections

With the new National Government having been elected the Bill is not on the House Agenda.  Prior to the elections the National Party were opposed to the joint Agency if it contained regulation of natural products (NP) and supported a local solution to the regulation of NP’s.

On April 8 2009 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Green Party and National on shared policy initiatives.  Among them is an agreement to work together to develop a New Zealand based regulatory system for natural health products. 

Green MP Sue Kedgley will work with the Minister of Health Tony Ryall and Associate Minister Jonathan Coleman to develop a regulatory system that is specific to New Zealand, rather than the trans-Tasman model that had been proposed by the previous Labour led government.

This is encouraging news for consumers and health freedom advocates.

Health Freedom Objections to Bill  /  History Anti-Vitamin Bill  /  Health Freedom Triumphs