NZ Herald on Complementary Medicines

The NZ Herald had a good editorial on what was wrong with the proposed trans-tasman agency on complementary medicines.

After five years of fitful debate the Government has given up its attempt to control a wide range of health products – everything from surgical equipment to sunscreens and vitamin pills – through a joint licensing agency with Australia.

The complaint from many suppliers of herbal remedies and dietary supplements in this country was that the mooted transtasman regulatory regime would needlessly import Australian restrictions, adding to their costs and rendering it uneconomic for non-Australian manufactures to supply New Zealand’s small market.

Many natural concoctions available in this country cannot be sold in Australia, where even dietary supplements are regulated as medicines. Here they are approved under the Food Act 1981 and subject to regulations issued in 1985 that set permissible dosages and labelling requirements. Some make dubious claims on accompanying pamphlets that are outside those controls. But the proposed joint arrangement looked more like the Australian regime to industry insiders of both countries.

The Australian economy is more regulated than ours in many sectors these days. Much of it seems petty and needlessly restrictive to New Zealand visitors and traders. We do not need to buy into it. Closer economic relations can surely survive separate regulatory regimes whenever we beg to differ.