POLITICS


Consumers fight to protect their right of choice in healthcare


Two out of three Australians use complementary medicine. Their right to complementary medicine is under threat. by Leisa Goddard


P


ractitioners and patients fed up with ongoing attacks on complementary medicine and


natural therapies are uniting like never before as part of Australia’s largest ever natural medicine healthcare campaign. Within three weeks of launching,


www.yourhealthyourchoice.com.au had more than 10,000 people sign up and had created an online community engaging with more than 130,000 people. Some of Australia’s most well-


known faces and supporters of natural medicine have put their names to the campaign, including famous naturopath and herbalist, Ruth Sharkey, who was


30 SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2017


dubbed in the media Australia’s ‘baby maker’. [See her article, Where are the fertile fathers, in this issue. Ed.] “I have come out of retirement to


support Your Health Your Choice. It is important that we have freedom of choice for our own medical care”, she said. “I’ve helped over 5,000 little babies come in to this world. I was known as the ‘baby maker’ and all of those babies came in 100 percent healthy.” Associations and organisations


representing complementary medicine and natural therapies are also showing their support for the campaign, which is being managed by the Australian Homeopathic Association.


Homeopath and herbalist, Gerry Dendrinos, is spokesman for Your Health Your Choice. He is also the former Health Department worker who investigated the National Health and Medical Research Council’s conduct of the controversial homeopathy review, which is now part of an official complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman for bias, procedural and scientific flaws, unmanaged conflicts of interest and inaccurate reporting. Mr Dendrinos said Your Health Your


Choice finally gave the two in three Australians who use complementary healthcare a voice to try to stop ongoing attacks on the healthcare they choose to use. “We have calls for natural medicines


to be banned from shelves; they want to scrap the Private Health Insurance Rebate; and the TGA no longer wants responsibility for safeguarding the quality of vitamins and minerals, aromatherapy and homeopathy; and that’s just the start.” Mr Dendrinos said there are ‘flawed’ reports sitting with the Federal


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100