Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition supports the Therapeutic Goods Amendment (2009 Measures No. 1) Bill 2009, which is part of the ongoing reform of the Therapeutic Goods Act introduced under the Howard government and delayed by the withdrawal of New Zealand from the development of a joint regulatory arrangement in 2007. There has been general support by industry for the principles underlying this bill, however with the proviso that the support is conditional upon thorough and ongoing industry consultation moving forward. That seems to be a little bit of a theme coming through in relation to these sorts of bills.

The bill makes a number of amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Act, including in relation to the ability to suspend goods from the register, the individual licensing of manufacturing sites, increased monitoring for safety and quality and also changes to the treatment of homeopathic and anthroposophic preparations. As I have already mentioned, the opposition supports this bill as part of the ongoing reform process in relation to the Therapeutic Goods Act.