Welcome to this weeks’ edition of i2P (Information to Pharmacists) E-Magazine which also coincides with the “No Jab – No Pay” legislation which was quietly introduced to Parliament on Thursday 10 September 2015 in the form of a two-part bill.

Part-Bill #1- the Australian Immunisation Register (Consequential and Transitional
Provisions) Bill 2015.
This link was provided to i2P to access details on the government website:

Part-Bill #2- the Australian Immunisation Register Bill 2015
This link was provided to i2P to access details.

The legislation will be expanded in two stages.
From 1 January 2016, it will be expanded to collect and record vaccinations given to young individuals under the age of 20 years.
This is required to implement the Government’s ‘No Jab No Pay’ Budget measure. From late 2016, it will be expanded further to cover all vaccinations given from birth to death.
This is to accommodate the addition of zoster virus (shingles) vaccine (Zostavax) to the National Immunisation Program for persons aged 70 years.

i2P writer and vaccine policy researcher Judy Wilyman says:
“I hope you will take an interest in this bill which is quietly being introduced into parliament without any media discussion of the human rights that are being removed or the ingredients of the many vaccines that have been introduced for diseases that are not a risk to the majority of the population.
The public has a right to be involved in discussions and decisions on public health policy but our voice has been removed.
Please take the time to read the information about this bill (below) because there
will be no option to selectively vaccinate your child or to choose not to use any vaccine if you require welfare assistance.
It is likely that after 2017 the policy will be extended to prevent all unvaccinated children from attending childcare.
There are also 271 vaccines being developed and many will be added to the schedule as others have been over the last 2 decades.
Vaccine manufacturers and the Australian government do not carry any
liability for damage caused by vaccines.
The government also does not state that it agrees with the recommendations listed on the IAP website.
Here is the disclaimer.

I hope you will take an interest in the health of your children and the cost
of chronic illness to families and the Australian healthcare system and
participate in the rallies next Sunday 20 September.”

i2P has been independently researching the vaccine issue for some time now and is of the view that there are too many safety issues involved, particularly as government will not take responsibility for any vaccine accident or injury that may arise from its legislation.
Government appears to be keeping quiet on this issue bringing on the legislation so that organisers preparing demonstrations against the legislation have minimum time in which to launch their advertising and viewpoints.
The other sticking point with those opposing vaccination policy is that this legislation is a blatant removal of human rights.
This is not a stand against a vaccination in itself, but for protection of our freedom to exercise the RIGHT TO CHOOSE a safe vaccine freely, i.e. without discrimination or financial penalty, and based on decent and untainted evidence.

Connected to this issue is the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement which has been conducted under strict secrecy, with the potential again for Government to sign our rights away to what could become a fast-tracking system for global corporations to be able to use for their benefit and to the corresponding detriment of the Australian taxpayer.
What we are seeing here on a broad front is “tyranny creep” being undemocratically exercised by Government.
Read this article for more details: GetUp Advert Banned

GetUp management thinks their advertisement was banned because the timing was too close to the Canning by-election, which is predicted to cause a leadership spill if the Coalition loses.
As I write this editorial there are mainstream media announcements by Malcolm Turnbull calling for a leadership spill, possibly trying to avoid electoral disaster through the Canning by-election.
Political commentators are saying that the leadership will change irrespective of the by-election result.

The additional “noise” by vaccination groups is also being silenced by the ever-helpful Murdoch press – simply by ignoring the wishes of a significant number of the general public.

It seems that the “sharks” (global corporates) are circling their prey (the Australian consumer and taxpayer) as the signing of the TPP gets closer. One of their representatives gave a speech to the National Press Club recently.
He was a paid lobbyist of Monsanto and other global agribusiness enterprises.
Read all about his presence in  GM Lobby Will Damage Australian’s Health Future.

The progression of Practice Pharmacists is moving forward and it is good to see advancement in at least one stream of clinical pharmacy.
We decided to ask a pharmacist (who has actually made the transition to that of a Practice Pharmacist) what his views were and to see if he was looking to create links and opportunities back to community pharmacies.
He was not too optimistic in this regard, but read his comments in :
A Former Community Pharmacist Now a Practice Pharmacist- We Have a Q & A With Him

Dr Andrew Byrne is back with us with a contribution titled The Final Statistic which concerns some of the more successful strategies of Portugal, in minimising deaths among drug addicts. This is a very interesting article.

Gerald Quigley has made a contribution this week titled Intervention Skills Compromised as he reports on a statistic published in the MJA. It is food for thought.

At last we have an independent clinical study that conclusively finds that cell phones can cause brain problems.
Read Cell Phone Can Alter Brain Structure And Function and discover how the electronic communications industry has adopted similar research trial structure to that of the drug industry.

And we finish up with our regular publishing of important pharmacy organisation media releases:

PSA: PSA Media Releases – Pharmacists have a real role in advising on use of complementary medicines

ASMI: ASMI Media Release – Evidence for Complementary Medicines-What’s the truth?

NPS: NPS Media Release – PHARMACISTS – NEED TO CATCH UP ON CPD?

Enjoy your read for this week.

Regards,

Neil Johnston
Editor
Monday 14 September 2015