Proposed 'Natural Health Products Bill' in New Zealand would fine individuals $50,000 for making a cup of unapproved herbal tea

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: New Zealand, natural health, Codex

(NaturalNews) The health freedom of New Zealanders is under very serious threat, as the federal government there pushes to pass a bill known as the Natural Health Products Bill (NHPB), or Bill 324-1, that will bring the nation into compliance with the overbearing and authoritarian food and health restrictions found in Codex Alimentarius, the so-called world food code.

If passed, NHPB will combine with the equally-threatening New Zealand Food Bill (http://www.naturalnews.com) to make it essentially illegal for individuals to even prepare for themselves, let alone try to sell, herbal products and teas, vitamins and supplements, or any other natural products that are not explicitly approved by the government as acceptable.

Overturning the common law principles of freedom that have triumphed in New Zealand for centuries, Bill 324-1 will require that all herbal remedies, traditional treatments, homeopathic remedies and dietary supplements first be approved -- and very strictly regulated -- by the government before being allowed to be sold or even prepared for one's own personal use.

"The system will, for the first time in New Zealand, introduce risk-based regulation of natural health products," says Bill 324-1. In simple terms, this means that natural herbs, vitamins, minerals, and all other nutrients used to promote health and prevent disease will be subject to the same corrupt regulatory approval process that pharmaceutical drugs are, which will in turn make it difficult or even impossible for New Zealanders to access many of these products in the future.

Bill 324-1, Codex Alimentarius, and the world takeover of food and health

Similar to S. 510 and various other "food safety" legislation in the U.S., Bill 324-1 will hand over complete control of food to the New Zealand government, allowing bureaucrats there to decide what health products people are allowed to buy, sell, prepare, and even consume. Defying the universal, God-given right to choose one's own food, Bill 324-1 represents a grossly-dictatorial and oppressive regulatory nightmare, in which individuals must get permission from Big Brother to maintain their own health.

"[Bill 324-1] makes it illegal without a license to prepare, share or administer anything (that isn't presented as "food") that's made from plants, vitamins, minerals or anything else natural," writes NZ Food Security about the bill (http://nzfoodsecurity.org). "You'll be liable for a $50,000 fine for doing [this], even for yourself."

"No more home-grown camomile tea to make you sleep better. No more practising of traditional Maori medicine without a government ticket, which can be denied or revoked. No more home-made Manuka oil to put on your cuts. No more using your granny's remedies from the herb garden. None of this without permission, fees and rules, or you face massive fines and possibly jail."

Sections 37 and 38 of the Sanctions and penalties portion of Bill 324-1 specifically outline $50,000 penalties for individuals that "manufacture" or sell health products without a license, and $250,000 penalties for corporations that manufacture or sell health products without a license. And the definition of "manufacture" in these sections are so vague and all-inclusive that an individual preparing natural health remedies at home technically falls into this category.

Natural Health Products Regulatory Authority to arbitrarily decide which natural health products will be permitted

With the exception of a select few vitamins and amino acids that are specifically exempt from Bill 324-1's requirements, all natural health products manufactured or sold in New Zealand, even for personal use, will have to receive approval from the Natural Health Products Regulatory Authority, a newly-established food bureaucracy.

This "Authority," which is referred to in the bill as the "Director-General of Health," will basically be New Zealand's new health czar, deciding for the public what is, and is not, permissible as a natural health product. Though the establishment of an advisory committee is required as part of Bill 324-1, the legislation specifically states that this committee is to be appointed directly by the Authority, and on "any terms and conditions that the Authority thinks fit."

As far as the approval process for natural health products goes, the Authority will be given the power to arbitrarily approve or disapprove them at will. Any product not on the exceptions list will have to undergo a product notification process in which the Authority decides whether or not there is enough "evidence" to warrant approval.

Even products that have long been used safely in traditional medicine, including home remedies, will be subject to this capricious regulatory hurdle -- and if the Authority chooses to ignore a product's long history of safe and effective use and deny approval, he or she will be free to do so without having to justify the decision to anyone. It is the literal embodiment of a health dictatorship, where one individual decides what is permissible for everyone else.

The official public comment period for Bill 324-1 has ended, but this does not mean that the public cannot still speak out against this abominable threat of health slavery. At the comment submission page for the Natural Health Products Bill, there are contact details on the right-hand side of the page that list phone, fax, and email contacts for the Committee Secretariat of Health where you can still submit comments:
http://www.parliament.nz

NZ Food Security has also put together a very useful template for submitting comments that you can customize and submit. You can access that template here:
http://nzfoodsecurity.org

Sources for this article include:

http://www.legislation.govt.nz