Will the AVN be silenced?
Today, the AVN received a copy of a complaint which has been lodged with the NSW
Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC)
by an individual who has previously expressed directly to the AVN their
disagreement with our views.
The complaint alleges that both the AVN and myself, Meryl Dorey, are "health
service providers" because we are "providing health education services to the
public" for the purposes of the Health Care Complaints Act 1993 (NSW)
The complainant asks that:
The HCCC issue a Prohibition Order to silence both myself and the AVN and
prevent us from publishing information about vaccination or related health
issues. It claims that we do not have the right to free speech under the
Constitution of Australia and asks that the HCCC issue a public statement that
the AVN poses a risk to public health and safety.
At the present time, the AVN is seeking legal advice and will be providing the
HCCC with our written response to the complaint before the end of August 2009.
Neither the AVN nor Meryl Dorey are "health practitioners" as the term is
generally understood colloquially nor have we ever claimed to be.
We do not dispense either treatment or advice, we just try to disseminate
information about health issues and to inject some balance into the debate so
that people can make informed choices that best suit their particular needs.
It is important that in the present climate where the spectre of
compulsory vaccination is a real threat, we do our best to protect the rights we
have and prevent those who would restrict or take them away completely from
doing so. This complaint is a symptom of those efforts and I do not believe that
it is coincidental that it has occurred at the present time.
I will of course keep you informed of any future developments in this Regards,
Meryl