Good article, Martin. It's great to AT LAST see something that calls the Australian "Skeptics" into question - or the fact that what they tend to do is non-skeptically defend the status quo for the benefit of big industry and use bully tactics on those who oppose them such as the AVN.

This anti-vaccine loons bit is getting insane. The BMJ recently called a respected group of Indian physicians and professionals anti-vaccine because they questioned the necessity and safety of a particular vaccine in India: http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/2010/07/08/indian-physicians-slapped-with-anti-vaccine-label/

Tell me again that vaccination isn't a religious sacrament...

Well, I see the ever unoriginal, scavenging "Science"Blogs weighed in on your post, Martin:

"Health fascism' in Australia? The anti-vaccine loons think so"

quoting the parents of a child who died of pertussis:

"It's the most offensive statement because I watched over five days my beautiful daughter suffer the most agonising death," Ms McCaffery said.

"Then to be put in a position where I have to prove that she died of pertussis that's even crueller."

Then Sanofi-Gorski weighs in:

"I'm unaware of any case where it's actually targeted the parent of a child who died of a vaccine-preventable disease for harassment of this type. All that can be said is that Ms. Dorey is despicable beyond all belief, a truly vile human being."

Although I will agree that if Dorey really is doing this, it's wrong for her to do so -Sanofi-Gorski is calling her a "despicable person" for doing exactly what he does to us - claiming we have to "prove" death or autism causation from a vaccine whenever either occurs.

I ended my day yesterday, unnerved at the way Quokka had managed to blurr and confuse the issues. To some extent this was my fault because I stupidly responded to his off-kilter missives. When I got on to the internet this morning, however, hope was renewed. Two great posts, returned to the very heart of the matter.

MinorityView asks, 'Are there really people who are opposed to freedom of speech and freedom of choice in healthcare?'

I empathise with this view completely, often I cannot grasp the enormity of such peoples social and political view of the world and I have daymares of hundreds of people queuing for vaccination given by men in white coats, wearing protective breathing appartus - they are aided in their task by armed soldiers on the edge of the cities there are whole groups of people who resist and they live without the amenities of a modern society. The answer to MinorityViews question, is 'Yes', there are people who would deny the citizen and the parent, any right to decide upon their own healthcare - a scientific and medical class who want to take political control. We have to do everything possible to stop them and establish and develop our rights in this new scientific age.

Then I read Winnie stating. 'Shame on our governments for supporting the pharmaceutical companies over people's rights.'
and hope was again renewed. The individual citizen has rights which have to be protected from governments and corporations, the two powers that have come in the modern and post-modern period to usurp democracy and freedom of choice.

The only strategy that can take us out of this quicksand, is to mistrust medical professionals, fight for the people themselves to make political decisions and despite the aims, objectives and life-styes of which corporations are the harbingers.

Information is vital to democracy and freedom, whether it be the information of personal experience or the honest information of scientific study. Just as vital is the right of the individual to make their own decisions on the basis of this information.

These vaccine-crazed "experts" are blinded by dollar signs. The truth is out about vaccines, and bashing those who point it out doesn't make vaccines any safer or effective.

There is no going back. Parents are waking up to the reality of vaccine damage. It's too big now. Too many vaccines, too many sick children, too many dead children.

Good for Meryl to support the right to informed medical decisions. Shame on our governments for supporting the pharmaceutical companies over people's rights.

Quokka – I thought it would be self-evident? The contents of this site should illustrate to you the value in general of a nutritional approach to illness. Exact dosages, would surely depend on the patient, the doctor and the condition to be treated. It’s such a pity that the successes mentioned here, though recognised at the time, were not followed up, researched, and put into practice, rather than populations being forced down the pharmacological route. Unfortunately money for research into medical conditions comes mainly from the drug companies, whose profits would suffer if such practices were used. Doctors who try to advocate such approaches in present times, are subjected to scorn, ridicule and victimisation.

Martin - you owe me an apology.

Google Peter Dingle, Penny Dingle and the West Australian newspaper. The entire enquiry is well documented. Also well documented is Penyy Dingle writing in her diary that she had made a terrible mistake.

The Oncologist giving evidence stated that her type of cancer has an 80% success rate from surgery and chemo.

It is not true to say homeopathy kills no one - it killed Penny.

It is also true to say that all cancer sufferers die in agony. I sat with family members who passed without pain and with fantastic care in hospital with our family by thier side.

While you are at it Google - 3 babies die of swine flu in Princess Margaret Hospital in one year. That is why WA has the swine flu vac.

Peace out.

We need to remind those who would rid the world of non- mainstream-medical websites, that it is due to these groups that today their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren can receive a safer DTP vaccine.I had a child in my nursery school who lost nearly all hearing after receiving two doses of the old DPT vaccine. He had severe reactions lasting more than a week. Later he was given a dose of the newer DTaP and had only the usual mild reaction.
The so-called anti vaccine organizations had cried out in vain about the dangers of the DPT vaccine for many years before the new vaccine was developed and used. It is high time we recognize the contribution of such organizations. Are we going to do away with western medicine because it gave us Vioxx Avandia and Thalidomide?

The indefatigable campaigner Erwin Alber of the Vaccination Information Network - VINE , who has a marvelous facebook site, told me that he couldn't post on AOA yesterday and asked me to post the two quotes below.

"Belief in immunization is a form of delusional insanity."
Dr. Herbert Shelton, prominent American health educator

"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one."
Charles_Mackay

Having read all the new comments down to this point, I'd have to say, I second John Stone's July 9 comment to the word.

What is the next step, Meryl? Let us know specifically how we can best support you in your task of informing parents of the real risks of vaccines.

Thank you Martin for drawing our attention to what is going on in Australia. I am really disappointed to read that people are being targeted in this way i.e. those who support alternative therapies, and those who question the efficacy and safety of giving children multiple vaccines. Years ago I had read that in Australia about 40 % of the population were regularly using alternative, natural treatments as opposed to pharmacological ones, and had thus thought Australia to be really progressive and open-minded society. But it seems that there too, the battle for truth in medicine is becoming fiercer by the day.
Having watched how our establishment, isolated, targeted and discredited Andrew Wakefield, we in UK understand completely how strongly Meryl’s stance will be criticised by an increasingly nervous health department. Meryl must be a very special person to have put up with the snide remarks and insults aimed at her during the last year. Best wishes to you Meryl and thank you for alerting so many parents to the dangers of vaccination.

Martin, the website in question is run by a Ms Christine Bayne, a skeptic operative, who was recruited and funded as a puppet by the Pharma controlled science/medicine lobby. She's probably as much a victim as the parents who are influenced by the same lobby when making decisions about vaccination. She has stated publicly she suffers with a disability which manifests in the form of deficits in higher order cognitive processes such as abstract thinking as well as mental health disorders such as mood dysregulation. She is one of the black and white thinkers described in an earlier comment. Justin Watson is Christine Bayne, who is using your article to spread her master's propoganda.

This link sums this up in one.

http://www.antivaxxers.com/?p=2202

Sinister Skeptics + Health Fascism = LULZ
This is the first article I can find on the internet which covers the HCCC report recently received by Meryl Dorey, President of the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN).

The article in question, Health Fascism in Australia is Conspiracy Crackpot Central from beginning to end. It is written by Martin Walker and contains many inaccuracies. Either Martin needs to learn some investigative skills, or he needs to learn that Meryl Dorey is not a reliable source of information.

The sinister Skeptics group, agents of what used to be CSICOP now the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) organised from the US and linked to the major corporate lobby groups, American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) and American and the Australian Council Against Health Fraud (ACAHF) are making ground in Australia.

Sinister Skeptics! Go take a looksie, you will find nearly all skeptic groups are stand-alone organisations. To make a connection with all the above groups would require a straw long enough to suck up water on the moon. Martin, please provide evidence of your claims.

Supported by authoritarian ideological influences in government and Big Pharma, the Skeptics are running constant attacks on homeopathy, natural cancer treatments, those who question vaccination and those who support any form of alternative medicine.

Not so sure about this support as most skeptic groups get by on a combination of volunteer labour, fundraising, and donations. Martin, please provide evidence – which groups are provided with what kind of support, and by whom.
Yes, many skeptic groups have focused on the dangerous and negative aspects of alternative medicine. Deaths have resulted from people who shunned science-based medicine in favour of unproven, sometimes disproven, alt med treatments. It is unethical to take money from people for treatments that do not work.

With the present world fiscal crisis, all those linked to Big Pharma and Science are fighting a bitter battle to preserve drug company competitiveness. But where fascist influences in government and health with most force come together is in attacking anyone who speaks out about freedom of choice and expression in relation to vaccination.

There is no freedom of choice when the information being presented is wrong. Whilst deluded, misinformed people continue to propagate dangerous, misleading information about vaccination, you can be assured that there will a strong, loud voice to correct it. I spend my time highlighting the misinformation and propaganda from the alt med market, and I get paid by no one. I would be very grateful if Martin could provide me with contacts to Big Pharma and Big Science so I can be paid for my efforts.

Over the last year the international corporate lobby Skeptics, have been behind a campaign against the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN). In 2009, one of their trolls, a lay person with no standing in medicine or government complained about the web site of the AVN to the office of the State Government funded Health Care Complaints commission (HCCC) an organisation that accepts complaints against groups found be giving out false information about health.

There is no international corporate lobby of skeptics. Martin, take your head out of the conspiracy bucket, you look ridiculous. Ken McLeod is the name of the person who lodged the report, not troll. Ken is also not a member of the Australian Skeptics, and I’m not even sure if he considers himself a skeptic or not. Ken’s qualifications are irrelevant; anyone can make a complaint to the HCCC. The HCCC complaint actually included both Meryl Dorey and the AVN, and covered more than just the AVN website.
I’m becoming more and more convinced that Martin is simply parroting information given to him by Meryl Dorey, and that he hasn’t bothered to conduct even basic research before writing this article.

The remit of the HCCC, did not actually cover parent groups which discussed the pros and cons of vaccination, so the State government slightly changed the remit to satisfy the Skeptics. The government then proceeded with a year long investigation into Meryl Dorey the woman who established and runs the AVN and the AVN itself.

Meryl and the AVN met all the requirements for the HCCC to investigate, and basic research shows what is required. Martin needs to provide evidence that the HCCC made changes in order to investigate the AVN.

Dorey was asked to answer their first 30 odd page report against her and the organisation, within a few weeks. She did this with a magnificent document that argued every point with brilliance. The complaint investigation actually argued against almost every sentence that had appeared on the AVN web site. If the AVN had said that vaccines contained toxic elements, such as mecury and aluminuim the HCCC argued with pseudo science that this was not true, giving pages of bogus evidence to support the vaccine manufacturers.

This so-called “magnificent” document was found to be wanting in so very many ways – please refer to Tom Sidwell dissects Meryl Dorey. Not so magnificent now, is it.
Once again, Martin displays his ignorance about the HCCC investigation by the focus on the AVN website, and his scientific illiteracy in referring to Meryl’s submission as magnificent.

Yesterday Dorey received the final 30 page answer from the HCCC to the Skeptics complaint. This inevitably reiterated all the charges brought against and included many gems of Orwellian Newspeak, such as:

‘In Australia vaccination is a key plank of public health strategy. It is thus extremely important for individuals, especially parents, to be able to make informed decisions about vaccination. The AVN provides information that is misleading for the average reader by inaccurately representing information, selectively reporting information, and giving non-peer reviewed and anecdotal material the same authority as peer -reviewed literature’.

This is the hub of Health Fascism happily embraced by the HCCC evidently supported not by the votes of their constituents but by Big Pharma. The pharma-skeptics and corporate science geeks, have pushed this censorious line in Britain and America. In Britain they went so far as to draw up a set of rules suggesting that no one other than scientists or doctors should be able to write anything, or say anything in the media; no lay person was to be able to hold a view on their own health or that of others. The next step after ruling that no one other than scientists can speak about health, is the bringing into force of fascism. No discussion about compulsory vaccination – force it on people, no discussion about alternative medicine – ban it, no discussion about what constitutes democracy – bring in scientific and evidence based politics and human behaviour.

I’ll just ignore the conspiracy-speak about fascism and Big Pharma. I do not believe there is anything democratic about allowing crackpot conspiracists with no understanding of science or medicine, to spread misinformation and propaganda in the community about health-related matters. The effects of such misinformation can be deadly – vaccine preventable diseases can kill, and do kill.

In the past Meryl and her co-workers has been subject to authoritarian style attacks by the Skeptics, her web site has been taken down and meetings she was arranged to address called off. She and her co-workers and the AVN, are presently gearing up for the media onslaught on her and her web site. The media, like vultures are circling, asking for special privileges to present her case and tell her story, but Meryl is far too intelligent to fall for any of these parasitic manoeuvres; she’s a fighter. Inevitably, however at the moment she feels isolated – as those living in Australia must sometimes do! (LOL). Everyone must rally round and lend her their strength. E-mail the inappropriately named, Health Care Complaints Commission at: [email protected] Telephone them on (02) 9219 7444. Fax them on: (02) 9281 4585. Ask the HCCC why they accept complaints from people who belong to the global corporate science lobby group, Skeptics.

This snippet appears once again like Martin parroting Meryl-speak before researching anything himself. The AVN website was not taken down by the skeptics, and Meryl knows it – hence why she has never offered the proof of it, despite repeated requests. Yes, the AVN has been under the spotlight by a group of concerned citizens, aiming to highlight the misinformation, the conspiracy theories, and even the lies, that Meryl and the AVN use to garner support.

Support the AVN (http://www.avn.org.au/) . Contact any independent media, film makers or journalists you know in Australia and ask them to contact Meryl. Bring Meryl and the AVN into the international fold that is fighting to maintain health freedom and stands against Health Fascism.

The issue of vaccination is a human rights issue. Children's Human Rights are being violated by the number of medical experiments being conducted on them today in the form of vaccination. As a post war baby boomer, I have enjoyed good health, which children are being denied today due to the large number of assaults they are taking in the form of vaccinations. Do we as parents have the right to subject our children to an endless number of medical interventions that we were not subjected to as children? As an early childhood teacher, I see the tragedy of this unfettered medicalism everyday. Eleven of my current 25 students requires some form of medication at school. When I first started teaching in the early 1970's this number may have been 1 student requiring medication every few years. These children have had their health stolen from them by well-meaning parents who were not subjected to such widespread medicalism as children. It has to stop now! We need to find out why so many children are sick.

The complaint against the AVN was undertaken by a a skeptic devotee Mr Ken Mcleod, a retired air traffic controller who until recently identified "shit-stirring" as one of his hobbies on his Facebook page. One can only wonder why Mr Mcleod would feel the need to wave his flag for the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry. That's right, Ken Mcleod holds shares in Big Pharma.

'Quoll quote':- 'The recent problem with the CSL vaccine in Australia was quickly spotted and vaccination for children under 5 suspended.'

Well good for Australia!! I wish our UK Governments could be so pro active so quickly!! But can I ask how many children suffered severe adverse reactions to this vaccine?-and just how much of a public outcry was required in order to make the government back down?? Why was this vaccine not properly tested before being given to tiny children??

This sounds like a very similar scenario to the recent US problems with the MMR+Chicken Pox vaccine, also recently rolled out as part of a US government mass vaccination programme. The high numbers of infant seizures, (and another public outcry!) has now forced a rethink.

In the UK, in 1992, the Urabe Mumps MMR component was very quietly withdrawn due to massive numbers of adverse reactions in children. At least one child died from seizures shortly after receiving this vaccine. This vaccine was previously banned for causing seizures and meningitis in the US and Canada. It was given a nice 'new' name before being 'sold' to the UK Government by the vaccine manufactors. The government's response to dire warnings about this vaccine from Canadian and other sources was to indemnify the manufacturers!! It took the UK government 3 whole years to finally ban it but it should NEVER have been administered in the first place. We have NEVER been told the whole story due to press restrictions in the UK, but some papers recently surfaced in Scotland under the 20 year rule. Speculation and conspiracy theories!!?? Try telling THAT to those parents who believe their child died or was damaged by this vaccine!! Lectures are just what they DON'T need!!

Please do not 'close your mind' to dietary therapy for your autistic child. Many such children benefit enormously from a gluten and casein free diet. We also removed all artificial additives from our autistic boy's diet too. This is a far cry from 'experimenting with chemical concoctions'!!

I've got to back Quokka's comments. The Australiam Coronial inquest has revealed a profoundly disturbing side of homeopathy and the woman who died of cancer chose that the only treatment she would recieve was homeopathy. No surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Now you might say that is her choice, and you are right, but she also relied on the homeopath to provide medical advice on treatment of cancer, something that a homeopath is not qualified to do. On the issue of the Australian Vaccination Network, while I absolutely support the rights of parents to receive good information based on facts I would also dispute the AVNs view that this is what they provide. Facts are based on evidence, not speculation and conspiracy theories. Spending your days imaging dark pharmacy plots does not lead to informed choice. The only way a parent can hope to make a good decision about vaccination is to have acces to good information from reliable sources - doctors and public health officials who see both benefits and problems with vaccinations every day. The recent problem with the CSL vaccine in Australia was quickly spotted and vaccination for children under 5 suspended. This was done using the same public health surveillance techniques used by most governments and it works to provide good information. It also revealed that the problem was just the vaccine from one manufacturer and the cause is being investigated.

As the parent of a child with autism I shared with others here many concerns about the potential cause of autism and what I could do about it. My child will have his neurological differences at a structural level for his whole life, but not his behavioural ones. Autism is a developmental delay and we have made fantastic progress with first a speech therapist and now physic and occupational therapy added to the mix. No meds, no diets and no experimenting on my own child with chemical concoctions designed for other purposes.

Anyone who thinks following mainstream medical treatment for cancer can't end with a gruesome and horrendous death is terribly naive. I guess if the horrendous death takes place in a hospital it's ok.

Quokka
Although I am not fully aware of the situation you speak of regarding the woman with cancer, choosing homeopathy, vitamins, faith and positive thoughts does not make this woman or her husband lunatics. They made a choice to go a more natural route. There are no guarantees that if she would have chosen the "life saving medical care" that the outcome would have not been the same. Is chemo a cure all? Some feel it is the kiss of death. There are no guarantees. We just try to educate ourselves and make the best choices we can at that time. Who says what she did was a bad thing if she was at peace with the choices she made to pursue alternative health care? I respect people's choice regarding medical care(traditional or not) and you should respect hers.

Where is the "peer reviewed" study on vaccinated vs unvaccinated? OOps, there is none. Where are the "peer reviewed" studies that say it is safe to give several vaccines in one day? Oops, there are none! When a journalist says, get your vaccine or risk certain death, where is the "peer reviewed" study there?

Heidi
I recovered my now 6 year old son also. We are also looking at opening a "biomedical" orphanage. So great that you adopted an autistic child!! God Bless You!

This is so frightening. One can see them starting to gear up in the states now too-with a new school year approaching and the H1N1 just over the molehill.
Thanks, maurine

BMJ attacked some medical doctors in India for questioning the necessity of hib:
http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/2010/07/08/indian-physicians-slapped-with-anti-vaccine-label/

http://www.beyondconformity.org.nz/_blog/Hilary%27s_Desk/post/When_Indian_doctors_open_their_mouths/

I live in Western Australia. A Coroners enquiry is currently under way investigating the horrendously painful death of a woman whose husband and homeopath wanted to cure with vitamins, faith and positive thoughts - allegedly so they could write a book about how they cured cancer with vitamins. The husband works at a local university which has a shocking academic reputation - this certainly has left a lot more there very red faced. The massive backlash against this idiocacy is not co-ordinated by big pharma. I and thousands of others see the lunacy of rejecting life saving medical care for what it is. By the way the attempt you have made of the Australian flag is completely out of proportion and incredibly insulting. You can't even get that right. I know you won't approve this comment and will accuse me of some pharma shill nonsense. I am not - I have spent the last 20 years of my career working with children with disabilities, including autism.