Category Archives: Featured Announcement
AVN — new name, new president
Meryl Dorey, the founder and long-term president of the Australian [anti]Vaccination Network, has announced that she has relinquished her position as president of the organisation, effective January 1. Her replacement is Queensland-based AVN board member, Greg Beattie. Beattie, whom the AVN describes as a “long-time vaccine researcher”, is the author of two anti-vaccination books — Vaccination: A Parent’s Dilemma, … Read on »
Ken Harvey, the Consumer Champion
Choice (The Australian Consumers Association) has named Dr Ken Harvey as its Consumer Champion for 2012. The organisation says that “Ken really put himself on the line when he went up against weight loss company SensaSlim last year. When he lodged a complaint about their ads with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), SensaSlim threatened to sue him … Read on »
Bent Spoon to RMIT; Skeptic of the Year to Loretta Marron
At the recent national convention of Australian Skeptics, held in Sydney at the Australian Museum on November 19, the not-so-coveted Bent Spoon Award was given to RMIT University “for having a fundamentalist chiropractic education program – if the word education can be used in this way – and for endorsing the practice by targeting children and infants in their … Read on »
Power Balance admit to misleading claims
In a move that has been welcomed by skeptical groups all over the world, an Australian consumer watchdog group, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has instructed Power Balance to cease making misleading claims about their silicone bracelets. The performance sports bracelets, which have gained considerable popularity via high profile athlete endorsements, have become an essential … Read on »
AVN in more trouble
In a report on the ABC’s Lateline program on August 4, it was stated that the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) had been found guilty by the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing (OLGR) of potential breaches of charity fund-raising laws. The AVN raises much of its income from donations based on its status as a … Read on »
Crusade Against Ethics
In what appears to be a concerted effort to keep its hallowed patch in the NSW education curriculum, the forces of the Anglican and Catholic Churches and the NSW Christian Democratic Party are using their influence to scuttle a planned trial of ethics teaching in NSW schools. The initial plan is to implement ethics teaching classes as … Read on »
Meryl Dorey, a Closet Skeptic?
We have recently learnt that Meryl Dorey, retiring president of the Australian (anti)Vaccination Network, registered these four website domain names in October 2009: australiansceptics.com australiansceptics.org australiansceptics.net australiansceptics.info That took time and money and we’re impressed at Meryl’s new skeptical interest, given her many recent complaints of having no time, no money and wanting to spend more time with the family. After all, it … Read on »
Special Court Rules that Vaccines are Not Linked to Autism
The claim that autism is linked to vaccinations, and in particular the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, has taken a further blow with the US Court of Federal Claims rejecting claims in three separate cases that the mercury-containing preservative, thimerosal, does not cause autism. This follows a similar ruling a year ago in the same court. The US Congress … Read on »
A Matter of Balance
Richard Saunders finds some amazing inventions at Mind Body Wallet and puts them to the test. From the pages of The Skeptic March 2010 In November 2009, a group of Australian Skeptics and friends headed for the Festival of Mind Body Spirit in Sydney. An overview of this adventure can be seen in the previous issue of The Skeptic. … Read on »
MMR doctor, ‘unethical, callous and dishonest’
One of the poster boys of the global anti-vaccination movement, Dr Andrew Wakefield, has been found guilty of being dishonest, irresponsible and misleading, with the possibility of being struck off the medical register. Wakefield was a senior lecturer in the Departments of Medicine and Histopathology at the Royal Free Hospital and a reader in experimental gastroenterology. He … Read on »
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