Friday, October 22, 2010

A bad year for the AVN - A great year for child safety

Page 3 of the NSW Government Gazette, linked above contains the official announcement that the Australian Vaccination Netowrk has been stripped of it's charitable fundraising status.

This is the latest set-back from the anti-vaccination group that has fallen foul of the authorities. First an investigation by the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission concluded that the AVN website contains information that is incorrect and misleading. The AVN were requested to place a warning on their website clearly showing that they are opposed to vaccinations. They have refused to do so.

The latest set-back affects their ability to raise funds to further their campaign of misinformation and deception. An investigation from the Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing (strangely, also responsible for charities) concluded that fundraising had not been conducted in good faith.

It may be too much to hope that this is the start of the end for this group, as I fear these people will continue to influence the unwary into actions that place the lives of their own children and other children within the community.

"The presence of belief, does not indicate the existence of truth."
"There is only one truth. How we interpret that truth is called belief."