In a new low for Labor, Health Minister Mark Butler has sneakily attached an amendment to a bill which was designed to support pelvic mesh victims following a 2022 class action.

If successful, the additional measure gives the government unprecedented power to approve overseas substitute medicines that haven’t been through Australia’s regulatory pathway. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn’t it?

Tying this significant change to support for pelvic mesh victims in the Therapeutic Goods Amendment 2022 Measures No 1 Bill 2022 is a disgraceful act and a dangerous precedent. It must be stopped.