NSW: Governments go head to head over pharmacy deregulation

AAP General News (Australia)
04-06-2004
NSW: Governments go head to head over pharmacy deregulation

SYDNEY, April 6 AAP - The NSW and Federal governments are going head to head over pharmacy
deregulation.

The debate centres around a National Competition Council (ACC) demand that the NSW
government further amend legislation that is already before parliament, allowing supermarkets
to compete with pharmacies.

But the prime minister is demanding NSW reject recommendations from the NCC, despite
having previously threatened to impose fines if it did.

In exchange for pulling its legislation, the NSW government is demanding the commonwealth
repay up to $10 million in fines already levied.

The NCC says the current changes do not go far enough, while the prime minister appears
to think they go too far.

However, the changes have not even been put to parliament yet and nobody - except the
NCC - appears to want them to.

It is understood that the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has been lobbying both governments
with the line that the legislation currently before the NSW lower house would allow supermarkets
to compete with them.

But the bill merely lifts the cap on the number of pharmacies a pharmacist is allowed to own.

Under the legislation, a supermarket's board of directors and shareholders would all
have to become pharmacists if it was to sell drugs.

However, the Pharmacy Guild executive director, Stephen Greenwood, said it was nonsense
to suggests the NSW legislation would not allow Woolworths to buy pharmacies in the in
the name of a compliant pharmacist.

Mr Greenwood said the NSW legislation would remove the cap of three outlets an individual
pharmacist could own.

Premier Bob Carr said in a letter to Mr Howard that the whole package would be thrown
out if the federal government reimbursed the $7 to $10 million it has suspended from the
state.

AAP kd/was

KEYWORD: PHARMACY DAYLEAD

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