7 Aug 2018
Costs follow the event; New Health is not entitled to avoid a costs award despite some public interest elements, but those elements justify a reduced award; accordingly New Health must pay the second respondent costs of $5,000 because the Regulations appeal had little merit and the Medicines Act appeal was rendered inevitable by that lack of merit.
27 Jun 2018
The Regulations were a lawful, prospective exercise of the s105 regulation-making power to provide legal clarity; they were not based on an unlawful purpose or material legal error and the consultation and decision-making were adequate. Because the valid Regulations settled the issue prospectively, the Medicines Act appeal no longer raised a live controversy and was properly treated as moot and dismissed.
9 Oct 2014
Although adding fluoride to water is undertaken for a therapeutic purpose and fluoride when dissolved in water is administered to humans, the Medicines Act must be read in context with the Medicines Regulations; Schedule 1 only treats substances as medicines at concentrations above 10 mg/l, whereas authorised community fluoridation produces fluoride concentrations up to 1.5 mg/l, which are therefore outside the statutory definition of 'medicine', and HFA and SSF used at those concentrations are not medicines.