Last week the Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane, responded to a December 2013 ‘Question in Writing’ from Western Australian MP Melissa Parke, who'd asked
By what date will he release the final report of the 2012 Pharmaceutical Patents Review, and is he considering the draft recommendations released in April 2013.The Minister responded that
The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:
The Government has no plans to release the final report at this stage.
The Government is not considering the recommendations made by the panel in the draft report.
The Pharmaceutical Patents Review panel delivered its final report to the previous government in May 2013, which did not release the report.
As the Pharmaceutical Patents Review was commissioned by the previous government and conducted by an independent panel, the government is not obliged to release the report.The report might be disinterred once the TransPacific Partnership Agreement has been enshrined. In the interim an intrepid journalist might seek access under FOI.
