Page 1791 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 18 August 1992
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MR CONNOLLY: It was in relation to tea, as Mrs Carnell interjected. That was a particularly effective rort, because it was basically advertised that if you took the tea diet you would lose weight. The tea had absolutely nothing to do with losing weight.
Mr Cornwell: And Samantha Fox was involved?
MR CONNOLLY: This is true. Yet people were conned into paying an exorbitant amount of money for this elaborately packaged tea which was simply herbal tea which they could have got from Selfridges for a quarter of the price. By not eating any other food and just drinking large quantities of this particular tea, apart from beating a track to the nearest convenience, over time they did lose some weight. They did so because they were consuming vast quantities of tea.
Mr Humphries: But it was true, was it not?
MR CONNOLLY: Indeed it was, Mr Humphries. It is the classic example of how an advertisement can be technically true yet clearly, to any fair-minded observer, give a misleading impression. This was a particular scandal. I cannot recall whether the Australian entrepreneur ended up being extradited from Australia to Britain to faces charges.
Mr Lamont: No, they are still chasing him around Queensland.
Mr Cornwell: He is on the Gold Coast at the moment.
MR CONNOLLY: I thought he did. They may still be chasing him around Queensland or the Gold Coast; but I can recall seeing 60 Minutes, or some such program, doing quite an expose on this. It was widely regarded as a scandal, but it was a situation in which an ad was technically true. So it would seem to follow from that that Thatcher's Britain had similar legislation. So, Mr Humphries, it cannot really be a problem.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (9.22): Madam Speaker, I rise just to go to an issue which Mr Humphries raised in relation to peanut butter.
Mr Humphries: I might take a point of order as to relevance on this. It had better be good.
MR BERRY: Standard M2 describes a product as peanut butter or peanut paste, and it goes on to describe all of the aspects of peanut butter or peanut paste. Peanut butter or peanut paste is described as a product prepared by comminuting roasted peanut kernels. It goes on to list all of the things that it shall contain and the minimum amount.
I am pleased that the amendment which was pursued by the Liberals did not get up, because somebody might have wanted to put less salt or something like that in the mixture, which might have conflicted with the legislation. People would be forced to eat something that is not actually peanut butter or peanut paste. If you would like a copy of this, I am happy to give it to you, and you can sleep easier at night.
Remainder of Bill agreed to.
Bill agreed to.
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