The Health Minister, John Thwaites, has announced the membership of the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria.

The Bracks Government has also appointed a six-member panel to a panel to assist the board with hearings and sub-committees. The Health Minister, John Thwaites, has announced the membership of the Chinese Medicine Registration Board of Victoria.

The Board's president is Professor Vivian Lin, Professor of Public Health at La Trobe University and the deputy president is Genevieve Howse, a barrister and senior lecturer in public health law at La Trobe.

Mr Thwaites said the Board is a key part of Victoria's ground-breaking reforms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and complementary and alternative medicine.

Members of the Board are:

• Prof Vivian Lin, Professor of Public Health at La Trobe University, was deputy chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is an advisor with the World Bank and WHO in China and is fluent in Chinese.
• Genevieve Howse, a barrister and senior lecturer in public health law at La Trobe University, was a legal member of the Chiropractors Registration board from June 1997 to June 2000.
• Dr Charlie Xue, is a senior lecturer and head of the Chinese Medicine Unit at RMIT as well as a private practitioner. He has experience in administration, education and research.
• Prof T Chiang Lin, is managing director of the Naturewise company and a private practitioner. He headed the delegation that led to the review of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Victoria and is fluent in Vietnamese, Chinese and Cantonese.
• Shelley Beer, is co-ordinator and senior lecturer with the Chinese herbal medicine course at Victoria University and has strong research, practice and administrative experience.
• Prof Samuel Zheng, is principal of the College of TCM Australia. He has postgraduate qualifications in both western and Chinese medicine. He is fluent in Mandarin and Japanese.
• Glenys Savage, is vice principal and a senior lecturer at Academy of TCM Australia and a private practitioner, and is fluent in Mandarin.
• David Halstead, is a consultant and retired partner with law firm Maurice Blackburn Cashman and was a Fitzroy city councillor for three years.
• Brian May, is a lecturer at Victoria University and a private practitioner. He has been secretary for the Register for Acupuncture and TCM - a self-regulatory mechanism set up by the profession. He has extensive background on standards for the prescribing and prescription of herbal medicines.

The panel members are:

• Dr Bing-Zhong Chen, is Associate Professor in Chinese Medicine at the University of Hong Kong. He is former head of the Chinese Medicine Unit at RMIT and is in private practice in Melbourne.
• Sally Griffin, is a current TCM student and has experience in administrative law.
• Prof Jerry Zhang, is a lecturer at RMIT University and a private practitioner. He is considered the foremost expert in Chinese herbal pharmacology in Victoria and is fluent in Mandarin and Japanese.
• Dr Philipa Rothfield, is a La Trobe University academic with a background in health, medicine, science and ethics. She has an interest in Chinese medicine and has written and presented on the subject, particularly the complexities of applying western scientific research methodology to the testing of Chinese medicine.
• Ying Chen, is co-ordinator and senior lecturer with the Chinese herbal medicine course at Victoria University and has strong research, practice and administrative experience.
• Jocelyn Bennett, was responsible for the establishment of the Australian Complementary Health Association and the publication of the complementary health magazine Diversity.
• Lindsay Ford, has extensive experience in administrative and constitutional law as well as national competition policy.

"Victoria's Chinese Medicine Registration Act, passed earlier this year, helps protect the health and safety of people who choose to use Chinese medicine as a health care option," Mr Thwaites said.