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December 19th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda TIM PALMER: Australian victims of the drug thalidomide have won the right to have their class action against the drug’s manufacturer heard in Australia.
Thalidomide was sold to pregnant women in the 1950s and 60s to treat morning sickness, but caused deaths and serious birth defects in tens of thousands of babies worldwide.
The lawyers running the case say today’s decision means the class action is much more likely to be successful, as Liz Hobday reports.
LIZ HOBDAY: Melbourne woman Lynette Rowe was born without arms or legs because of the drug thalidomide.
Her lawyer Peter Gordon says she’s happy with today’s ruling.
PETER GORDON: She’s delighted. She’s quite emotional about it. She thinks it’s a really important thing. She is of course the leader of a representative proceeding which involves over 100 Australian thalidomiders.
LIZ HOBDAY: Lynette Rowe has never received compensation and has been cared for all her life by her parents Wendy and Ian.
Ian Rowe read a statement to the media after the judgement was handed down.
IAN ROWE: This is an important day for Lynne and for our whole family. I want to thank the judge for holding the hearing quickly and for giving his decision quickly. The situation that Lynne is in is pretty urgent and we really appreciate the speed with which the court has acted.
LIZ HOBDAY: Lynette Rowe’s lawyers argued that it would have been impossible for her to travel to Germany.
Today’s decision means she’ll be able to be in court to hear the case when it goes to trial.
It also means the landmark action is much more likely to succeed because it will be tried under Australian law.
Peter Gordon says in Germany the case would have failed due to a statute of limitations.
PETER GORDON: There is a complete bar on claims that are more than 30 years old, whereas in most other countries in the world there is an ability of the court to extend the limitation period if the merits of the case and the justice of the situation demands it. There is no such law in Germany and the claim would have been blown out of the water just on that basis.
LIZ HOBDAY: He also says there are other laws that specifically restrict the rights of thalidomide victims.
PETER GORDON: When criminal proceedings against Grunenthal came to an end in the early 1970s Grunenthal was part of that deal agreed to pay some money to German thalidomiders and the government for its part passed the Contergan Act which severely restricted the rights of all thalidomiders to bring law suits in Germany against that company.
LIZ HOBDAY: The manufacturer of thalidomide, the company Grunenthal, has never been successfully sued in Germany.
It had argued that it would have been oppressive for the company to defend the case in Victorian courts because of the delay in the case and because many potential witnesses are elderly German residents.
But Justice David Beach today rejected those arguments. He also dismissed an application by the licensed distributors of the drug in Australia, the companies Diageo and Distillers, to have the case against them thrown out.
Ian Rowe has called on the companies defending the case to let his daughter have her day in court.
IAN ROWE: Please don’t cause any more delay just for delay’s sake. Time is not on our side. Wendy and I are getting older now. I’m almost 80 and we really need to know how Lynette will be provided for when we can no longer do it ourselves.
LIZ HOBDAY: Lynette Rowe claims that Grunenthal knew or should have known before she was born that thalidomide put unborn children at risk.
Her lawyer Peter Gordon.
PETER GORDON: If they knew that this was a dangerous drug that should have been better tested and which should have been accompanied by warnings, then they should have let their licence partners know about it, including Distillers, and they should have let consumers know about it.
LIZ HOBDAY: The case is expected to go to trial next year.
Grunenthal and Diageo have not responded to the ABC’s requests for comment.
TIM PALMER: Liz Hobday reporting.
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