Jeez, haven't they read the New England Journal of Medicine, or the Journal of the American Medical Association? The NEJM recommends (in a circular way) the Atkins for morbidly obese patients. There have been a flurry of studies done in the US, the lastest at OHSU in Oregan, which show that it is NOT harmful. I will put on my conspiracy theory hat and say that the government is getting money from the diet industry, so they don't want a diet that works! I really have no idea how the Austrailian government works, but it would make sense in the USA!