Over the last month, a group that had called itself the Australian Vaccination Network has suffered some heavy blows at the hands of Australian state governments. The group, which questions the safety and efficacy of vaccination, had been targeted by state regulators in the past, but it appealed the penalties they imposed. Now it has lost two appeals; as a result, it's been forced to both change its name and cease all fundraising as a charity.

There is a strong consensus among medical and public health authorities that vaccines are generally safe and are clearly effective at preventing disease. In their absence, diseases such as the measles have frequently resurfaced, with last year seeing nearly triple the number of cases in the US. Despite this track record, many countries have seen groups organize to oppose state-sanctioned or -mandated vaccination programs.

Australia has not been immune (pun intended); the Australian Vaccination Network was founded in 1994 to engage in "Lobbying to ensure that vaccinations are never made compulsory for Australian children." To that end, it publicizes questions about vaccine safety and effectiveness, often relying on questionable science to do so. (Its tagline? "The AVN—because every issue has two sides.")

The group was recently compelled to change its name to the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network, in recognition of its actual perspective on matters. In the more recent decision, the group was stripped of its status as a charity because of the potential harmful impact of the information it promotes.

Australia's ABC News quotes Health Minister Jillian Skinner as saying, "Our government is determined to protect our children from the devastating consequences of vaccine-preventable disease" and "Forget the scaremongering. There is nothing to fear from vaccination."

In contrast, a spokesman for the Australian Vaccination-skeptics Network appears to have taken the "it's only a flesh wound" approach to bad news, saying, "Let it be known that we are entirely happy about what's happened. In fact, we're still celebrating. This is something that we've been wanting to happen for many years."