Watchdog in sniff round 'miracle' cult

The Mercury/March 15, 2003
By Ellen Whinnett

A cult which offers wands and waters as miracle cures for ailments including cancer has come under the scrutiny of Tasmania's Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading.

The group, which calls itself Infinity Forms of Yellow Remember, has been operating in Tasmania for at least three years. Late last year, it fell foul of New South Wales' fair trading laws and was ordered to change its marketing, after it agreed bottles of water it was selling as a miracle cure for a minimum of $40 were in fact ordinary distilled water.

Hobart Alderman Ron Christie has been campaigning against the cult for years, and yesterday revealed the move by Tasmania's Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading.

The cult, which trades under the name Infinity Forms of Yellow Remember Pty Ltd, is believed to have between 300 and 400 members across Australia.

Former Tasmanian man Gerald Hart Attrill, who now calls himself Jessa O' My Heart, founded the company and is now based in northern New South Wales.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2000 he was an arts graduate with a psychology major from the University of Tasmania in 1968 and formed the company Infinity in 1997.

The cult sells so-called miracle cures for anything between $40 and $6000, and says they heal everything from cancer to mental illness.

Mr Christie first complained about the cult when he discovered nurses working in Tasmania's hospitals were attempting to sell the claimed magic cures to patients, some of whom were terminally ill.

"The use of these magic wands, waters and motifs has been happening within our hospital system for more than three years and to my knowledge this cult group has been operating in Tasmania since 1997," Ald Christie said.

He welcomed the NSW decision, saying Tasmania must follow this action now a precedent had been set.