News Archive

The director-general of health has denied Tauranga City Council an extension which would have allowed the city to delay water fluoridation. Tauranga City Council had sought to delay fluoridation, which was set to occur on 1 November. However, in a letter last Friday, Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati turned down the request. Tauranga Mayor […]

Tauranga’s new council must decide whether to continue work to fluoridate the city’s water or try for an extension ahead of a looming deadline, otherwise it risks large fines. At a meeting on Monday, the council will consider whether to start adding fluoride to the water supply from mid-September to comply with the November 30 […]

The Waitaki District Council has begun to introduce fluoride to the Oamaru water supply after a directive from the director-general of health. It began fluoridation in Oamaru the week before last after the water plant equipment was certified for fluoride purposes. Between 0.7ppm (parts per million) to 1ppm is to be added in accordance with […]

A meeting where a scathing review of Wellington Water was discussed saw Upper Hutt’s mayor lash out over its failings, while other council leaders aired their problems with its deep-seated cultural issues. An independent report revealed Wellington Water staff took four months to tell the region’s councils about a $51 million budgeting error. It also […]

Oamaru’s water supply will begin to be fluoridated from this week, following certification of plant equipment, and in line with the statutory duty of mandatory compliance under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021. The supply will be fluoridated in line with Water Services (Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand) Regulations 2022 and […]

The Waitaki District Council will begin fluoridating the Oamaru water supply next week following the plant equipment being certified. From 0.7ppm (parts per million) to 1ppm will be added in accordance with the directive from director-general of health Dr Diana Sarfati. Meanwhile, Fluoride Free Waitaki remains opposed to the directive and held a “fluoride information […]

Two anti-fluoridation groups have been ordered to pay more than $40,000 after their failed bid to prevent a council from re-commencing fluoridation of its water supply. The groups, Fluoride Action Network (NZ) Inc. and New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science, failed earlier this year in an urgent application for judicial review proceedings seeking to […]

Tararua District Council (TDC) is proceeding with the installation and commissioning of a fluoridation plant in Dannevirke despite continued opposition from some community members. A council spokesperson said the extended deadline instructed by the Director-General of Health on June 6 was on track for completion on September 30. The directive to fluoridate Dannevirke’s drinking water […]

Far North District councillors have voted nine-to-one to seek a two-year delay in adding fluoride to some town water supplies. In 2022, then director-general of health Sir Ashley Bloomfield ordered 14 councils around the country to fluoridate some or all of their public water supplies. That included the Far North District Council, which was supposed to start adding […]

Simultaneous protests in Hastings just a few hundred metres apart on Friday offered a chance for residents to decide which issue they cared most passionately about – fluoridation of the water or an impending climate catastrophe. It was all set to be a fascinating case study in what fires people up, but after the organiser for the […]