News Archive

COUNCIL will have the opportunity to reverse a 46-year-old policy of water fluoridation. Local governments now have the power to decide on whether their region’s water supplies should be fluoridated, and a report will hit Western Downs councillors’ desks this week. Dalby’s water supply has been fluoridated since May 1966, while Chinchilla only had the […]

MARANOA Regional Council has promised to investigate fluoridation of local water as Queensland Health offers to discuss the health benefits of fluoridation with every council. Council’s director – infrastructure services Barry Omundson said that as legislation has changed, the council would review its position on fluoridation soon. “If council decided to fluoridate Roma’s water supply, […]

IT’S been two years since fluoride officially started pouring into Mackay’s water supply and the contentious issue has managed to hold on by the skin of its ugly teeth. Yesterday, the Cairns Regional Council chose to halt the flow of fluoride in their water supplies. A Cairns Regional Council spokeswoman was reported as saying, “If […]

The Cairns City Council will remove fluoride from its water supply, saying it amounts to the “involuntary medication” of residents. But the council says it won’t be doing anything to determine if there’s broad community support for fluoridation to continue. “If people want to have access to fluoride, they need to take that up with […]

THE Fraser Coast will have its fluoride future decided in February with Mayor Gerard O’Connell confirming the issue would go before a council vote next month. The announcement came after the State Government removed its mandate for fluoride to be added to drinking supplies in November. Since then a number of other Queensland councils have […]

AT least five Gold Coast councillors will defy Australia’s top medical professionals and push to remove fluoride from drinking water. The move, if successful, could cost ratepayers more than $10 million via a $60 one-off levy, according to a memo written by Gold Coast Water director Paul Heaton. The council, on the eve of a […]

MAYOR Paul Antonio has issued a stern warning to councillors over “premature discussion” about a impending decision about the region’s water fluoridation program. Conjecture about the approaching verdict began after a public Twitter post by Cr Nancy Sommerfield last Monday. “I will be urging TRC to stop fluoridating Toowoomba’s water,” she posted. “(Ninety-eight per cent) […]

TABLELANDS Regional Council is looking to sell fluoridation equipment worth thousands of dollars that was installed at its Kuranda and Malanda water treatment plants but never used. Council was obliged to install the equipment under the then-Labor government’s Water Fluoridation Act, despite community outrage over the prospect of fluoridated drinking supplies. Council delayed commissioning the […]

TOOWOOMBA Regional Councillor John Gouldson is unlikely to support moves to dismantle the region’s existing water fluoridation system. Cr Gouldson has reserved his judgment until he is presented with all the data at tomorrow’s council meeting, but said his gut feeling was that he would “vote for the status quo to remain”. The pivotal verdict […]

IT HAS the authority to turn off the fluoride tap but the Southern Downs Regional Council does not consider water fluoridation a significant issue. The council started adding fluoride to Stanthorpe’s water supply in May 2011 after the previous State Government mandated fluoride be added to water supplies serving 1000 people or more. But, the […]