News Archive

Four months of preparation and four days of hearings drew an unprecedented level of public and professional input to the Hamilton tribunal on water system fluoridation. City councillors deserve thanks and congratulations for their robust fact-finding and thoughtful votes – for and against. But despite HCC’s exhaustive review of the controversial practice of adding hydrofluorosilicic […]

Health workers must speak out if their colleagues are putting patient safety at risk, says health minister Tony Ryall. Speaking at the GP CME, Mr Ryall cited speeches by health and disability commissioner Anthony Hill, saying patient safety is at risk when health workers know something is wrong, but say nothing. “[Anthony Hill] has advised […]

To be liberal “is to be elite”, a university lecturer once told me. I took it to mean only the privileged can be so inclined. The theory resonates each time I read anti-fluoride fulminations inked emphatically – and regularly – on the opinion pages of this newspaper. The missives also take me back to the […]

An attempt to shut down the fluoridation debate in Palmerston North has been thwarted at the council’s final meeting to amend its budget. Councillor Annette Nixon told councillors yesterday they should remove $10,000 that was added to its annual plan for next year to pay for an independent assessment of the evidence for and against […]

Anti-fluoride spokeswoman Mary Byrne has said Masterton District Council are “burying their heads in the sand” on the issue of water fluoridation. Lobby groups are calling for a halt to the fluoridation of Masterton’s drinking water, which they say causes adverse health effects. Masterton District Council received seven anti-fluoride submissions, towards their annual plan, which […]

“The science is settled” is one of the most unscientific things anyone can say, let alone the Chief Scientific Advisor.  The UK Government’s York Review (2000) said it was poor and contradictory: “We were surprised how poor the research was. Until better research is available legitimate scientific controversy will continue” There is huge doubt that […]

The Hamilton City Council has ample evidence to suggest it supported a vocal minority when it voted by seven votes to one to remove fluoride from the city’s water supply. To begin with, it has overturned the result of the 2006 referendum when 38 per cent of eligible Hamilton voters – more than typically vote […]

The main cause of tooth decay is sugar and any discussion about fluoride should include the health impacts of soft drinks, says Nelson Marlborough District Health Board principal dental officer Roby Beaglehole. Sugar was the common risk factor in tooth decay, obesity and type 2 diabetes, which was likely to bring the New Zealand health […]

The district health board’s principal dental officer said he was disappointed the Marlborough District Council chose not to discuss putting fluoride into the region’s water supply earlier this week. Dr Roby Beaglehole said the fluoride debate was a “personal issue” for some councillors and therefore the decision should be put into the hands of district […]

Prime Minster John Key has described anti-fluoride arguments as “overstated”. Speaking to the media at the National Fieldays today, Key said he supported fluoridation of water supplies, but it was a matter for local councils to decide. “In my view, the evidence strongly supports that fluoride actually stops tooth decay, overall the health benefits of […]