News Archive

A recent High Court judgment has kept in place directions issued to local authorities to fluoridate drinking water supplies. The judgment has also directed the Director-General of Health to assess whether each of the directions for local authorities is a demonstrably justified limit on the right of persons in those districts to refuse medical treatment. […]

The Health Ministry is appealing a High Court decision that found its order forcing 14 councils to fluoridate was unlawful. Some councils have paused their plans to fluoridate town supplies, while they wait for the legal matters to be sorted. The High Court found in November that former Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield did […]

Whang?rei District Council is pushing back against the government’s directive to fluoridate the district’s drinking water. The move comes amid funding concerns, claims of a loss of democracy and a councillor asking about a potential High Court injunction – which the council lawyer quickly dismissed. A fractious council meeting on 28 September decided on a […]

Fluoridation is an issue that has convulsed local politics in New Zealand for decades. After a quiet spell, a new law and post-Covid mistrust in public health measures have collided, which is likely to bring the issue back to a town or city near you. CHARLIE MITCHELL reports. It was a mild evening in Timaru. […]

The cost of compulsory fluoridation for Whangarei’s drinking water has increased by more than 50 per cent to $4.65 million – and ratepayers could end up paying. Whangarei District Council (WDC) politicians will on Thursday vote on awarding the contract for building the plant to fluoridate Whangarei’s water to Northland-based Bellcon Construction, and committing $4.65 […]

The National Party is relying on outdated and discredited science in its continued support of adding a hazardous waste (“fluoride”) to the public water supply. The most up-to-date scientific review has been completed by the US National Toxicology Program (NTP), finding that higher fluoride exposure is consistently associated with lower IQ in children (see page […]

Ryan Hamilton has voiced support for groups that spread misinformation about fluoridation. He refuses to be interviewed but the National Party claims he has changed his mind about the fluoridation of water, after more than two decades of public opposition. In social media posts, Hamilton claimed Covid deaths data had been inflated and once said […]

National Party leader Christopher Luxon has been grilled on a National Party candidate’s anti-fluoridation and anti-mandate position. Ryan Hamilton, favoured to win the Hamilton East electorate, has voiced support for groups that spread misinformation about fluoridation. Luxon said the comments were old and “utterly wrong,” and don’t reflect his current views. “I think the comments are […]

The Western Bay of Plenty (WBOP) District Council requested the Ministry of Health speak to them about the issues raised by the public – including the safety and ethics of water fluoridation. The Ministry of Health have refused to front-up. The Director-General of Health has ordered the WBOP District Council to start fluoridation by July […]

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council has failed to get an exemption from the Government’s water fluoridation mandate. Mayor James Denyer wrote to Manat? Hauora – Ministry of Health in July seeking an exemption from the mandate to fluoridate two of its eight water supplies, all of which are currently not fluoridated. The ministry issued a […]