News Archive

THE New Plymouth District Council yesterday ruled out any prospect of fluoride being added to the water supplies of Inglewood and Kaitake. In a surprise move, the council overturned a recommendation of its own policy committee to hold referenda in the two areas. Yesterday’s decision was clear, with only councillor Mike Merrick voting against the […]

Timaru people against the re-introduction of fluoride to the water supply, should pull back and look at all the evidence in an objective way, Director General of Health Karen Poutasi said yesterday. Dr Poutasi believes that all local bodies in New Zealand should put fluoride in their water supplies. She said it was the best […]

Fluoride is to stay out of the Tauranga water supply after a district council committee decided not to revisit the issue. The council’s policy committee on Monday threw out a proposal to establish a tribunal to hear evidence, believing the community has well and truly thrashed out the issue in the past. Bay of Plenty […]

Recent media coverage about an alleged dramatic increase in dental decay amongst children being the result of lack of fluoride fails to take into account several factors which, we feel, are important. The New Zealand Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, a professional body of dentists and physicians affiliated with the International Academy of Oral […]

To fluoridate or not to fluoridate the local spring water? That was the question that the people of Onehunga had to decide. Their will prevailed. The Auckland City Council voted 10-9 to retain the status quo, but not before passions were raised by both supporters and opponents of fluoridation. A referendum of sorts was held […]

NAPIER’S water supply — described yesterday as the best in New Zealand — is to stay unfluoridated. The city council’s policy and regulatory committee considered fluoridation yesterday in response to a letter from Health Minister Annette King. Mrs King wrote that the lack of added fluoride in Napier, Taradale and Bayview was “causing significant detrimental […]

A PUSH to rid Taranaki’s water supplies of fluoride is about to get serious again. New Plymouth woman Joy Hodson, who owns organic food shop Natural Selections, has organised a petition and a public meeting to be held on Monday night, in an attempt to lobby local councils, starting with the New Plymouth District Council, […]

The long-running controversy over whether Petone gets an unfluoridated water supply is threatening to reignite a much wider debate. An indication of how divisive it could become was given at Wednesday nights special meeting of Hutt City Council, which agreed to a deal with Wellington Regional Council to share the estimated $400,000 cost of reinstating […]

Auckland’s water supply will continue to be fluoridated, the Auckland Regional Council decided at a works committee meeting yesterday. The decision to continue with fluoridation was taken after the meeting was disrupted by an unsuccessful attempt from a Browns Bay woman, Patricia Cheel, to present an anti-fluoridation petition. The chairman of the committee, Mr Gary […]