The Whakatāne District Council’s Policy Committee has adopted a notice of motion to revoke its previous decision that “no fluoride be added to any District water supply”.

At a special meeting of the committee today, Council elected members voted 6:4 in favour of the notice of motion, which will see fluoridation of the Whakatāne and Ōhope water supplies resume within a matter of days. Elected members also voted by the same margin to have a report produced on the feasibility of introducing fluoride to the water supplies of the District communities which supported fluoridation in the last referendum on the subject in 2013.

As with the previous debate at the Policy Committee meeting on 28 January, Council members expressed strong views for and against fluoridation.

Those seeking the reintroduction of fluoride cited:

• The strong support of New Zealand and international health authorities for the fluoridation of water supplies, as an effective way of delivering positive dental health outcomes
• That the majority of residents in Whakatāne (65.8%) and Ōhope (70.5%) supported fluoridation in the 2013 referendum on the subject
• That the High Court had reaffirmed territorial authorities’ ability to fluoridate water supplies, provided that the level of concentration complied with water quality standards

Elected members speaking against the motion stated that:

• As the 2013 referendum was ‘non-binding’, other factors could be taken into account
• Scientific information on the subject supported views both for and against fluoridation
• In the absence of a scientific consensus, the views of anti-fluoride campaigners that fluoride was neither effective nor safe should be given weight
• If the fluoridation of water supplies was appropriate, that decision should be made by the Ministry of Health and mandated by Government

Divisions were called on both Notice of Motion proposals, with Deputy Mayor Judy Turner and Councillors Russell Orr, Andrew Iles, Julie Jukes, John Pullar and Gerard van Beek voting in favour; and Mayor Tony Bonne and Councillors Scott Jarrett, Dave Sheaff and Alison Silcock voting against. Councillor George Johnston was not able to attend the meeting.