Council ignores dental science

MENTIONING the word fluoride is a bit like walking into a gunpowder store with a naked flame. It's a flashpoint for heated debate.

Now more fuel has been fed to the flames with a decision by Whakatane District Council - albeit by a single vote - to stop fluoridating the town's water supply.

Given residents have been drinking fluoridated water for years, this decision has flummoxed many.

Mayor Tony Bonne, who moved the resolution, said he was "convinced" by the evidence against fluoridation. But in a township with high levels of deprivation it's a decision that will have long-term impacts on those who can ill afford to miss out on any sort of dental protection, and who have limited access to dental services.

Also, a non-binding ratepayer referendum two years ago showed 60 per cent favoured retaining fluoride.

However, only 30 per cent bothered to vote and it was on that basis, and armed with "expert opinion", that the mayor pushed for change.

Mr Bonne also said it should not be left to local bodies to make public health decisions and he would welcome stronger direction from central government. He will garner support for that statement but others will see it as taking away the rights of a community to set its own agenda.

But there is another aspect to the Whakatane decision that will resonate with Whanganui folk, and that's the influence of the referendum.

Our community is not unfamiliar with them and the ways these can be used to promote political aims.

Referenda have their place - but they need to be binding, otherwise they become a futile, money-wasting exercise. Had that been the case in Whakatane, its citizens would have retained a modicum of healthcare.

Whakatane dentist John Twaddle said the decision would have a devastating impact on children's oral health. He's been practising in the region for more than 40 years and says he can almost tell by looking in a child's mouth whether they live in an area with fluoridation.

"It's a travesty that the council has ignored both scientific evidence and residents' wishes," he said. Amen to that.