Whakatane

Whakatane Campaign

Elected Councillors 2019

Whakatane Votes to Restart Fluoridation on 11 January 2016

BOP Times Editorial: Fluoridation common sense 13th February 2016

Whakatane Beacon Council flip-flops on fluoride 12th February 2016 (see below)

newshub Whakatane u-turns on fluoride 12th February 2016

NZ Herald Whakatane fluoride flip flop 11th February 2016

Radio NZ Whakatane flip-flops on fluoride 11th February 2016

Whakatane Voted to Stop Fluoridation on 28 Januay 2016

Open Letter by Whakatane Councillor Russell Orr 7th February 2016 (Note Clr Orr states he is opposed to fluoridation but disagree based on his actions.)

Science Media Centre 1st February 2016 Whakatane fluoride decision fuels Govt re-think

FIND Press Release 1st February 2016 Dentist group supports Council’s Fluoride decision

NewstalkZB 1st February 2016 Govt looking at legislative changes around fluoridation

TV3 31st January 2016 No more fluoride in Whakatane water

Radio New Zealand 31st January 2016 Government considers fluoridation law change

Radio New Zealand 31st January 2016 Whakatane fluoride decision criticised

Radio New Zealand 30th January 2016 Whakatane mayor stands by fluoride decision

MSN 30th January 2016  Whakatane Council votes to scrap fluoridation

Radio New Zealand 28th January 2016 Whakatane Council votes to scrap fluoridation

NZ Herald 28th January 2016 Council votes to stop fluoridation

Fluoride Free NZ Press Release 28th January 2016 Whakatane STOPS Water Fluoridation: Money to Be Spent on Oral Health Care Programme

Bay of Plenty Times 17th April 2013 Latest statistics boost anti-fluoride case

Sunlive 23rd May 2013 Concern over fluoride levels

SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE! Today 28th January 2016, after 44 years of water fluoridation, Whakatane District Council has voted to end the out-dated practice!!!

Watch Jon Burness make the announcement directly after the Whakatane District Council meeting.

Bay of Plenty Dental Health Statistics 2003 – 2013

See the Bay of Plenty Dental Health Statistics presented to Whakatane District Council

Average Number of fillings in 5 year olds

Percent of Year 8 children with no dental decay

Number of 5 year olds with no dental decay

Average number of fillings in Year 8 children

Council flip-flops on fluoride

The Whakatane Beacon

Posted February 12th, 2016

by Staff

Gerard van Beek, councillor

FLUORIDE is back in Whakatane’s water supply.

Whakatane District Council has U-turned, just two weeks after controversially voting to remove fluoride from the water supply of Whakatane and Ohope residents.

Yesterday, in a packed council chambers, with at least 50 people in attendance, councillors voted six-to-four to reinstate fluoridation.

Integral in the decision was councillor Gerard van Beek who voted to remove fluoridation on January 28 – then voted to retain it yesterday.

He said he originally voted in favour of removing fluoride to get the attention of the Bay of Plenty District Health Board although he was unsure of the effectiveness of that strategy.

“Last time it was [about] trying to send a message to the DHB that they have to do something to better their services to the rural community.

“If I had voted against it today, would that have changed anything”, he said.

He said his opinion was that if the DHB were to provide a comprehensive oral hygiene programme to children, there would be fewer dental health issues.

“My concern is with the DHB, they need to deliver dental services better. Healthy teeth don’t need fluoride, mouths with good hygiene don’t need fluoride because there’s no dental decay. Even if there is dental decay, I’m not sure that fluoride fixes it,” he said.

He said in the absence of any significant indications that fluoride was dangerous, it was his opinion that adding it would be “of no concern”.

“At the end of the day it does no harm, potentially,” he said.

Also supporting deputy mayor Judy Turner in her motion, and voting fluoride back in, were councillors Julie Jukes, John Pullar, Andrew Iles and Russell Orr.

Mayor Tony Bonne, who had promised not to use his casting vote this time, voted to remove fluoride as did councillors Scott Jarrett, Alison Silcock and Dave Sheaff.

Councillor George Johnston, the fifth supporter of removing fluoride at the January meeting, was in hospital and could not attend.

He told the Beacon he would have again voted to stop fluoridation.

“I would have voted as I did before,” he said.

He said he doubted any new information would have come to light at the meeting for him to reconsider his position.

“I’ve been reading quite a bit and going through the processed data. At this stage I have no reason to change my decision,” he said.

Mr Bonne advised councillors they could vote by conscience over the notice of motion brought forward by Mrs Turner.

In her opening arguments Ms Turner said the council had “dishonoured” their responsibility to ratepayers by not abiding by the results of the 2013 referendum.

“Why hold a referendum of any kind if we have no intention of listening,” she said.

“Here we are in an election year with a chance to prove we do listen and we dropped the ball.”

She said she had wanted council to make the 2013 referendum binding but was voted down.

“I assumed from that point on, as someone who would love to see fluoride in every water supply managed by council, that it was possible I would not get my way in every community,” she said.

Mr Puller said the desires of the electorate had to be the council’s primary responsibility.

“We live in a democratic country and majority votes will take the day,” he said.

Mr Orr said he did not agree with fluoridation but sometimes council’s obligations must overrule personal belief. “I’m philosophically against the principle of medicating public water supplies … over the years that philosophy has been rubbed a little bit around the edges because I’ve seen quite a few things that don’t fit with my philosophy, that I understand where we need to sometimes step in and help people who, for whatever reason, aren’t able to look after themselves. That is what we do as a council,” he said.

Mr Bonne said council had taken due diligence in reaching their decision to remove fluoride from the water supply.

“The process we have gone through is not just a knee-jerk process, it started in 2010. It has taken to 2016 to come to this decision,”

He said that it was the opinion of the council’s lawyer that the Janurary 28 decision to stop fluoridation was legitimate.

Mr Jarrett said in his opinion the issue of fluoride in the water supply went against the principles of free choice.

“By voting not to fluoridate water, I haven’t taken anything away from people who wish to use fluoride,” he said.

He said that testimony from Whakatane dentist John Twaddle pointed out that despite water being fluoridated since 1972, there was a chronic problem right in the heart of fluoridated Whakatane, and he could not ignore that.

“The crux of this is that society has changed to such an extent that fluoride is now, in today’s world, not relevant and not working,” he said.

Mrs Jukes said she supported fluoridation because it was the will of the voters who took part in the referendum.

“I am of the opinion that we asked the public their opinion on this specific issue so it is democratic of us to actually listen to the community,” she said.

Mrs Silcock said the council decided to have a non-binding referendum because it was to be used as a guideline for their decisions, not a dictate.

“I think there has been enough information to say that ingested fluoride is a very inefficient way of delivering fluoride to the teeth,” she said.

Mr Sheaff said he voted against fluoride at the previous meeting and he had not changed his mind. He said that he thought the number of people who voted in the 2013 referendum was too low for council to pin their votes on.

“Morally I cannot bring myself to put some kind of acid into the water; it just doesn’t make sense. We have plenty of other ways of getting fluoride for our teeth,” he said.

Mr Iles said council should be aware of the desires of the whole district. “We may be elected by our ward but we are here to represent the whole district,” he said.

He said Mr Twaddle pointed out that he could tell by looking into children’s mouths if they came from a community that did not fluoridate their water supply.

How they voted

FOR:

• Judy Turner
• Julie Jukes
• John Pullar
• Andrew Iles
• Russell Orr
• Gerard Van Beek

AGAINST

• Tony Bonne
• Scott Jarrett
• Alison Silcock
• Dave Sheaff

Absent: George Johnston

SOURCE URL: http://whakatanebeacon.co.nz/2016/02/council-flip-flops-on-fluoride/

Whakatane Fluoridation Information

What was the outcome of the 2015 Long Term Plan on the fluoridation issue?

Whakatane held a referendum in 2013. Fluoridation to continue.

What parts of Whakatane are fluoridated?

Whakatāne and Ōhope water supply areas.

What fluoride chemicals are used to fluoridate Whakatane’s water supply?

IXOM (formerly Orica) supplies Hydrofluorosilicic Acid H₂SiF₆ to Council to fluoridate.

What level is Whakatane fluoridated at?

Between 0.55g/m3 and 0.65g/m3.

Where is the waste water for Whakatane discharged?

600m in to the sea via an outfall pipe.

Is there a Resource consent for the discharge of fluoridation chemicals into the sea?

No.

Can you provide the section of the consent that permits?

No. Fluoride is not specifically mentioned in the resource consent.

Is there a Resource Consent held by Whakatane District Council to add Hydrofluorosilicic Acid to the Whakatane’s water supplies?

No.

How much per annum is spent on Hydrofluorosilicic acid?

Approximately $750. 

How much per annum is spent on implementing water fluoridation?

Approximately $5,500.

How much per annum is spent on testing the levels of water fluoridation?

Approximately $750. 

How much does it cost per Tonne of Hydrofluorosilicic Acid?

Approximately $460. 

How frequent is the levels of fluoride in the water tested?

Weekly.

Who performs the testing?

Hills Laboratory.

When did fluoridation begin in Whakatane and has there been any public consultation since beginning?

Fluoridation started in 1969. A referendum was held in 2013.

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