Waipā District Council is ignoring Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community Board’s request to push back against the Director General of Health’s directive to introduce fluoride to Cambridge water.
Kane Titchener – Three
Board deputy chair Kane Titchener asked the council to seek an interim order, or some other appropriate legal remedy, to put fluoridation on hold until the end of a new court case involving Health New Zealand at the board’s October meeting. His motion was approved three votes to one.
“Contravening the directive is an offence under the Health Act 1956,” said council service delivery group manager Dawn Inglis in a statement.
Titchener’s motion also asked the council to liaise and work with one or more of the 13 other directed councils to push back against the directive and acknowledge to the community that the US Federal Court had ruled that adding fluoride to the water supply at 0.7 to 1ppm is an unreasonable risk relating to neurotoxicity.
Dawn Inglis
“The Ministry of Health makes all decisions around fluoride,” Inglis said.
“Waipā District Council was directed by the Ministry to add fluoride to the Cambridge water supply in July 2022, and was advised it would receive funding to help pay for the work required. We are continuing to work with the Ministry of Health with respect to the funding agreement, in line with this directive.”
Inglis could not say when fluoride would be introduced.
“There is no funding agreement in place, and as the work required to comply with the fluoridation directive would take around nine months, any change is still some way off,” she said.
“Waipā District Council is reviewing the future delivery of its drinking water, wastewater, and storm water (three waters) in line with the Government’s Local Water Done Well legislation. This may involve a potential collaboration with other Waikato councils. Any further action on the fluoride directive will be considered within this wider overview of our water services.”
Titchener told The News he was disappointed with the council’s response as his motion was to seek an interim order, or some other appropriate legal remedy and work with other councils who are pushing back against the order.
“I disagree with what they have said,” he said.
He was expecting an invitation to speak at the council’s Service Delivery committee meeting on November 19.
“If I don’t get that, it will be quite a big deal,” he said.
Water. Photo: Pixabay
