Australia - Mackay council votes to remove fluoride from water supply after divisive debate

Mayor of regional council in Queensland, Australia, says opinion polls showed most residents opposed fluoridation

Queensland’s Mackay regional council has voted to remove fluoride from its water supply.
The 6-5 vote was returned after “a good debate” on Wednesday morning and a number of opinion polls indicating residents were in favour of the move, its mayor, Greg Williamson, says.
“Everybody made a decision based on their research and the people they’ve spoken to along the way,” he said.
Legislation was passed under Anna Bligh in 2008 for Queensland towns with populations of more than 1,000 to have their water supplies fluoridated but the Liberal National government led by Campbell Newman reversed the requirement in 2012.
A report was attached to the council’s meeting agenda on Tuesday which concluded both sides of the “fluoride debate” had been heard and the council should make a decision that is in the best interests of the community.
The issue had been a controversial one, with 170 people attending a town hall-style meeting last month to discuss fluoridation.
A recent phone survey showed 46.7% of the community opposed fluoridation while 39.1% supported it and 14.2% were undecided, the Daily Mercury reported.
A poll on the council’s Connecting Mackay site showed 262 respondents support water fluoridation in Mackay, while 309 did not and two people were unsure.
According to Queensland Health, 24 of Queensland’s 77 councils still add fluoride to one or more of their water supplies.
The department supports the fluoridation of drinking water as an effective, efficient and safe measure to prevent tooth decay.
Mackay Regional Council considered the views of a range of bodies opposed to fluoride, some of whom believe it’s an “outdated form of mass medication”.
More than 150 major health organisations, including the World Health Organisation, the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Dental Association, support water fluoridation.
A three-year University of Queensland study released last year showed levels of tooth decay in children dropped 19% in the Logan-Beaudesert area since the introduction of fluoridation.