Image: Jack Lyons
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has vowed to help smaller councils cope with the infrastructure costs of the introduction of fluoride into the drinking supply.
It might seem like a long-time coming, but there are still many smaller councils and regional areas that haven’t had the luxury of having fluoride introduced into their water supply, which has potentially devastating health consequences to local populations that are unlikely to have immediate access to dental care.
Although Australia has been fluoridating its water supply since 1953 when it was introduced in Tasmania, a political tug-of-war over the issue emerged in Queensland under the Campbell Newman government as the Liberal National Party gargled out its responsibility to treat the state’s drinking water by shifting decision-making and cost burdens on to local government.
At the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) conference on the Gold Coast, Ms Palaszczuk said the government will look at reintroducing a capped infrastructure grants program for smaller councils wanting to introduce the chemical.
However a similar program was cut by the Newman government, Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I don’t want the infrastructure costs associated with fluoridating water to be a barrier for councils when considering its introduction,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said when the former assistance program was cut, there were numerous councils, including many Indigenous councils, which never had the opportunity to take-up the capital works funding.
“My Government will look at re-introducing a similar grants program to fund the initial capital works costs for introducing fluoridated water,” she said.
According to Ms Palaszczuk, in the near future, the Labor government will finalise the structure of the grants program and consult with interested councils.
“The program will be capped, with priority given to smaller councils with limited financial capacity to shoulder these costs themselves,” she said.
At the conference, Ms Palaszczuk proclaimed that she is a “strong supporter” of water fluoridation and the health benefits that come with it.
“My message to Councils is, if you make the decision to introduce fluoride into your drinking water, we will help you pay for the upfront costs – that is my commitment,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Aside from that, the introduction of fluoride into the water supply has often been its own political theatre, as the Australian Dental Association (ADA) has called a “noisy minority” of fluoride dissidents who have been successful in having fluoride removed from water supplies in some areas of Queensland and are also targeting Western Australia.
The ADA said the anti-fluoride crowd has been spruiking unfounded claims that fluoride causes a range of health issues and lowers IQ.
“These groups have targeted local councils after the state government handed over the responsibility to them for what is clearly a national issue, an error of judgement that the Australian Dental Association has repeatedly criticised,” the ADA said.
Dr Rick Olive, President of the Australian Dental Association has said, “It’s unacceptable that local councils are giving in to the pressure of a small number of fanatics and are completely ignoring evidence and the recommendations from organisations like the ADA, the World Health Organisation, and the AMA on this vitally important issue”.
