Candidates' positions
MOST candidates seeking Bay of Plenty District Health Board seats say they favour fluoridating public water supplies.
One of the new responsibilities district health boards will be expected to tackle after the October 8 election and when the required legislation is passed will be whether or not to make water fluoridation mandatory.
In March, Bay of Plenty District Health Board adopted a position statement in favour of fluoridating public water supplies.
In April, health minister Johnathan Coleman announced that the responsibility for deciding whether to fluoridate water supplies would be removed from district councils and given to health boards.
Seven of the 11 health seats on the board will be decided in the election; the remaining four board members are appointed by the health minister.
Twenty candidates have been nominated for the health board.
The Beacon asked them to clarify their positions on fluoridation and how they would vote when legislation giving them the authority to decide is passed.
Of the sixteen candidates who responded, 11 were in favour of fluoridation, three said they were against it and two were undecided.
Ron Scott, an independent candidate from Tauranga, who chaired the health board’s committee on fluoridation, said before taking part in the committee he did not hold a strong view regarding fluoridation.
“I read all the raw research referenced by the staff experts and questioned the data closely. I insisted on hearing and seeing the raw research where staff advice varied with the submissions,” he said.
As a result, he said he “fully supported” the health board’s position in support of fluoridation.
Candidate Ron Chamberlain said he believed the decision should be up to the electorate.
“The public would have to make that type of decision on water, what they want would have to go to referendum for a clear choice,” he said.
Tauranga candidate Marion Guy said she was in favour of “targeted interventions” that would improve dental health before voting on fluoridation.
“This issue has to go before the health select committee before a decision will need to be made. I wouldn’t vote for it until such time as the intervention options are fully explored,” she said.
Tauranga candidate Yvette Lamare said she believed fluoridating water was “unethical” and allowed the Government to medicate whole communities without their consent.
“The dose of fluoride put into water cannot be controlled, it goes to everyone regardless of age, health and vulnerability. No health agency in fluoridated countries is monitoring fluoride exposure or the side effects,” she said.