Dunedin council stands firm on fluoride issue

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Dunedin City Council (DCC) has no intention to alter its stance on the fluoridation of the city's water supply, despite being served "formal notice" of legal action from a national anti-fluoridation organisation, the DCC says.

Fluoridegate Legal Action NZ founder Mark Atkin said formal notice was issued on November 7 to "all of the minority of councils in New Zealand still fluoridating their water" that if they continued to do so they would face legal action.

Mr Atkin, who has an law degree from Victoria University, said causes of action against local councils would include breach of duty of care, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of statutory duty and criminal nuisance.

"I have been involved in this for over 30 years and most intensively for the last 11 years," Mr Atkin said.

"I am sick of the arrogant ignorance of the majority of councillors who, when faced with the published scientific evidence that fluoridation is harming our people as well as being ineffective, ignore this and pay blind obeisance to the lies and propaganda of promoters of this crime against humanity."

DCC city environment general manager Tony Avery said the DCC had received the formal notice from Fluoridegate Legal Action NZ, but had no intention of responding to the letter.

Mr Avery said the council's policy on the fluoridation of the city's water supply was as "had been expressed numerous times before", and the council had taken the advice of the Ministry of Health in the matter.

The DCC decided in 2008 to consult residents through the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) process on the policy of supplying fluoridated water to the city and that only areas receiving water from the Mt Grand and Southern water treatment plants, whether intermittently or permanently, would receive fluoridated water in the interim, while areas receiving water from council schemes other than Mt Grand or Southern water treatment plants, would continue to receive non-fluoridated water.

Mr Avery said the Ministry of Health had recently established the National Fluoride Information Service (NFIS) to review literature and provide advice to the Government and water supply authorities.