The Director-General of Health says she's looking at the legal options for councils if they refuse to add fluoride to their drinking water.
Fourteen councils around the country have been given a directive by Dr Diana Sarfati and health officials are actively looking at further areas to be added.
Last week Whangārei District Council, which has a deadline of March next year to add fluoride, voted against doing so. That's despite having the equipment — paid for by the Ministry of Health — already in place.
Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said there was a range of reasons councillors chose to vote against it, including whether it would have the desired impact on dental health.
He has written to Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and health officials.
Fourteen councils have been given the directive to do so and while half have complied, others are risking hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. (Source: 1News)
"We are wanting them to come back to the table, actually sit at the table with us and have those discussions, those adult discussions, rather than turning around and going 'you must do this'."
Cocurullo said he personally wasn't sold on the benefits of fluoridation, based on the evidence he'd seen.
Sarfati reminded councils that if they don't comply, there could be penalties.
"Just to be clear, this is a legal directive," she said. "We're very disappointed in that position from Whangārei ... but we will certainly be looking at all of our options to deal with that."
If councils don't comply, they could be fined up to $200,000, plus an extra $10,000 per day. While half of the 14 councils under directives have already added fluoride to their water, the Far North and Cambridge have missed their deadlines.
"So we're working really closely with those councils," Sarfati said. "They were a bit slow at the beginning to get moving but they are making really good progress now."
Nelson City Council today voted to follow the Government directive to add fluoride by the end of the year. The council heard from Nelson Clean Water Coalition about the lack of consultation and the safety of adding the mineral.
The council also heard from public health officials who said the evidence showed fluoride is safe and an affordable way of improving dental health.
Earlier this year, the High Court ordered the Director-General of Health to reassess the instructions made to the 14 local authorities, taking into consideration the right Kiwis have to refuse medical treatment. Yesterday, Sarfati announced she'd completed that process and the directives were justified.
Attention will now turn to the 27 other local authorities where the ministry has signalled they are actively considering adding fluoride.
