Queensland Council Votes Fluoride out of Its Water Supply

After 15 years, a regional city north of Brisbane will go fluoride-free.

A person fills up a glass of water water from a tap in San Anselmo, Calif., on July 6, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A regional Queensland council voted last month to remove fluoride from its drinking water, sparking concern from the town’s deputy mayor.

Gympie Regional Council Deputy Mayor Nadine ‘Dolly’ Jensen said the decision to stop fluoridating the town’s water supply may cause future generations to have “every second tooth missing.”

“You can hear the banjos playing,” she told the ABC’s 7.30 program. “We are just putting ourselves into the hell town era. We will look just like hillbilly rednecks.”

During the council meeting, Jensen queried why the vote on fluoride could be made without community consultation, when actions such as changing the name of a park required it.

“Believing things like in the U.S., it’s causing autism, Panadol and things like that, we did have the medical experts here talking to us and giving us the real science and recommending us to leave it in and here we are going against the science to appease a few conspiracy theorists and sovereign citizens without asking the people of Gympie how they feel about it,” she said.

Jensen was one of only three councillors who opposed the motion put forth by Councillor Allona Lahn.

Mayor Glen Hartwig and Councillors Shane Warnes, Warren McEwan, and Gordon Mudsley supported Lahn’s motion, which passed on Sept. 24.

Aside from Jensen, only Councillors Warren Polley and Mick Curran opposed.

‘The People Don’t Want It’

Councillor Lahn defended her motion, saying it was in the interests of locals.

In a blog post on her website in 2019, Councillor Lahn referred to fluoride in drinking water as “the slow poisoning of the people” and cited a Harvard study she claimed linked fluoride to lower IQ in children.

“Fluoride is toxic, most of Europe does not have fluoride in their water, and studies show no increase in tooth decay,” she wrote.

Fifteen Years of Fluoridation Ends

Fluoride has been added to Gympie’s water for 15 years.

During the September council meeting, some councillors raised concerns about limited community consultation, while others said consultation would cost tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In the state of Queensland, local councils can decide individually whether to fluoridate their drinking water. Of the state’s 77 local government areas, around 50 do not add fluoride.

Advocacy group, Fluoride Free Australia, which has long campaigned against the practice, has linked fluoride use to organ damage, lower IQs, hip injuries, neurological conditions, and ADHD.

However, the Australian Dental Association (ADA) stands by its widespread use.

“Community water fluoridation continues to be the safest, most cost-effective, and equitable means to provide protection from tooth decay and has been successfully utilised in Australia for more than 60 years,” the ADA said in a statement.

The Epoch Times contacted Councillors Jensen and Lahn for additional comment.