AMA Qld calls on Gympie council to reverse its water fluoride decision

Qld’s peak medical body has renewed its call for Gympie Regional Council to continue fluoridating its water supply in the wake of a controversial decision the council now itself seems to be trying to walk back. See the video of what Gympie residents really think:

Queensland’s peak medical body has renewed its call for Gympie Regional Council to continue fluoridating its water supply in the wake of a controversial decision the council now itself seems to be trying to walk back.

The state branch of the Australian Medical Association on Wednesday issued a renewed plea for fluoridation to continue, saying its members had raised concerns about a growing rate and severity of oral disease, especially in children.

It follows criticism of the council’s September 26 decision to stop putting fluoride in the water, and revelations the AMA was not one of the experts initially contacted by the council before the vote.

Councillors voted 6:3 to drop the fluoridation program, which was first started in 2010 by the state government.

The vote followed receipt of a petition first lodged in November 2023 of 650 signatures, a number of which were from overseas residents from as far as Belgium and Argentina.

The council stopped short of actually removing fluoride due a technicality.

Councillor Allona Lahn called for a motion to end the program immediately after the vote, but after Mick Curran pointed out such a motion would require seven days notice under bylaws the council instead decided to return a report outlining options at a future meeting.

The AMA Queensland, in a letter to Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig and CEO Robert Jennings the day after the vote, said it was “alarmed” by reports of the vote.

“Doctors and dentists continue to be distressed by increasing rates of tooth decay and associated poor health outcomes, particularly among children,” AMAQ president Dr Nick Yim and CEO Dr Brett Dale said.

Gympie’s fight over fluoride continues with Queensland's branch of the Australian Medical Association (president Dr Nick Yim inset) calling for the local council to reverse its decision.

“They are also concerned by the widening dental health gap between patients living in regions such as Gympie and those in South East Queensland.”

On the other side of the coin, the council’s decision was hailed a win by the Gympie branch of the controversial My Place community, of which lead petitioner and 2024 council election candidate Marcel Claassens is a Facebook page member.

In a newsletter to Gympie My Place members published online three days after the meeting, the group thanked the six councillors (Ms Lahn, Mr Hartwig, Gordon Maudsley, Jess Milne, Warren McEwan, and Shane Warnes) “who stood up for the people of Gympie” and voted against continuing the program.

But a poll of Gympie Times readers revealed just the opposite - that most people want fluoridation.

The online poll asked if Queensland’s water should be fluoridated, and resulted in 75 per cent of the more than 1400 respondents voting that it should.

Also, a counter petition online organised by former councillor Bruce Devereaux has drawn more than 330 signatures since its launch at the end of September.

People on the street were more divided in their views, or simply declined to make their views known.

Mayor Glen Hartwig says the council has not ended the fluoridation of Gympie’s water, despite a vote by councillors against a staff recommendation to continue the program.

Mick Devlin said he understood it was a “vexed issue” but his own experience with people who grew up in homes and orphanages the impact it could have.

“Oral health is a key to general health,” Mr Devlin said.

“If you have poor oral health you will generally have other issues in your health.”

The My Place newsletter claimed the Gympie council “must now within 30 (days) prior to ceasing fluoridation notify Queensland Health and publish a notice … indicating the date it intends to cease fluoridation”.

However the council has rejected any claims it was ending its fluoridation program, telling the AMA in response to its letter “no decision has been made … at the present time”.

Mr Hartwig reinforced this position in an online video published on the council’s Facebook page on October 2, saying fluoridation of the region’s water supply “will not change in the coming months”.

He said the council’s next steps were to present a report “to discuss some options around community consultation so that we can better understand the desires and needs of the region”.

The Australian Medical Association Queensland says members have raised concerns about a growing increase in the rate and severity of oral disease, particularly among children. Picture: iStock

On October 10, the council again rejected claims it was removing fluoride from the water supply, and debunked claims made in the Gympie My Place newsletter accusing it of being “biased” in the information presented to councillors.

This view was also voiced at the September 26 meeting by Ms Lahn, who said during the vote “we haven’t had the other side of the story” and “at no given time have we been given any different opinions”.

A council spokeswoman said “representation was sought from organisations opposing fluoridation of drinking water however no response was received”.

An August council workshop on the petition and fluoride program did include presentations from Queensland Health Chief Dental Officer Dr Ben Stute, Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit physician Dr Nicolas Smoll, and SCPH Environmental health officer Paul Endres.

The AMA Queensland spokeswoman said on Thursday they had not been contacted by the council about the petition.

The Australian Dental Association Queensland has been approached for comment.