Gympie council ends water fluoridation in controversial 5-3 vote

The Gympie council has controversially voted to stop putting fluoride in the town water supply after 15 years, triggering claims by one councillor it was full of ‘conspiracy theorists and sovereign citizens’. Vote in our poll:

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig and four councillors joined forces on Wednesday to eliminate fluoride from the region’s town water supply.

Councillors Mick Curran, Warren Polley and Dolly Jension opposed the move, and councillor Jess Milne bizarrely declared a “conflict of interest,” saying she had a strong personal opinion on the matter, and left the room.

The motion was passed 5:3, with Mr Hartwig, Shane Warnes, Allona Lahn, Warren McEwan and Gordon Maudsley voting to get rid of fluoride.

Ms Lahn cited a “study in North California” which allegedly linked children’s fluoride exposure to lower IQ levels.

Ms Jensen told the council it was sending the region back to the days of “hell-town” with its decision.

“We are putting ourselves back into the hell-town era,” she said, comparing the decision to Donald Trump linking paracetamol to autism, another claim that lacked scientific basis.

Mr Curran told the meeting he was happy for Gympie to keep fluoride in its water, given the state government had not made a decision against it.

Before recusing herself, Ms Milne joined Ms Jensen in expressing concern that the council had not gathered community opinion on the subject, which the council heard could have cost from $20,000 up to $300,000.

The issue has been the subject of debate in the council for more than a year, with medical experts previously advocating to keep adding fluoride to the water.

Councillors Dolly Jensen and Jessica Milne expressed concern the community had not been consulted prior to the motion, with other councillors noting the issue had dragged on before council for more than a year. Picture: Gympie Regional Council

“We did have medical experts here … giving us the real science and recommending us to leave it in … here we are, going against the science to appease a few conspiracy theorists and sovereign citizens. I can’t support that,” Ms Jensen said.

“If we can blow the dough on a consultation to change the name of a park, we need to blow the dough (here).”

In a move that appeared to confuse numerous councillors, Ms Milne said she had “grappled with this (motion) for an entire week,” and declared a conflict of interest due to “strong personal opinions”, then left until the motion was passed.

“It’s an interesting position to take,” Mr Hartwig said.

Gympie Regional Council voted five against three in favour of discontinuing fluoridation of the region’s drinking water.

He said “we all have personal opinions,” but making decisions alongside the council was “part of being an elected representative”.

Ms Lahn said the medical experts the council had previously called in “advocated for fluoride (in water), but said toothpaste was the better option”.

“Given that this has gone on for 21 months, I think today’s vote is about ‘let’s move on’,” she said.

Originally published as Gympie council ends water fluoridation in controversial 5-3 vote