Beattie Offers Incentives To Fluoridate Water

Premier & Treasurer,   Peter Beattie  16/10/05

Beattie Offers Incentives To Fluoridate Water

The Beattie Government is paving the way for more Queensland communities to introduce water fluoridation.

Premier Peter Beattie and Health Minister Stephen Robertson announced today the State Government will offer financial rebates to those councils who decide to fluoridate their local water supplies.

"The rebate will be for 100% of the capital cost of introducing fluoridation in communities with populations over 5,000 people," Mr Beattie said.

"It will apply for five years and be available to councils through the Department of Environment, Local Government, Planning and Women.

"The Government supports fluoridation where its' introduction is supported by the local community.

"We recognise the balance of scientific argument favours the use of fluoride in pursuit of better oral health.

"But we won't be mandating its compulsory use in Queensland communities.

"What we will be doing is allowing local communities to make up their own minds whether they want fluoride in their water and, if they do, we will help make it happen."

Five Queensland communities - Townsville, Mareeba, Moranbah, Dalby and Bamaga - currently have fluoridated water. This represents 5% of the state population.

There are 43 communities with populations over 5,000 people that could potentially be fluoridated at a capital cost of about $6 million.

Mr Robertson said the decision to provide a rebate went beyond the recommendation of Mr Peter Forster's Queensland Health Systems Review.

"We've gone a step further than Mr Forster's recommendation to join with local government and look at the feasibility of introducing water fluoridation.

"We're prepared to provide financial support to those communities that want it --- and respect the wishes of those communities that don't."

Mr Robertson said a recent Queensland Health survey of households showed that 60.3% of those people polled aged 18 and over supported the addition of fluoride to their water supply.

"Only 22.8% of those polled were against fluoridation."

"There is enough scientific evidence to suggest that fluoridation does have effective public health benefits and reduces the incidence of dental caries.

"Several recent major reviews of all the available evidence confirm that fluoridation has no adverse general health benefits.

'We endorse the use of fluoridation but we won't force it on Queenslanders."

Mr Robertson said the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies Act 1963 authorises local governments to add fluoride to public water supplies under their control.

"Neither the Minister for Health nor Queensland Health has any power to request or direct local government to introduce water fluoridation.

"This existing Queensland Government policy on fluoridation was formalised in 1997 by the Borbidge coalition government," he said.