Christchurch candidate’s secret fluoridation claims ‘ludicrous’

Claims the Government has secretly fluoridated parts of Christchurch have been slammed as “ludicrous”.

New Zealand Public Party Christchurch East candidate Glen McConnell said water supplied to east Christchurch had been secretly fluoridated for almost a decade.

McConnell posted the claim on his Facebook page, which has 297 followers, on September 17.

“…does East Christchurch deserve better than being secretly fluoridated by the last two governments? Because that is exactly what has been happening!!”

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Christchurch City Council acting head of three waters and waste Adam Twose​ said the claim was untrue.

“Christchurch east area’s water supply, along with the rest of Christchurch City Council and Banks Peninsula, have never been fluoridated whilst under the operation of Christchurch City Council.”

Fluoridating the city’s water supply would require a vote by the council.

McConnell said after the Christchurch earthquake, servers for government-owned computers in central Christchurch were powered by generators when there was a power cut.

To cool the servers cold water was extracted from aquifers and run through pipes.

“…the [Government] refused to allow the water to be pumped back into the water supply until it had been fluoridated,” he said.

McConnell said he objected to the Government “medicating people against their will or without their consent”.

Ilam MP and National party deputy leader Gerry Brownlee, who was Canterbury earthquake recovery Minister at the time, said the claim was false and were “not even slightly credible”.

“Government agencies have their own computers but I’m not aware there is a bank of government computers or servers or anything located in central Christchurch.

“If there is I’m not familiar with it and there was certainly no, there was definitely not, from my perspective, any government decision to fluoridate the water.”

Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey, who was responsible for the health of the region’s water supply at the time of the earthquakes, said the claim was “ludicrous”.

”I certainly would have been aware of it if there had been any such decision and so would the drinking water assessors.”

The results of the assessments were verified by accredited laboratories, Humphrey said.

“Such a kind of conspiracy would rely on so many people being in on it that you know… I don’t know how it could happen without people hearing about it.”

To suggest this would happen on the scale suggested, without any monitoring was “ludicrous”, he said.

The use of fluoride in drinking water had been proven as a safe way to prevent tooth decay in children, Humphrey said.

District health boards have responsibility for fluoridating drinking water and can direct local councils to do so. At the time of the earthquakes it was a local council decision.

The Ministry of Health website says water fluoridation at correct levels, along with brushing teeth twice a day, eating healthy foods and timely check-ups with a dental provider, was a proven measure to reduce tooth decay.

“The World Health Organization and other international and national health and scientific experts endorse water fluoridation as the most effective public health measure for the prevention of dental decay.”