Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Rotorua Lakes Councillor, Robert Lee discusses the High Court ruling around the unlawful directive from the Director General of Health, Ashleigh Bloomfield. Robert also discusses the NTP report and the positive results of the Scotland Childsmile Program on reducing tooth decay.
Rotorua Lakes Councillor, Robert Lee discusses the High Court ruling around the unlawful directive from the Director General of Health, Ashleigh Bloomfield. Robert also discusses the NTP report and the positive results of the Scotland Childsmile Program on reducing tooth decay.


![Rotorua Lakes Council votes unanimously to call for Commission of Inquiry into Fluoridation.
Cr Robert Lee outlines all the main reasons that New Zealand needs a Commission of Inquiry into fluoridation. The councillors subsequently voted unanimously to write to the Prime Minister requesting a Commission of Inquiry into fluoridation.
RECOMMENDATION
1. That the report ‘Compliance with Fluoridation Directive Decision’ be received.
2. That Council notes that the Chief Executive will comply with the directive of the Director-General of Health to commence water fluoridation as legally required under the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021.
3. That Council note that temporary arrangements are in place for public access to a nonfluoridated water supply tap for the Central and Eastern water supplies catchments.
I propose the addition of the following:
4. That Council notes the following points:
a. that pursuant to section 116E the Director General of Health has the option of directing Local Authorities to either add or to not to add fluoride to drinking water.
https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1956/0065/latest/LMS629891.html
b. That the Courts of New Zealand have identified that community water fluoridation is a “limitation” of New Zealander’s right to refuse medical treatment (as per s11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990).
Judgment of Radich J in the High Court of New Zealand, New Health New Zealand vs Director General of Health [2023] NZHC 3183 (attached) at paragraph [2]:
[2] Fluoridation is a limit on the right in s 11 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (the Bill of Rights Act) to refuse medical treatment.1 The Director-General accepts that there is no reference to the Bill of Rights Act in the decision-making documents to which the decision relates. There is nothing on the record to show that, in making the decision, he turned his mind to whether, in terms of s 5 of the Bill of Rights Act, the limit is a reasonable limit prescribed by law such as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.
c. That in August 2024 the United States Government’s National Toxicology Program (NTP) released its eight-year review of fluoride and IQ studies. It found that 52 of 55 studies, including 18 out of 19 high-quality studies consistently demonstrate lower IQ scores are associated with higher fluoride exposure.
https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/ntp/about_ntp/bsc/2023/may/publiccomm/neurath20230429_bsc_508.pdf
d. That in September 2024 the United States Federal Court found that “that fluoridation of water at 0.7 milligrams per liter … poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children”.
e. That in October 2024 the Cochrane Collaboration, which is relied upon by the Director General of Health, found that:
“The evidence suggests that water fluoridation may slightly reduce tooth decay in children,” says co-author Dr Lucy O’Malley, Senior Lecturer in Health Services Research at the University of Manchester. “Given that the benefit has reduced over time, before introducing a new fluoridation scheme, careful thought needs to be given to costs, acceptability, feasibility and ongoing monitoring.”
f. As a result of the above many communities in the United States have stopped fluoridation of community water supplies.
Utah will be the first state to ban fluoride in dhttps://apnews.com/article/fluoride-ban-drinking-water-utah-559d92736f1958ff5d109071fa85f5b5rinking water | AP News
https://www.wusf.org/health-news-florida/2024-11-22/florida-surgeon-general-advises-communities-to-stop-adding-fluoride-to-drinking-water-supply
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida-cities-stop-adding-fluoride-to-water-heres-the-list-22372824
f. Research in the field is ongoing with significant new studies released in 2025 confirming and expanding upon the findings of the NTP.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828425
Prenatal and childhood exposure to fluoride and cognitive development: findings from the longitudinal MINIMat cohort in rural Bangladesh | Environmental Health Perspectives | Vol. 0, No. 0 (https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP14534)
g. Community Water Fluoridation continues to be controversial with many in the community genuinely concerned and strongly opposed to it.
h. There hasn’t been a Commission of Inquiry into Community Water Fluoridation in New Zealand since 1957.
Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the fluoridation of public water supplies by New Zealand. Commission of Inquiry on the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies | Open Library (https://openlibrary.org/books/OL32859766M/Report_of_the_Commission_of_Inquiry_on_the_fluoridation_of_public_water_supplies)
5. That the Chief Executive and chair of the Infrastructure & Environment Committee be directed to jointly write to the Prime Minister requesting a Commission of Inquiry into the safety, efficacy & cost-effectiveness of fluoridation in New Zealand. Rotorua Lakes Council votes unanimously to call for Commission of Inquiry into Fluoridation.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Y7-4o-TIYLE/mqdefault.jpg)







