Adding fluoride to water supplies would be costly for rural communities, and Southland does not have a functioning health board to make the decision, Southland Mayor Gary Tong says.
The Government announced this week it plans to shift responsibility for water fluoridation from local authorities to health boards, a move hailed by proponents of the additive.
In the South, areas covered by the Queenstown Lakes, Central Otago, Gore, Southland and Waitaki district councils are not fluoridated.
Mr Tong said he was ‘‘on the fence'' about the merits of fluoride, but it could be onerous to introduce fluoridation to Southland's more than 20 water schemes. On top of that, rural water schemes could be caught by the proposed legislation.
Mr Tong was concerned about the lack of democratic input at the Southern District Health Board.
It is the only one of the country's 20 health boards run by a commissioner.
‘‘I have concerns - we haven't got a DHB in Southland.
‘‘We have not got a district health board operating in Southland at the moment. It's in the hands of a commissioner.''
Mr Tong said he had questions about the implementation, monitoring and cost of the proposal. The Otago Daily Times requested an interview with commissioner Kathy Grant yesterday and the request was turned down.
A spokeswoman said she was busy in meetings. In a brief statement, Mrs Grant said it was only a proposal, at this stage.
‘‘Should this progress, we will look at how such move will be handled at that stage,'' Mrs Grant's statement said.
Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks supported the ‘‘sensible'' move, as fluoride should be in the hands of health boards, but he sympathised with some of Mr Tong's concerns.
Gore had only two water schemes, he said. The move could be hard for rural councils with many smaller communities. Gore had had several arguments over fluoride over the years, and there were some strong views in the community.
Mr Hicks agreed the lack of an elected health board in the South was a concern.
‘‘I think that the decision around fluoride needs to be made by a democratic body.''
He hoped by the time decisions were made about fluoride, an elected board would have been restored.
Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper said he was pleased, because councils were not equipped to deal with potential controversy around fluoride.
There had been particular controversy over fluoride in Ranfurly. Often, opponents who lobbied councils were from outside the area, he said.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher and Queenstown Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden could not be contacted.
A Bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament later this year.
Opposition group Fluoride Free NZ called the move ‘‘fluoridation by stealth''.
‘‘In response to more and more councillors and mayors deciding against fluoridation, the Government is now taking the decision away from local councils and communities and putting the power into the hands of district health boards, who are under the direct control of central Government,'' the group said in a press release.
