In a letter to the Waitaki District Council, Dr Diana Sarfati confirmed she had carried out the required court-directed assessment to consider, under the Bill of Rights, each of the directions she made in 2022 to begin fluoridation.
Waitaki was among the more than a dozen councils directed to fluoridate at the time.
The assessment followed a High Court direction in February for the director-general of health to assess whether each of her 14 fluoridation directions of July 2022 was "a justified limit on the right of persons in those districts to refuse medical treatment".
It followed court action against the director-general by NewHealth NZ claiming the fluoridation directives to councils were unlawful.
The substantive case brought by NewHealth NZ has yet to be heard.
In her letter on December 3 about the Bill of Rights reassessment Dr Sarfati has told the Waitaki District Council that community water fluoridation in the Oamaru water supply "is a justified limit on the right to refuse medical treatment".
This was provided for under section 11 of the Bill of Rights Act, Dr Sarfati said.
She then outlined reasons to continue, including the oral health benefits gained from fluoridation which were sufficiently important "to justify the curtailment" of the right to refuse.
Dr Sarfati also said there was a rational connection between community water fluoridation and oral health "based on available scientific advice"; that fluoridation is an effective public health measure and "impairs the right no more than is reasonably necessary"; that the evidence shows fluoridation "at optimal levels is safe" and does not give rise to significant health risks.
Fluoride Free spokeswoman Sheryl Black said just because Dr Sarfati had provided her opinion that fluoridation was justified, "doesn’t mean it’s justified".
"Ultimately the court will decide at next year’s hearing whether it is justified or not," Ms Black said.
"Not one country in continental Europe fluoridates their water, and the USA is poised to stop fluoridation next year because of the scientific evidence that it is neurotoxic.
"So why on earth would New Zealand want to continue?" Ms Black asked.
The letter to the Waitaki council came as the Whangarei District Council this week voted to not follow the directive.
Last Thursday the Nelson City Council voted 10 to 3 to follow the directive.
The Waitaki council resolved on August 27 to reapproach the director-general to clarify that it not be subject to penalty if fluoridation was ceased until the ongoing judicial review process was completed.
About five weeks later, on October 10, Waitaki District Council chief executive Alex Parmley, followed the August 27 resolution.
He wrote to Dr Sarfati on the same day council announced it was "temporarily pausing" fluoridation.
This followed independent water testing which indicated fluoride levels in the Oamaru supply were above the 0.8mg/L target for fluoridation, following the directive to fluoridate between 0.7mg/L and 1.0mg/L.
The council on October 10 attributed it to an equipment calibration issue and was awaiting a contractor to rectify the technical issues.
As of November 26, it was still awaiting "our contractor’s availability" and fluoridation remained paused.
