International Fluoride Information Network
Update from Geelong, Australia - November 4, 2002

Dear All,

David McRae davidmcrae@ozemail.com.au has sent us this news update from Geelong, Australia. It is very disturbing that the local paper has refused to print any more letters on fluoridation. Instead of cutting off the flow of information on this important issue, perhaps they should invite longer articles from both sides.
Paul Connett.
www.fluoridealert.org

On the evening of November 1st a Geelong audience of 400 was treated to an inspiring seminar by Phillip Day, from the Campaign for Truth in Medicine. Among other topics he spent about 10 minutes on the dangers and poor science behind the farcical practice of public water fluoridation. He asked local members of the 'Freedom from Fluoridation Association' to identify themselves and say a few words about their efforts at keeping the region of Geelong free from this absurd 'water contamination' program. At the interval in his three-hour presentation, some 200 people signed the petition to go to the state government.

Geelong, a city of 200,000 people, has long been a thorn in the side of the pro-fluoridation fanatics in the Health Department and Dental Association of the state of Victoria. A government campaign to make Geelong people start swallowing fluoride in the 1980s was thwarted by massed action of the citizenry, plus, at the eleventh hour, support from trade unions refusing to operate the equipment. The equipment has laid idle since then. It is probably unusable now, but the government health minister, John Thwaites, announced in March this year that Geelong was to be fluoridated soon. In the newspaper picture he was flanked by past and present Dental association heavies, who were being given medals as "fluoride heroes" for their efforts 25 years ago in getting the city of Melbourne fluoridated. Of course there were the usual announcements of Melbourne having 50%, 60%, 80% (you name it) less tooth decay than unfluoridated towns like Geelong. No references to any peer reviewed publications of these findings of course. Secret information that the 'experts' are privy to.

Since March there have been public meetings, much correspondence with the government and health department, and the hugely informative seminar by Paul Connett in July. Dental Association and health department officials stayed away from that one in droves. Geelong has NOT YET been fluoridated. It won't be, unless it is over the dead bodies of hundreds (and rapidly growing) well informed people in the area. Letters to the health department currently get replies stating that "options for examining community attitudes are currently being considered". Our group wrote to say we would like community representation on this panel to prepare how community attitudes will be surveyed. This offer has been declined by replies which deliberately misunderstand the request.

The reason for wanting to help develop the method of community survey is that Health Minister Thwaites is on the record as saying that community consultation would include "educating the community about the phenomenal benefits of fluoridation". Yes, we have seen that before! Since the 1940s, in fact. Massive propaganda campaigns. Unfortunately the leader of the main opposition party, in the coming election, Robert Doyle, recently chastised the present government for being too slow to force fluoridation upon regional cities. He said that fluoridation is marvellous because of its "fantastic safety benefits". Excuse me? Is he educated on the topic or what? Is he talking about safety or about benefits. He cleverly rolled them into one concept, demonstrating total ignorance of the issue and the arguments about it. Clearly some dental heavyweight with political connections had been blowing in his ear telling him to get to work pushing this most bizarre of mass chemical dosing programs.

A twist in the campaign is that the local newspaper, The Geelong Advertiser, has stopped publishing any letters on fluoridation! They were publishing them regularly, but not one for the last six weeks. The editor told me "we have had more letters on this subject than any other in 10 years". I suggested that it must be important to the people of Geelong. He said no, that someone had complained that the letters were stale and getting repetitive! Who complained, I wonder, and was able to force the paper to stop reporting on it? I'll say it is getting repetitive. Fifty years of communities saying "NO" and health authorities forcing it upon them. Shame on the Geelong Advertiser for censoring the wishes of the Geelong people to express their outrage at heavy handed fluoride pushers. (yoursay@geelongadvertiser.com.au)
David McRae - Community Health Worker, Geelong.
(davidmcrae@ozemail.com.au)