MAYOR Karen Williams has joined the debate about fluoride in water, saying the state government should be responsible for deciding on and paying for the public health matter.
"There are arguments for and against adding fluoride to water supplies, but ultimately that is a health decision that should be made by the state government and informed by health experts," she said.
Her comments have come after former Queensland premier Campbell Newman slammed councils earlier this week for using the powers he gave them over water to stop fluoridating their local supplies.
The Bligh government had mandated fluoride in water but in 2008 Mr Newman wound back that reform.
Mr Campbell told The Courier-Mail that councils had not had the guts to advocate for fluoride in water.
"I had hoped by empowering them, giving them the ability to make important local decisions that they would have risen to the challenge," Mr Newman said. "I am sad that they have failed their communities."
The Redlands is supplied with water that is fluoridated by Seqwater according to levels set by the Health Department, which is about 0.8 parts per million.
Calls for the state government to take back control of water fluoridation have erupted after worsening levels of dental decay, particularly for Indigenous children, were recorded across Queensland.
According to a report by Queensland's chief health officer last year, there were 27,569 hospital admissions across the state for dental conditions in 2015-16.
Two-thirds were for children and young people aged up to 29 years and one-third for adults and older people.
While the admission rate for dental decay in children has decreased by 19 per cent for non-Indigenous children throughout the past 10 years, the rate has increased by 32 per cent for Indigenous Queensland children.
The chief health officer's report says that fluoridating water was a cost-effective way to prevent dental decay.
"In 2008, prior to the introduction of the Water Fluoridation Act 2008, four per cent of Queenslanders had access to fluoridated water," the report stated.
"By 2012, this figure had risen to 87 per cent. Since then, it has fallen to 72 per cent following decisions of some local councils."
