As accusations and conspiracies abound ahead of Tuesday’s vote about the ongoing fluoridation of Cooktown’s water supply, editor Lyndon Keane says the community needs to trust those we entrusted to represent us have our best interests at the forefront of their decision making.
No matter which way tomorrow’s vote about the fluoridation of Cooktown’s water supply goes, it’s a safe bet the public gallery will be overflowing with a mix of those opposed to the practice and those who’d prefer to see it continue.
The has been a wave of vociferous anger against the ongoing addition of the mineral to the town’s water, with opponents taking a stand on health grounds on the basis fluoridation equates to the mass medication of anyone who turns on a tap in Cooktown.
Alarmingly, much of the debate has descended into name calling and personal attacks on social media, with both sides of the fluoride argument at times guilty of diluting community discourse with disinformation and baseless assertions.
Having your mobile number on the front page of every edition tends to open you up to unsolicited opinions and information, and some of the dozens of calls, texts and emails I’ve received over the past few months as the fluoride debate has raged have landed somewhere between perplexing and disturbing.
I’ll preface the next few paragraphs by admitting I’ve had several intelligent and insightful conversations with those in the anti-fluoride camp, during which they articulated their opposition, provided well-reasoned evidence to support their perspective and wanted the genuine sentiment of the community to be canvassed.
Sadly, others have led with histrionics, wild allegations and conspiracy theories that left me convinced the local supermarket does a roaring trade in catering-sized rolls of tin foil.
One individual told me they believed fluoridated water was part of a government mind control strategy, while another unfortunate soul saw fit to text me a series of anti-Semitic memes they believed proved what could only be described as a ludicrous world domination plan by way of fluoride. Perhaps the most disappointing call was from the person who was certain the council would covertly continue to add fluoride to the Cooktown’s water, even if the majority of elected members voted against it on 25 February.
I don’t have a position one way or the other about fluoridated water. Besides, I’m not part of the Cooktown community, so my views are irrelevant to the argument on the table.
What does concern me is the proposition the seven people entrusted to represent the best interests of Cook Shire would throw their legislated responsibility overboard when the time comes to vote on the future of fluoride in Cooktown. Whether you’re for fluoride, against it, or just don’t care, the community is weakened when some individuals bandy about the conspiratorial notion we aren’t able to trust the judgement and motives of the very people that were voted in to be that community’s decision-making body.
The absurdity of that scenario was highlighted on Friday, when the agenda for the council meeting became available and it was revealed Cook Shire boss Brian Joiner had recommended the status quo be maintained and fluoride remain in Cooktown’s water supply. Within hours of the agenda being published online, I received multiple calls saying the vote was clearly a “done deal” and that opponents had been silenced and their views ignored. Here’s where I’ll be accused of being a puppet for the council, but the report in the agenda is exactly how local government is meant to operate. Executive staff provide recommendations on myriad matters based on what they believe are in the best interests of the organisation and the community. It’s then up to the elected members to determine whether they agree with the recommendation, or whether they believe an alternative course of action will deliver a better outcome for the community.
It will be standing room only in the council chamber tomorrow morning, and it’s a coin toss as to whether fluoride will stay, or whether it will get its marching orders. Either way, the conspiracy theories and scurrilous accusations need to stop when it comes to issues of community importance. If they don’t, they represent a far greater danger to community wellbeing than whether or not a water supply has fluoride in it.
