FAN Bulletin 2026

July 28, 2010

Of all the governments that attempt to introduce fluoridation none is more arrogant than those among the various Australian states.

A couple of years ago Queensland out of the blue passed mandatory fluoridation throughout the state.

Victoria is forcing fluoridation on every last remaining town and city in the state often against intense community resistance. The health officer there (Dr. John Carnie) does not feel obliged to give people a vote on the matter; will not debate the issue with opponents or answer serious questions put to him in writing by independent scientists from around the world.

New South Wales is a little more subtle about the ways it goes about things. The government there has told local governments that they can either adopt the measure themselves or they can pass the decision on to the NSW health department. Either way every community is getting fluoridated, again whether their citizens want it or not.

South Australia is largely fluoridated already, but recently the government has decided to fluoridate Mount Gambier, whose beautiful blue lake is an icon for many Australians. Over 6,000 citizens have signed a petition in Mount Gambier saying that they do not want fluoride to be added to their lake but to no avail.

Citizens fight back

Below we discuss the actions of three Australian citizens who are trying to halt forced fluoridation in their country.

1) Keith Oakley has thrown his hat into the ring and is running for MP to oppose the forced fluoridation of Geelong, Victoria. He explains why he is doing this in a videotaped interview with David McRae which will be posted on the website of the Barwon Association for Freedom from Fluoridation (BAFF) at http://www.baff.org.au/

2) Al Oshlack, is filing an injunction in Lismore, New South Wales, against the local water authority (Rous Water) and appears to have forced a temporary halt to the planned forced fluoridation there. According to a local press report,

“The news of this came just as the water authority was preparing to accept a tender for construction work for the plants at Knockrow, Corndale, Dorroughby, Clunes and Marom Creek… Rous’s technical services director, Wayne Franklin, said that accepting a tender would not be in the council’s best interests.” (July 22, 2010, Northern Star, Legal threat halts fluoride bids by Rebecca Lollback - http://www2.fluoridealert.org/Alert/Australia/Rous-Water-Legal-threat-halts-fluoride-bids)

3) Alex Young of Mount Gambier, South Australia, recently chained himself to the gate of the local water works, thus blocking the entrance where the trucks that would carry the fluoridation equipment would enter. Below, Alex explains why he did this and what happened to him in the process. Alex appears on an excellent news item from the TV program Today Tonight out of South Australia. Along with Alex there are clips from Dr. A.K. Susheela, Paul Connett and Lord Baldwin from the UK. This is the third program in a series produced by Frank Pangello and is by far the best. The link is http://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/ Scroll down on the left hand side to find the program called “Fluoride.” Please add your comment to the site.

I hope our readers will contact each of these Australian heroes and send your moral support to them and their families, who in their different ways will be making sacrifices of time, money and comfort in this cause we all share.
Alex Young - soulace70@dodo.com.au
Keith Oakley - keithoakley@smartchat.net.au
Al Oshlack - we are still looking for his contact details, but meanwhile you could post a letter at the Northern Star’s website http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/

For newspaper reports on the issue go to http://www2.fluoridealert.org/Alert/Australia

Paul Connett

Alex Young writes:

Its 5.30 PM Tuesday 27 July 2010 and I’ve just walked in the door at home after having first main meal for the day after being arrested at 7.30 am this morning on charge of loitering and spending 7 hours in two different holding cells. Quite a few emails to go through, so I’ll try to get to everyone. Three of us had spent overnight at the site with myself chained to the gate all night.

A few interesting things occurred during the night including a young girl who came with her mother to see us late in the evening after seeing the initial gate lock up on TV to do something for her school project. I explained to her some basics of government and justice generally do ok but from time to time it becomes necessary to take action in things like a petition etc to get things changed but in our case that the Health Minister had ignored our 6,661 person petition thus the gate lockup. Her mother looked on approvingly, nodding at times, at the style of explanation I was giving and filled her daughter in at various times. They wished us luck and eventually departed. I continued to look over the town at the lights down below and pondered on us all as a community.

Another group of youths possibly bored came in loud cars and looked on with interest at the display after I explained the reason for our non-violent protest. Being somewhat deaf, I did not hear what was said by them at a distance but Melissa heard one say something to the effect of “lets vandalise the shed”. They walked off and much to our amazement jumped the fence further up and proceeded down the ramp towards the fluoridation shed. Mellissa told me immediately. Concerned and still chained, I twisted and shouted back “No don’t! It’s private property, you are trespassing, don’t do it this way it’s not the right thing to do.” Thankfully they listened and proceeded back towards the gate. The Police visited a few times in the night to look in and check on us. At that point we had stopped no one entering as no fluoride contractors had needed to enter until the following morning.

In the morning, when the fluoridation project manager arrived at 7.30 AM, he called the Police when we replied no that we wouldn’t allow him access. For posterity he asked us to if he could take a photo of the protest as he had never had someone protest at one of his construction projects before. The Police eventually arrived and after some time asked me to step aside and I replied, still chained, that I didn’t not possess the key which I did not. I wasn’t sure who had the key. I asked the others who had the key and no one owned up. So I was to be cut free. There were two things resisting at that point - metal and conscience. The metal needed to be broken first. The conscience - well that still remains to be seen. The weight of the ignored 6,661 signed petition lingers in my mind.

At one point they couldn’t cut the chain as the bolt cutters were too small and the Sergeant said “how embarrassing” as TV cameras peered on. It took several attempts to remove the chain with some irony all round and finally with a set of larger bolt cutters in two snips I was released from the gate before being escorted away. I did not resist. Having been taken back to the Police Station I refused bail whose Part C condition was to set to stay 50m away from the gate which I disagreed. This meant I had to wait to appear before the local magistrate later in that day. Otherwise if I signed the bail agreement there and then that would mean free by lunch time and bail heard in September when the fluoride shed was going online in August a month before. It was my first experience in a paddy wagon and being retained by Police. I was told that the Magistrate would impose new similar bail conditions and that if I did not agree to them I would be sent to jail. The Police did their standard procedure, all new to me, finger print, list of effects etc. I cooperated as they were just doing their job.

After 3 hours in Police station holding cells, I was transferred to the Court holding cells across the road (both were cold and hard but surprisingly not that bad after being chained up all night) and had some 4 hours to think about how I would react to the new bail conditions with the Magistrate. I decided that I would simply state “I will agree to the new bail conditions on the proviso that the Health Minister agree action the request of the petition. If the Health Minister does not agree to action the request of the petition, then it will be he and not my conscience, because I had not choice to begin with, that will set the course of events next to occur from today.”

When it was finally time to appear before the Magistrate (I have appeared before William Wags Morris on numerous occasions for fighting other causes and lost by the system -those are stories in themselves which have given me some experience to what goes on in the justice system including their blatant ignorance of black and white laws despite them acknowledging their existence), it was the first time I has appeared on the other side of the enclosed glass area.

Bail was never discussed. This was not the course of events I had been told would happen nor wanted. I was uncomfortable in the handcuffs placed on me and the Magistrate kindly ordered for them to be removed. He knew what was going on, but the staff were obviously doing their job. I felt like a necessary criminal if such a thing could be imagined. The Magistrate waived conviction and fines, except the $80 criminal levy. Loitering was never discussed as was originally charged under the Summary Offences Act for $1250. Somehow it became a $21 on the spot fine which was ridiculous if I had to have waited until September to deal with. I was free to go but didn’t want to as the cause still needed to actioned. The petition had still been ignored. The Magistrate advised us to see an MP, I related that we had seen an MP on numerous occasions and the Magistrate would have known about the Petition. I related that for three years we had asked the Health Minister to give us a choice, meet with us, hold a public forum etc but all to no avail and that the protest was indeed an option of last resort. I related to the Magistrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as best I could recall it:-

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law. [see http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ ]

I asked the Magistrate what he would do in our situation, and he couldn’t provide an answer to help us. I replied that doesn’t leave us much choice and I exited the court room. Many court staff said good luck afterwards. One guy cheekily said get a rainwater tank.

So effectively at his point after a few days no doubt it will die out in the media which is what we do not want. So we are left with the decision, with no bail agreement in force technically I am allowed to go back up again and do it all again or travel 440 km to Adelaide and demand to see the Minister - which I think will be a waste of time as many people have said to us that Mr Hill is very arrogant type of person. I recalled last night his quick departure in not even stopping for a few minutes when we met him arriving at the Mount Gambier Airport once back in 2007 to attend a function at Riddoch Art Gallery and had to somewhat agree with those people’s assessment of Mr Hill. I could very well imagine a person like Nick Xenophon at least giving ordinary people a few minutes of their time. The last option to launch a civil action suit would take too long and at much expense. I agree as someone said that a national coordinated F effort would be the goer but this would take some organisation but for each of us in our own local communities facing F soon, that would have to take place as well as local protests.

I remember yesterday afternoon a SA Water fellow coming out of the gate finishing for the day as we did not stop those wanting to come out, only stopping the fluoridation contractors going in the following morning. Said SA Water employee said to us - “when is a poison not a poison?” I look at him and waited for his reply - he said “when the government tells you so”. I will never forget that. So here we have people all around, in role, but with different thoughts as they go about their employment, rarely put into action. I recalled reading about that even former Australian health ministers speak out against fluoride once they have left office.

In the meantime you can catch the events earlier today see here http://www.abc.net.au/local/videos/2010/07/26/2964727.htm?site=widebay

So some decisions to make tonight to keep the issue alive, possibly some of the hardest I’ve had to face, yet my conscience compels me to continue. It’s a tough one. To fellow colleagues at my places of work, my apologies for my absence and thank you for covering for me. Of those present at the gate thanks goes to Melissa, Tom, Sharon, Nick, Christine, Russell, Alojzy, Shirley (passerby who got photographed with me) and various others who drove by shouted wished us luck and helped in some way. Thanks to Rob Farrar for the 11.30 PM visit and tray of hot beverages. Thanks to Gary and companion of Aquifer Tours for their waves, friendliness and support in allowing us to keep the posters there even still as I sit here at home and type this email. You were always foremost in my minds.

Some new YouTube was out up last night by a friend Rob http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=choicemtgambier&aq=f but we have yet to upload this morning’s events.

In both the TV and newspaper of this event, the Health Minister has still declined to comment. They have still yet to answer Today Tonight’s request satisfactorily. To SA Health and Mr Hill you ought to be ashamed of your actions in treating the Mount Gambier community the way you have. The Choice Petition in our minds is still valid - after all 6,661 signatures carries considerable weight and is worth fighting for.

Regards
Alex Young