Page 1837 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 18 October 1989
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Prowse is an ex-military man, as I am, and there are other people in this chamber who are ex-military people. We understand the value of courage, but mindless courage is discouraged in the military and it is discouraged everywhere else. By all means be courageous, but do not enter into mindless courage. It gets you nowhere, except maybe it gets your head shot off. I submit that we have to have courage, but we have to allow a bit of reason to prevail on that.
I have listened to the argument over a long period and I have listened to it again today, but, as of today, as an individual I am quite satisfied that there is ample evidence to show that fluoride has beneficial effects on dental health; I am unconvinced by the evidence that suggests that fluoride has adverse effects on health. It may be dead right but, as of today, I am unconvinced that that is the case. I would like to be convinced. I would like to know that the allegations that are being made are correct. I would like to be able to say in a few months that Mr Prowse and Mr Stevenson were absolutely right when they made these assertions about the deleterious effects of fluoride on the human body. I am prepared to have the evidence presented; I am prepared to study that evidence after it has been presented, and if the weight of opinion is in favour of taking fluoride out of the water in Canberra I will accept that view. But I will not accept without debate, study, research and community input that I should accept some view put forward by any particular side of the argument. I do not and will not accept it.
I submit that Dr Kinloch very succinctly summarised the issues in this debate. I think everybody should have listened very carefully while Dr Kinloch was speaking because he put his finger right on the things that need to be looked at. I submit we should now let the committee members get on with the job; let them go away and examine it; let them come back with an objective report, and I have no doubt whatsoever that they will. There is no question in my mind whatsoever about the personal integrity of any of the members of that committee. They will do the job just as they have done it in relation to other matters on which they have undertaken studies, just as all of the members of this Assembly, other than the four Ministers, do when they sit on committees.
The four Ministers do not sit on committees, but the rest of us do. To suggest that any of us goes about that business in a biased and subjective way is quite wrong. The members of this committee are no different from the rest of us. I submit: let us get on with it; put the Bill into effect; get on with the study; and let not only the community but also the 17 members of this Assembly be satisfied that we have done the right thing.
Question put:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
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