Page 2719 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
quite obvious that his statement is incorrect. There is no fluoride in the water supply in Brisbane, but teeth there are on a par with teeth in Melbourne and just slightly worse than those in the ACT, only, I suggest to you, because of the socioeconomics of the area.
Mr Humphries raised the issue of Liberal policy. I was not going to mention it, but I will mention philosophy first. The philosophy of the Liberal Party is freedom of choice and individual responsibility. I think that is absolutely wonderful.
Mr Kaine: Now read the policy.
MR PROWSE: The Liberal Party supports fluoridation of water supplies. There has been an interjection from Mr Kaine. We are playing into this quite well, fortunately, because I have here a copy of the Liberal policy. If you ring the executive of the party they will fax you the policy that says that we support the continued fluoridation of the ACT water supplies.
Mr Kaine: You are against the policy.
MR PROWSE: That is right.
Mr Kaine: You are arguing against it.
MR PROWSE: I am arguing against it; but I am not going to vote against it, because I am going to move later that we put in 0.0001 parts per million. Mr Humphries has misled us slightly on what the policy is. But I come back to the philosophy. There is a very small group within the Liberal Party, who I claim to be the socialist left of the Liberal Party, who support fluoridation, against their own philosophy.
Mr Kaine: The majority do; they determine the policy.
MR PROWSE: Again, there has been an interjection that the majority do. A well-known lobbyist invited a number of dentists to join the Liberal Party so that they could push this policy through.
Mr Kaine: He is getting into Mr Collaery's conspiracy class.
MR PROWSE: I will not go any further, but I will provide the proof of that statement if Mr Kaine would like it. My statement to the Liberal Party members at a recent duck shoot which was held at the Academy of Science was that I will support party policy, and I do so by supporting the 0.5 parts per million, by not moving for the total cessation of artificial fluoridation.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .