General News
30 August, 2026
Still waiting for fluoride
A DENTIST can tell whether a patient comes from Stawell or neighbouring Ararat simply by looking in their mouth, State Parliament has been told, as Northern Grampians Shire Council prepares to renew its push for fluoridated water. More than 15 months after councillors formally called on the State Government to fund fluoridation in Stawell and St Arnaud, there is still no funding commitment for its introduction.
The issue was thrust back into the spotlight in June when Western Victoria MP Sarah Mansfield questioned Health Minister Harriet Shing in Parliament over the lack of funding for new fluoridation projects.
Dr Mansfield singled out Northern Grampians, telling Parliament she had spoken to a dentist who could tell whether someone came from Stawell or Ararat by looking in their mouth because Stawell did not have fluoridated water.
The comments brought renewed attention to a push Northern Grampians councillors backed in May last year.
A motion moved by deputy mayor Justine Hide called on the Health Minister to introduce fluoride into the Stawell and St Arnaud water supplies and provide the funding required to make it happen.
The motion said children in Northern Grampians had poorer dental health than the Victorian average and cited council consultation in which 336 respondents gave oral health an average priority rating of 4.1 out of five.
Council officers also noted that the Department of Health and Dental Health Services Victoria recommend fluoridation as an evidence-based measure to prevent dental disease.
Officers said the infrastructure changes required would fall under GWMWater’s remit and be subject to State Government funding, with no direct council contribution required at that stage.
Cr Hide said the issue had not gone away.
“It’s close to my heart because I have seen firsthand when I was a dental nurse how important it can be,” she said.
“It’s not something we’ve lost sight of, and we are working in the background.”
Cr Hide said council eventually received a response from the Health Department about six or seven months after its May 2025 approach, but it did not provide any commitment to fund the project.
She said subsequent informal inquiries had indicated a lack of available funding was the major barrier.
The issue was raised again with GWMWater representatives during a council briefing this week.
Cr Hide said councillors understood fluoridation ultimately rested with the Department of Health, but had used the opportunity to seek further insight into what was preventing progress.
The council’s own language around the project has also changed since last year’s resolution.
While the May 2025 motion explicitly called for fluoridation to be introduced and funded, the council’s 2025-29 Council Plan lists a task to “investigate water fluoridation in Stawell and St Arnaud”.
Its 2026-27 budget now identifies an initiative to “undertake feasibility of water fluoridation in Stawell and St Arnaud”.
Cr Hide said she believed the wording in the Council Plan may have pre-dated the stronger council resolution and simply not been updated, but said the council’s support for fluoridation remained.
The deputy mayor said she expected council to push the issue more strongly once November’s State election was resolved.
In Parliament, Ms Shing strongly defended the benefits of fluoridated water, saying it delivered “enormous positive health benefits” and reduced pain, discomfort and health costs, particularly in rural and lower-income communities.
But when Dr Mansfield asked why Stawell and St Arnaud had received no funding despite the council’s request, the minister did not provide a direct explanation.
Ms Shing said fluoridation involved councils, water corporations and other agencies and could carry cost implications, and promised to seek further information about the Northern Grampians request.
For Cr Hide, the argument for action remains unchanged.
“I think the evidence outweighs all the possibility of some of the negativity that often gets brought up in that conversation,” she said.
“We hope to, once the new State Government is finalised and we know who is in control, start going hard again in that area.”
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