NZ - Editorial comment

Editorial comment March 12 2007
BY Grant Shimmin
The public has spoken.
Or at least two-thirds of those eligible to have a say have done so.
And 55 per cent have said no, so no it is. Fluoride will not be returning to Ashburton’s water supply, at least not in the foreseeable future.
It’s a good example of democracy at work, a whole community making a decision for which it will bear the consequences.
The turnout was disappointing, though.
There may be those out there who were undecided simply because there was too much information, much of it conflicting, to be sure either way. Genuinely undecided, they left the decision up to those who knew exactly what they wanted.
At least one hopes that’s the reason why only just over 7000 of never 12,000 eligible voters cast ballots.Some have expressed the belief that nearly two-thirds of voters is a reasonable number for a local referendum.But I have to differ there, because there is no doubt that this was a highly contentious issue and the decision to go to a public referendum, after spending thousands on a phone survey, would have been made in the expectation of most residents wanting a say.
If one likens this to the Parliamentary process, where on many bills MPs are obliged to vote with their parties, based on a pre-determined policy, then this is the equivalent of a conscience vote, or a free vote, like the ones on prostitution and other such contentious issues.
The bottom line, though, is that we’ve all had the opportunity to express our views, and anyone who didn’t take that chance can have no complaints now.