18 Sep 2023

National candidate disavows long-held views on fluoridation

From Checkpoint, 5:18 pm on 18 September 2023

The National Party's Hamilton-East candidate Ryan Hamilton has disavowed his decades-long opposition to fluoridation, but won't say when he changed his mind.

After repeatedly ducking RNZ's requests for an interview since last Monday, he finally answered his phone today.

The conversation, though, was soon cut short.

National's leader Christopher Luxon, meanwhile, is criticising Mr Hamilton's views while defending his candidacy.

Here's our deputy political editor Craig McCulloch.