Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to support this motion on dental health. I have raised the need for a Commonwealth funded dental health scheme on many occasions in this place before. The need for such a scheme is undeniable. This government abolished the Commonwealth dental scheme in 1996, and by the year 2000 Australians were waiting up to five years to see a dentist. The Commonwealth dental program placed $100 million a year into public dental services. Then in 1996, with the end of the program, this government took that funding away and left millions of Australians without access to public dental care.

Well over half a million Australians, approximately 650,000, are on waiting lists for public dental care. Some have been waiting for years to see a dentist. For some the waiting times are longer than three years. I have constituents who see me on a regular basis and who are in extreme pain waiting a year to two years before they see anyone to look after their teeth. In South Australia, though, thanks to increased funding by the state government, waiting periods have been reduced to less than two years, which is still clearly far too long for anyone that has dental issues.

Federal Labor has also devised a plan to fix the state of Australia’s public dental system. Australians deserve a dental care system that provides them with the services they need. Throughout Australia the number of people on the dental waiting lists has increased by 42 per cent since the Commonwealth Dental Health Program was axed. The federal government say that dental care is not their responsibility. That is what we have heard time and time again. They say that it is up to the states. Once again I would like to refer to section 51 of the Australian Constitution, which clearly states:

The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to—

amongst other things—

dental services ...

That is clearly stated in section 51. The Australian Constitution explicitly states that dental care is a federal government responsibility. The federal government need to stop playing the blame game we have seen time and time again and they need to start taking responsibility for Australia’s dental health.

The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing report appropriately named The blame game recommended on page 74 in recommendation 3 that the federal government supplement dental care for those in disadvantaged positions. I call upon the health minister to act on that recommendation from The blame game report. Australia has had repeated budget surpluses year after year, and that is good. It is astonishing, though, when you think that this government cannot find it in its heart to fund a federal dental program. In 1994 we had the Commonwealth Dental Health Program. In 1996 under this government that program was axed.

There is also a huge skills crisis in the dental industry. Australia needs an additional 120 graduates a year before the dental labour force will be self-sufficient. Without the skills in Australia’s workforce our dental system is not going to improve. This government has not invested in relieving Australia’s skills crisis and now, with the shortage of dentists in Australia, Australians will be forced onto longer waiting lists for treatment.

Adding to the demand is the fact that the progress made in children’s oral health during the nineties is now being reversed. In coming years these children will need more ongoing dental care than the generation who were going through school last decade. The number of children under six years of age being admitted to hospitals for dental care increased by 95 per cent between 2000 and 2005. The deterioration in the dental health of Australian children—surprise, surprise—has coincided with the Howard government ending the Commonwealth dental scheme. People on pensions are more likely than the rest of the population to have decay and are twice as likely to have lost teeth through decay; 44 per cent of concession holders aged between 45 and 64 avoid or put off going to the dentist because of the cost.

I feel like a broken record because I have stated all this time and time again, but this government just is not listening. The prolonged waiting lists for dental care have the potential to lead to more serious illnesses, such as blood infections, malnutrition and cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is Australia’s leading cause of death, so ignoring the dental care needs of Australians is a life and death matter. The community is sick of the federal government trying to play the blame game and passing the buck to anywhere but itself.

The situation is already bad enough, but with the supply of dentists increasingly failing to meet demand the situation is only going to get worse. We need more dentists and therefore more training places for dentists, and we need a national dental health program as a matter of urgency. Clearly not one person in this country can ever expect this current government to provide dental services. I am committed to a federal dental scheme. I will fight for such a scheme and will continue to do so until such a program is funded. (Time expired)

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