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

I rise today to speak on behalf of my constituents in Hindmarsh on the need for a Commonwealth Dental Health Program in this nation. It is a big need, and especially in my electorate of Hindmarsh, which has many elderly people—in fact, it has one of the oldest constituencies in the country. This Rudd Labor government was elected on a platform that included the reintroduction of the Commonwealth Dental Health Program. However, dental care for pensioners risks being stalled by the opposition as they continue to block funding for the government’s program.

Currently, in South Australia the average waiting time for dental care restorative services is estimated at 18 months, for dentures 39 months and for specialist dental care 33 months. This number is down from 49 months in 2001, after the Rann Labor government poured quite a significant amount of money into the program. After the Howard government abolished the Commonwealth dental program in 1996 as one of their first acts in government, South Australians were waiting an average of four years to see a dentist. As I said, the South Australian government has worked very hard to decrease the waiting times. However, we know more needs to be done.

There are currently approximately 30,000 people on waiting lists in South Australia, many of whom are in my electorate and are pensioners. We have heard horror stories of some pensioners resorting to pulling out their own teeth to stop the pain while languishing on these public dental waiting lists. The opposition can currently give these pensioners immediate relief if they choose to pass this important measure in the Senate. They would be able to assist pensioners immediately, but by blocking funding for this program they are only doing harm to these people and making them wait longer. Pensioners across South Australia, and particularly in my electorate, deserve to receive the dental care they need and not have games being played in the Senate by the opposition purely for politicking.

Australia-wide there are 650,000 people waiting for public dental care, and the average waiting list Australia-wide in 2007 was 27 months. The opposition is threatening to stop $290 million from reaching public dental services to help reduce these dental waiting lists. This will only be to the detriment of the Australian public and many, many pensioners. The opposition is jeopardising the Commonwealth Dental Health Program, leaving pensioners out in the cold. This is obscene, but it is not uncommon amongst the opposition. As I said earlier, one of the first acts of the Howard government was the initial cessation of the program in 1996. So I urge the opposition to pass these very important measures as soon as possible in order to allow pensioners, many of them in my electorate of Hindmarsh, the dental treatment that they require. Under the new Commonwealth dental program, pensioners will receive up to a million treatments, which will provide immediate relief for those 650,000 people. (Time expired)

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