Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

Listening to this debate you would think there is no choice to be made. But, in fact, we have a very important choice to be made. We have a choice between keeping open the rorted wasteful Chronic Disease Dental Scheme or opening a scheme that will look after the dental health of low-income Australians and 3.4 million Australian children. We have had very strong third-party endorsement for the path that we are taking as a government. Steve Hambleton, from the AMA, says:

This is a huge improvement on the existing dental scheme. There is less bureaucracy and red tape, and the program is better targeted at those with the greatest need.

Gordon Gregory, from the National Rural Health Alliance, says:

Being relieved of the financial responsibility for the oral health of 3.4 million children, the States and Territories will be able to reduce their public dental waiting lists rapidly and to a significant extent.

Shane Fryer, of the Australian Dental Association, might know what he is talking about, don't you think? He said:

The re-direction of federal funding to Australia's children and adults on low incomes or in rural areas will prove to be a sound investment. We know that if dental care can be provided to children then their long-term dental health will be significantly improved. Early intervention and preventive treatments are a proven and well-established method to prevent poor dental health in later life.

He goes on to say:

Currently around 65 per cent of Australians receive regular dental care. The ADA believes the new program will provide assistance to many Australian families previously unable to access regular care, as a sure way of helping them avoid a path where their dental health will deteriorate.

The ADA accepts that the CDDS funding model was flawed but the chronically ill have special needs and those who have not been able to access care through financial or geographic disadvantage must continue to receive assistance. Increasing the capacity of the public dental system will help meet this need.

So says the Australian Dental Association.

The CDDS is a poorly designed scheme. It treats millionaires the same as battlers. It treats cosmetic dental work the same as the vital work needed by patients suffering from disease. The CDDS has been massively rorted, with more than 1,000 complaints from patients being ripped off with dentures that did not fit, work being charged for that was never done or cosmetic and unnecessary dental work. The government was billed for work on patients who did not exist. Some dentists charge twice for the same procedure and routinely overserviced. They swapped amalgam fillings for porcelain, inserted expensive crowns and performed unnecessary cosmetic work. In all, there were more than 1,000 complaints made.

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