Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is appalling—'bill before the House.' We have a disallowance motion, which I support, and I know that Dr Andrew Laming beside me also supports it, as does the member for Cowper, the member for Solomon and the member for Gilmore behind me. They all support it because they know how important it is. The coalition is extremely concerned that many patients receiving treatment under the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme will be forced to forgo treatment during the gap period. The coalition will announce its dental health priorities prior to the next election, and they will be good policies. They will be policies which will provide a safety net for people most in need of good oral health.

On 29 August, the Minister for Health, with the Greens health spokesperson, announced an unfunded $4.1 billion dental program, which is not due to commence until 2014. There we have the rub again: Labor being dragged to the table, kicking and screaming, by the party to which they are beholden, the Greens. The government announced the closure of the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme, effective 30 November 2012, and no new patients were able to access services after 7 September. This means that the means-tested Family Tax Benefit Part A, or other specified government payment, entitlement for children aged two to 17 years—the young kids who obviously cannot afford it themselves, and many of their families cannot either; kids do not get a say, they just have to put up with a toothache—will not commence until January 2014. That is, 13 months after some children will lose access to the CDDS.

The proposal is to provide a $1,000 cap benefit over two years to eligible children. The government claims 3.4 million children will be eligible, but the unfunded cost is $2.7 billion. The proposal for adults will not commence until 1 July 2014—that is, 19 long months after the Medicare scheme closes. You would not want to get a toothache during that time. Funding will be provided to state governments for public dental services. Services will no longer be available for adults through private dentists under Medicare. The unfunded cost is $1.3 billion. That is a disgrace. Labor and the Greens are again co-opting, coercing and coordinating their activities to hurt the Australians who are most vulnerable, particularly in regional areas. As I said, you really would not want to get a toothache in that time.

As part of the Labor government's changes to its dental policy, its bill will seek to amend the legislation of the Medicare Teen Dental Plan. It was a plan established by Labor in 2008. The government announced that it plans to change the existing Medicare Teen Dental Plan to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, commencing a long time away, in January 2014. Under the current legislation, a $163.05 voucher is provided for eligible teenagers to receive an annual preventative dental check. We all know—Dr Laming beside me knows—how important it is to have preventative medicine and how important it is for kids to be able to go and get a check-up to make sure that their teeth and their oral health is good. The proposed legislation will change the age of eligibility to cover children from the age of two years old to less than 18 years old from the current bracket of 12 years old to 18 years old. The coalition supports investment in dental health because we know how important it is. If you have your oral health right, it makes such a difference to your overall health.

The government has not released a schedule of services fees and details on how the scheme will be funded and, despite the commencement date being more than 12 months away, is trying to push this through the parliament without these details which would allow the new scheme to be fully scrutinised. Haven't we heard that before? We heard it in the electronic health records debate earlier this year. We heard it on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. We have heard it in so many other areas. But it is just a cover because this government is in serious financial strife. It is just a cover because this government is in serious leadership strife.

Here is a government which is doing everything it can to cut areas which are of vital importance to the nation. It has underfunded our boat people security measures. It has stripped $5.5 billion from our Defence budget. That is a disgrace. It has pushed our Defence spending as a proportion of gross domestic product to—wait for it—1938 levels. Here we have a government which says that it is prioritising Defence and yet we have a Defence budget which is at its lowest level since 1938. And everybody knows what happened in 1939.

Back to the dental legislation, the schedule of items to be covered under the cap of $1,000 over two calendar years will be made by future changes to the Dental Benefits Rules, and the government claims 3.4 million children will be eligible under this proposal. That is fine. However, for those kids and adults who are going to have to wait—in the adults' case, 19 months—it is far too long a gap period, particularly if they have a toothache. The Minister for Health has acknowledged that most services for children will cost less than the proposed $1,000 cap. However, there will be children on the Medicare Chronic Disease Dental Scheme who will require more services and there is no provision to ensure they will continue to receive adequate treatment, especially prior to the commencement date.

This disallowance motion needs support. It needs the support of the House. It certainly needs the support of the regional Independents, who say they care about regional people and say they stick up for their electorates. Here is the test. Come into this House and support the shadow health minister's disallowance motion because, as I say, oral health is so important to the people of this nation and particularly those in regional areas.

See this speech in context