Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am sorry, Deputy Speaker. So oral health has been declining since the mid-1990s, as the former health minister—now Leader of the Opposition—would know, with almost 20,000 kids under the age of 10 hospitalised every year due to avoidable dental issues. With two boys under 10, I know how difficult it can be to get children to brush their teeth twice a day, let alone getting them to brush their teeth for longer than 20 seconds. Oral health is not only important to your appearance and your sense of wellbeing but also to your overall health. Studies have found that cavities and gum disease can contribute to many other serious conditions, even leading to things such as diabetes and respiratory diseases. Untreated cavities can also be painful and lead to serious infections and other health complications.

Now, I have been in this parliament for only five years, but for much of that time I slipped into a habit that I had never had in my life of occasionally, during question time when it got a little dull, having a lolly. My dentist pointed out to me the other day that it is a classic case of someone taking up sweets later in life. I have had to stop that. I now have had to pay attention to everything that goes on in question time without any treats.

There have also been studies that have found correlations between poor oral health and heart disease and even between poor oral health and women delivering pre-term babies. Poor oral health certainly affects your appearance, your self esteem and your quality of life. There is nothing worse as a male, in terms of the things that affect you, than having bad teeth or a toothache. It can also be linked to sleeping problems as well as behavioural and developmental problems in children. By age 15 three out of five kids in Australia have tooth decay—60 per cent of them. Untreated, decay and fillings are similar across income ranges, but if you earn more than $60,000 a year you have, on average, seven more teeth than Australia's poorest people, those earning under $20,000.

Sadly, in Queensland, I am embarrassed to say that this has traditionally been worse because for many years in Queensland there was a culture that did not have people put fluoride in the water. Thankfully, the Beattie and Bligh governments changed this, and started to put fluoride into the water. I remember hearing a story from someone I know in the RAF who talked about her job as a forensic pathologist. She said they were able to identify the Bali victims from Queensland by their teeth. That is a horrible statistic, but it is just a reality because, unless they were from Townsville, no-one in Queensland had fluoride in their water and so their teeth were not the same as the rest of Australia's people. I saw a retrograde step by the Liberal National Party government, which took the onus off communities to have fluoride in the water, and that is a sad backwards step.

Mr Tudge interjecting—

With respect, I suggest that talking about fluoride is an important correlation in terms of dental health. Good oral health is about much more than having those pearly whites; it is about preventing other major health issues and diseases over the course of your life. That is why the government is getting in early through the introduction of the Dental for Kids program. Good habits and intervention early head off a world of troubles and costs later in life. The Dental for Kids program is an investment in prevention because we know that our oral health as children is the best predictor of our oral health as adults.

It was Queensland Labor that introduced fluoride into our water supplies, as it is the Gillard Labor government that recognised that prevention is far better and far cheaper than cure. We all know this of health but it is equally true for cost-effectiveness, as preventative oral health means fewer trips to the dentist, less waiting time and lower costs for families. In stark contrast we have the Liberal National Party Premier of Queensland, Mr Newman, saying that he would consider allowing some Queensland communities to opt out of having fluoride added to their regional water supplies but would not reverse fluoride in those communities that already have it. This is short-term populism of the worst kind, and very short-sighted.

As usual, the Liberal National Party is having an each-way bet on the outcome and is not focused on the long-term oral health prevention strategy for our children. This is, of course, while Premier Newman cuts over 4,100 staff from Queensland Health and cuts important central agencies like BreastScreen Queensland. Undoubtedly, some of the 4,100 are those who provide oral health services to Queenslanders. In fact, I read a few weeks ago that some Public Service dentists were sacked. Hopefully, I misheard this, because Public Service dentists are our real health heroes. They forgo significant money for that special place in heaven that comes with looking after public patients. Anyone in the dental services knows that public health dentists could make two, three, four or five times as much if they were in private practice; instead, they like the challenge of looking after the poorest in our community. Hopefully, we will not have to rely on charities like the Tzu Chi Foundation in my electorate to provide dental services in the bush.

This side of the House is committed to the best environment for our children's future, whether it is in education, health or the environment itself. That is why I am a strong advocate for the Dental for Kids program in my electorate and why I proudly commend the bill to the House.

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