Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the new Speaker's panel on their election over the past 24 hours. In particular, I congratulate the member for Chisholm on her promotion to the position of Speaker. It is unfortunate for the members of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Petitions because we will miss the member for Chisholm, who has been a valued member of our committee. But she will move on to higher duties. I also congratulate the member for Maranoa on his elevation to the position of Deputy Speaker and the member for Hindmarsh on his elevation to the Second Deputy Speaker role. To all the members of the Speaker's panel, I wish you well in your work.

In rising this afternoon to speak on the Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2012, I will be speaking in support of my colleagues in the Liberal and National parties who have raised concerns about the direction this government is taking in relation to dental health care in the nation. I wish we could be in a position where we would support this government's position, because there is a desperate need to support the dental healthcare needs of the Australian people, but—as has become, I think, symptomatic of this government and its approach to a vast range of public policy areas—it has simply failed to do its homework, and it has failed to get the details right.

I have had the opportunity to follow this debate quite closely, and I recall the speech of the member for Aston, who perhaps summed up the situation quite succinctly when he said that basically this is just an election promise. It has all the credibility of an election promise when this government talks about its reforms in relation to dental health care, because so much of what this government announces is not funded. Unfortunately, this government has a long history of making promises and then not keeping them. The most obvious one that has had a direct impact on my community is the Prime Minister's announcement only days before the last election, where she specifically ruled out introducing a carbon tax, and we all know what happened to that promise. So I believe that the health minister's announcement—

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