Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As honourable members are aware, tackling dental health issues early is absolutely vital. It alleviates more significant problems and expenses later in life. As honourable members are also aware, the Child Dental Benefits Schedule is nowhere near meeting its target, with only around 30 per cent of eligible children accessing the scheme—yet another example of Labor overpromising and underdelivering.

We are working on dental reform. As part of that, it is only natural that the government consider the effectiveness of current programs. Every program's effectiveness has to be examined regularly. We have a responsibility to ensure that every dollar we invest in dental services delivers the best health outcomes possible. We want to ensure that funding is targeted to where it is needed most.

Honourable members should recall that the previous Labor government locked in funding for the dental NPA at the relevant levels of $69 million in 2012-13, $155 million in 2013-14 and $119 million in 2014-15. As we announced in the 2015 budget, the government extended the NPA for 12 months at the highest level of that NPA. In 2015-16 the government committed to $155 million. So we have extended the dental NPA for a year while we consider options to reform public dental care. We are committed to good dental health and good dental care, but we have to ensure that we are getting the most effective outcomes for the taxpayer dollar.

Honourable members should not, in their efforts to raise health issues here, abandon fiscal responsibility. They should recognise that our objective is to ensure that we have strong health outcomes funded in the most effective way so we can get the best outcomes for the taxpayer dollar.

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