Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Republic) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Like many of my generation, I have memories growing up of my grandparents, who used to keep their false teeth at night in a jar of water beside the bed. People of that generation often had false teeth because dental care wasn't accessible to working class people. It was seen as a luxury, as quite an expensive health resource that many couldn't access and, as a result, many in that generation went through their lives requiring dentures and other dental assistance just to get by. Thankfully, given what we now know about the importance of dental and gum health and oral health for comorbidities, we've started to improve access to dental health services.

The Dental Benefits Amendment Bill 2021 is an important part of making dental health services available to children from the earliest opportunity so that they have the best chance in life. The bill implements the guaranteed Medicare changes to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. It was meant to start on 1 July 2021 but it will be pushed back to 1 January 2022. It will remove the lower eligibility age restrictions to allow eligible children from zero years of age access to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. At the moment, the scheme provides eligible children aged between two and 17 years to up to $1,000 worth of benefits for basic dental services, capped over two consecutive calendar years.

The Child Dental Benefits Schedule has provided over $2.3 billion in benefits and delivered more than 38 million services to over three million Australian children since it commenced in January 2014. It was part of a Labor government initiative introduced by the Gillard government in 2012 as part of the dental health reform package. By removing the current age eligibility restriction altogether, it's estimated that each year an additional 300,000 children will become eligible for the program. That will not only be a cost saving for those individuals in the long run but will also be a cost saving for our nation, because we now know the importance the first thousand days in the development of a child's health and wellbeing as the foundation that will set them up for a better future.

The first thousand days are vitally important to a child's brain development, their bodily development and their immune system. Access to quality health care in those first three years will provide a stronger foundation to ensure that those features of the body develop better and will ensure a better quality of life for children. Access to dental care at an early age not only establishes good oral hygiene and good health practices but also, down the track, is instrumental in avoiding other health ailments related to dental and gum disease, such as respiratory problems, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and infections. The earlier that children get access to dental care, the better their quality of life will be, avoiding the situation of my grandparents—having to put their teeth in a glass every evening when they go to bed. It's a shame that the start date for this particular reform has been delayed by six months. We understand, because of COVID, there are delays occurring in a number of government initiatives at the moment.

COVID is causing anxiety for younger Australians at the moment. On Tuesday, I was fortunate to host a Zoom forum with year 12 students from our community to hear how they're feeling about the current COVID lockdown and whether or not they're getting access to the necessary resources and communication they need to complete their final year of schooling. To those students from local high schools who participated in the forum: I want to thank you for the valuable insights you gave me into the challenges that you're facing in your final months of schooling. I'm grateful, and also extremely impressed by the feedback and resilience and intelligence of senior students in our schools at this difficult time.

Quite simply, HSC students deserve better from the New South Wales government at this point in time. Year 12 is a stressful year, made all the more stressful by the lack of certainty and the lack of information that they're getting from the New South Wales government about the final months of their schooling. They deserve that certainty, rather than policy on the run from the Berejiklian government. There are questions: How do students complete major works that are at school? If they can't return to school until they're vaccinated, when will that take place? Kids who aren't in year 12 but are doing accelerated courses—what do they do in terms of vaccination and sitting the HSC? And, if case numbers continue to rise, will the HSC be delayed or put online? There are so many practical, valid questions that these HSC students deserve answers to but are not getting because the New South Wales government does not have a plan for year 12 students, and that's simply not good enough. I've written to the New South Wales education minister on behalf of HSC students in my community, requesting answers to these important questions. The New South Wales Premier must develop a plan for HSC students for their final studies for the rest of this year.

It's a stressful time, and I want to make sure that all HSC students and, indeed, all school students in our area are looking after their mental health. It's okay if you're feeling stressed, it's okay if you're struggling and it's okay to reach out to your peers, to your parents, to your friendship network and to the many support services that we have in our community that can assist you. And I'd welcome you ringing my office and having a chat to me; we're here to help you as well if you need that help.

Debate adjourned.

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