Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In respect of the government response to the report of the Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia, I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

It was a privilege to chair the Senate Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia, and I would like to begin by thanking the thousands of people who participated in this landmark inquiry. What we heard thanks to your advocacy is that oral healthcare systems in Australia are undeniably in decay. Thousands of people put and took the time to share their experiences with us. Some key themes emerged. Dental care in this country is too expensive. People are waiting too long to access public dental care, if they are eligible at all. We must do more to support our oral healthcare workforce.

During the inquiry, we conducted a survey where 17,000 people shared their experiences of getting to see the dentist. This was the largest committee survey in the history of the Senate. It showed that 97 per cent of the community supports the Australian government making more dental services available for free. This committee held hearings across the country from Perth to Brisbane, Canberra and Launceston. I'd like to again thank all those who submitted and appeared at the hearings. I'd also like to thank the fabulous, dedicated secretariat team, who supported this inquiry to be robust and to be collaborative.

This system is failing children. It's failing disabled people. It's failing First Nations people. It's failing seniors. It is failing everyone. The number of people, including the number of children, who are having all of their teeth removed in this country is unacceptable. The number of people living with chronic toothache out of fear of the price tag is unacceptable. The number of people who are having to take out loans and withdraw funds from their super for dental care procedures or to travel overseas for health care is unacceptable. The number of people who are ending up in our hospitals, including in ICU, with the consequences of untreated, entirely preventable diseases because they cannot access dental care in this country is unacceptable. It is beyond time for our governments to acknowledge that teeth are part of our bodies and that dental care should be no less accessible than other forms of health care.

I am incredibly proud that the committee produced a consensus report, and I'm particularly proud that the report had a clear call to action:

The committee recommends that the Australian Government works with the states and territories to achieve universal access to dental and oral health care, which expands coverage under Medicare or a similar scheme for essential oral health care, over time, in stages.

Universal dental care through Medicare or a similar scheme is what is clearly needed. Unfortunately, the government, in their response to this report, make it clear that they are not prioritising this; they're choosing simply to note the recommendation. They have failed to support the recommendations in this report that would bring down the cost of dental care in a cost-of-living crisis.

Reviewing the government's response, here are some—but, sadly, certainly not all—of the other recommendations that this Labor government were not able to support outright and commit to in their response: the establishment of a chief dental and oral health officer; paid placements that would increase the number of dentists working in the public system; dedicated university places for rural and regional students to study dentistry; working with the states and territories to increase the pay of dentists in the public sector; expanding the child dental benefit scheme; covering restorative services for cancer survivors—because Medicare covers restorative services for cancer survivors in every other area except when you are recovering from head, neck and oral cancers; and establishing a senior dental benefit scheme.

The government could do no more than bring themselves to note these recommendations. Shame! These recommendations would change the lives of so many people across Australia, and it is such a shame that this government cannot bring themselves to go beyond noting them. This is not good enough, while people are living with chronic toothaches, some of whom are having to skip work because of pain that is simply unbearable, and while so many adults still face serious oral health issues which could have been so easily prevented by better access to dental health care, hygiene and education as children.

I do acknowledge that there is a handful of recommendations which have been supported by the government and some were supported in principle. I hope the government will work towards implementing them without delay. However, too many of these recommendations, including a number of the measures that would have changed the lives of so many Australians have simply been noted. This is not good enough.

This inquiry found that only half of Australians have acceptable oral and dental health or access to dental and oral health services. The Greens are here and ready to expand access to affordable dental care. The Australian dental health system is a system in decay, yet this government is not willing to support the recommendations that would ensure that every Australian is able to access free quality dental care. What a shame!

One of the communities most left behind by the profit-driven oral healthcare system is disabled people. There are only 26 disability-specialist dentists in Australia. Entire states don't have a single person with formal qualifications. We are relying on individuals to do what they can. There is no formalised program to make dental clinics physically accessible, there is no support to make oral health care more accessible for disabled people with sensory or physical barriers to mainstream dental health care and there is only minimal training for working with disabled people across current training courses.

This report contains recommendations relating to the role of the NDIS and the need for better provision of supports to ensure that disabled people can equitably receive oral health care. Only one of these recommendations has been supported by the government. In response, they have committed to: updating their website. They have not committed to any action that would make dental care more accessible for people on the NDIS. And this is just the latest example of how little they prioritise NDIS participants.

Our Greens-led Senate inquiry handed the government a clear road map—a list of tangible recommendations to bring down the cost of going to the dentist, to ensure people can access a dentist when they need one and to support the oral healthcare workforce. It is deeply disappointing, while not surprising, that this government has failed to commit to taking these actions that will ensure universal access to dental care. Only the Greens are committed to getting dental care into Medicare, and, at this election, the community have the opportunity to vote for it.