Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

Going around our communities, we get a lot of feedback about the government. One of the more common questions I hear is: can the Turnbull government get any worse? Obviously, the government has heard this too because this week they've actually taken up the challenge. Just when we thought that they couldn't get any worse, this week, of course, they have. Just when we thought they couldn't be any more chaotic, they are. And, just when we thought this government couldn't get any more dysfunctional and useless, they've rewritten the record.

The behaviour we've seen this week is a new low from a very desperate government—a government lacking integrity and a government that knows that they have an active threat to their legitimacy and a question mark on their majority. But, let's be honest, this chaos isn't anything new. This week has simply added a new chapter—a unique new chapter, I'd have to say—to this government's ongoing record of dysfunction. But the worst part is that, while they are so focused on themselves and their own fortunes, our communities will be paying the price not only today but also for years and years because of policy decisions that have put them and their families last.

This government have only ever cared about themselves, and there is no better example than when it comes to health and to our Medicare system. Every time someone in our community needs to see a GP, every time someone needs to visit a public hospital and every time someone needs to visit a specialist, they are bearing the brunt of this government's continued harsh and unfair health cuts. The government likes to put on a bit of an act and pretend like it's all been fixed, there's nothing to see here anymore and they're committed to Medicare, but there's a very, very simple test—a test that tells the true story about this government's complete neglect of Medicare. Have they dropped all of their unfair cuts that they're making to health that make it less accessible and less affordable for every Australian? Have they dropped every single one of their cuts? The answer, of course, is: no, they have not.

I know that the minister's a bit of a name dropper, and he puts on a bit of an act that he's the superhero in health, but he knows, we know and our constituents know that this is absolute rubbish. The damage done by the government's attacks on Medicare is continuing every day across the country, whether it is in the GP clinics, in the public hospitals or in relation to public dental. People are paying the price for this government's neglect of Medicare, whether it's in waiting times blowing out or the hit to their hip pocket going up every time under this government.

I'd like to particularly focus on dental in this contribution today because it's one of the best examples of why this government can't be trusted when it comes to the health of this nation. If you're looking for more evidence that, when it comes to health, there is nothing that the Prime Minister won't destroy, public dental is an absolute prime example. These are basic dental services that are provided for some of our society's most vulnerable Australians, and they are particularly important because we know that access to dental services is one of the biggest markers of health inequality and, in turn, economic inequality more generally. The most recent statistics from the Bureau of Statistics show that people living in areas of least socioeconomic disadvantage were significantly more likely to see a dental professional than those living in areas of most disadvantage. People living in the areas of most socioeconomic disadvantage were twice as likely to delay seeing or not see a dental professional due to cost compared with those living in areas of least disadvantage.

One study of inequality in oral health in Australia found that the number of middle-aged adults with fewer than 21 teeth was seven times higher in the lowest than in the highest income quartile. That's why the last federal Labor government budgeted $391 million a year for adult public dental services. But the Turnbull government has cut this funding time and time again, with total cuts of around $300 million a year. As a result, every year, more than 300,000 Australians will miss out on critical public dental services. This is a cut that is in addition to the Prime Minister's attempt to abolish the Child Dental Benefits Schedule—a separate program that provides dental care to eligible children. Let me repeat that: that's a program that, in fact, provides basic dental care to children, and this government tried to abolish it. Labor blocked that cut in the parliament, but the adult program is not protected by legislation.

To show you just how damaging this cut is, in an extraordinary step six states and territories recently wrote to this health minister to highlight the disastrous impact of the Turnbull government's latest cuts to dental funding. They were united. This is a major cut to the provision of public dental care across the country. The letter called out the severe funding cut and significant reduction in the level of Commonwealth investment in a national partnership agreement on adult public dental care. This agreement is meant to support the provision of dental care to vulnerable Australians, but the state's letter makes clear that these cuts will lead to fewer people being seen and longer waiting times for dental treatments. And new figures from the department show just how long people are waiting for the dental care that they need. The average wait time across all states and territories is 14 months—and that, of course, is the average; in the Northern Territory it is a staggering 45 months. That's almost four years to get public dental help.

There are more than 409,000 Australians in this situation, on these waiting lists across the country. And how much money did the government allocate in the budget to actually fix the existing waiting lists? Nothing. In fact, they locked in their cuts, which will only make the situation worse. And of course these have come on top of all the cuts across the system that this government has banked in its savings policies. The vulnerable people in this situation are being burnt by the government's cuts. The Medicare freeze will be in place for years to come, with GP items to manage chronic disease, treat pregnant women and undertake mental health assessments frozen until 2020—still banking $2.2 billion of savings cut out of patient rebates. Specialist consultations and procedures continue to be frozen, hitting the 40 per cent of Australians who need to see a GP each year, including some of our sickest and most vulnerable people.

And there has been the abandonment of public hospitals, pushing them to breaking point. We are seeing that across the country—people with higher needs ending up in our emergency departments and unable to access the care they need because of funding cuts by this government. That is the story the government won't admit when it comes to Medicare, our universal health insurance system. It is the story of how they are making it harder for Australians to get the health care they need. This is the story of how health inequality is only getting worse under this government when they continue to put themselves first when it comes to the health care of this nation.

There is another matter I want to raise when it comes to our healthcare system that we've seen today and that I've been incredibly disappointed to see the minister's response on, and that is the issue of vaccination. Whilst we commend the government on the small amount of money it has contributed to running a vaccination campaign, today, again, we have seen One Nation make a statement around antivaccination—Senator Burston, obviously backing in Senator Hanson's previous comments. We have seen again from this government a failure to condemn One Nation for its comments. This is a significant issue. We have a leadership responsibility in this place to ensure that what we say from the platforms of this place is critically important. But in this circumstance we have seen that this government has created a platform for One Nation to continue to spread its misinformation about vaccination. I ask the minister in his contribution to say the words, 'I condemn One Nation's antivaccination comments.' That's what I ask you to say—exactly those words: 'I condemn One Nation for their antivaccination misinformation.' That's what you need to do. I know you've tweeted that you don't agree with antivaxxers; I want you to say that you don't agree with One Nation antivaxxers, because they are the people in this parliament who are using the platform you have given them to actually spruik this misinformation.

It is critically important that we make sure that the message is out loud and clear that we do not support One Nation's comments about vaccination. And I know the minister's embarrassed, because he knows they've done a deal with One Nation on these media reforms in the Senate and they don't want to offend them by saying those words. But I ask him to do that, because it is critically important that we get the message out to parents, even those who voted for One Nation, that on this issue they are wrong.

See this speech in context