Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak today on the Health Insurance Amendment (Medicare Dental Services) Bill 2007. This legislation will do nothing to help hundreds of thousands of individuals within Australia and hundreds of individuals within the electorate of Hindmarsh who have been waiting for dental treatment for many, many years. The proposed legislation is an extension of an existing program that has not serviced the needs of Australians since its implementation in July 2004. That is why, today, the announcement was made that a Rudd Labor government will fund up to one million additional dental consultations for Australians needing dental treatment by establishing a Commonwealth dental health program.

I congratulate the federal Leader of the Opposition and the shadow health minister, Nicola Roxon, who came to the electorate of Hindmarsh and heard firsthand from a group of elderly constituents in my electorate their stories of how they have been waiting for years to receive dental treatment. As I said, many of these people were elderly pensioners who cannot afford private treatment or a visit to a private dentist. They told Ms Roxon of their concerns about having to wait for up to five years for a pair of dentures, for example, or about having received dentures many, many years ago but now needing new ones because the dentures they had were not fitted properly. I am very pleased that our shadow minister, Nicola Roxon, took their concerns on board. I am pleased that she heard them and listened to them that day in my electorate office and ensured that we came up with a policy that would assist not only the people we met with but also thousands of Australians around this magnificent continent of ours who, for some reason or other, have been waiting for many years. That ‘some reason or other’, we know very well, refers to one of the first acts of the Howard government: the axing of the Commonwealth dental scheme that serviced many, many people. When that axing took place we saw the waiting lists for dental care skyrocket. A couple of years ago, the Rann Labor government in South Australia injected millions of dollars to make the waiting time reduce from four to five years to two years.

The federal Labor leader, Kevin Rudd, today pledged to invest up to $290 million in a Commonwealth dental health program—one of the first programs, as I said, scrapped by the Howard government in 1996. This is the first instalment of Labor’s Commonwealth dental program. The Commonwealth will give the states and territories the funds necessary to play a huge part in reducing our dental waiting lists. This funding will be tied to the states and territories meeting certain standards for dental care, such as providing care to individuals with chronic diseases affected by poor oral health, ensuring the provision of preventative and emergency services and maintaining the current effort.

In contrast, since the introduction of the government’s chronic disease scheme, which targets individuals with chronic disease and complex care needs, there has not been any substantial decrease in the number of individuals on the public dental waiting lists. Over the past three years, the scheme has cost $1.8 million and has assisted only 7,000 people, leaving an estimated 650,000 on waiting lists, with no hope of seeing a dentist in the very near future. The government’s chronic disease scheme is overly complex and forces individuals to partake in an extensive referral system with very high copayments. As I said, there are currently 650,000 Australians on public dental waiting lists. In South Australia, as I said, the Rann Labor government has been working hard to reduce the public dental waiting lists—from 49 months in June 2002 to 25 months in February 2007 and down to 23 months in June this year.

The huge increase in waiting times is a result of the Howard government axing the Commonwealth dental scheme in 1996; it was one of its first acts as the Commonwealth government. The South Australian government has worked hard to address the problem of dental waiting lists. It has put in over $20 million into the state’s dental program, with $12.9 million allocated in the most recent budget. These extra funds aim at reducing the waiting lists by 10 months by 2010. The Health Insurance Amendment (Medicare Dental Services) Bill 2007 will not provide care to the vast majority of those 650,000 Australians who have already waited years for dental treatment. This legislation will increase the funds available in the government’s chronic disease scheme, which is absurd when the program is already failing to meet the needs of thousands of Australians.

Dental care is an issue that I have campaigned on strongly and vigorously since my election in 2004. During this time, I have had dozens of Hindmarsh constituents contact me because they are receiving inadequate dental care or they are on extensive waiting lists, with no hope of seeing a dentist in the very near future. At every forum or street corner meeting that I attend in the electorate, the topic of dental care is raised with me. It is an issue that is raised week in, week out. There are continuous phone calls into my office from people who have been waiting on the list for many years and who have all sorts of dental issues that need immediate attention.

The Hindmarsh electorate is demographically one of the oldest electorates in the country, and many pensioners are in need of dental care and many of them are receiving inadequate care. They live on a small pension and do not have the money to be able to attend a private dentist. Recent research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that 30 per cent of people deliberately avoid seeking dental treatment as it is too expensive. Many of the individuals who avoid dental treatment are our elderly Australians.

At a recent forum that I held in the electorate on this issue, I was introduced to a gentleman who had taken it upon himself to perform his own dental care. This gentleman was elderly, he was a pensioner and he had been on the list for a number of years. This do-it-yourself dentistry has been gaining traction since the federal government abolished the Commonwealth Dental Health Program in 1996. Elderly pensioners such as Mrs Searle and Mrs Thompson, who are only two of the many people who are in need of dental treatment, are being forced to wait for it even though they suffer from ongoing pain and discomfort. They are both no closer to receiving treatment than they were 12 months ago. Maybe the Prime Minister should think of Mrs Searle and Mrs Thompson and how they cannot afford dental treatment when he claims that working families have never been better off. Mrs Searle and Mrs Thompson will not be helped by the government’s proposed Health Insurance Amendment (Medicare Dental Services) Bill 2007.

A recent study conducted by the Journal of Health in the US found a link between oral health and heart health. The study was able to link gum disease and teeth loss with the occurrence of heart disease. Tooth decay, as we all know, is currently one of Australia’s most prevalent health problems. It is speculated by medical professionals that bacteria in the mouth cause cavities and gum disease. This, in turn, could cause disease to enter the bloodstream, which could potentially cause damage to the body’s key blood vessels and place strain on the heart.

During the early years of an individual’s life, oral disease has a huge impact on an individual’s overall health. We believe that it is important to pick up health problems early so that they do not affect a child’s ability to learn and develop at school. We know that poor health in children not only affects their learning but also is a strong predictor of poor health in adulthood. In Australia, there has been an increase in the number of hospitalisations due to poor dental health. There has been a 42 per cent increase in the number of children being treated in private hospitals due to dental cavities.

These figures are alarming and are reinforced by a report released by the Australia Fair campaign in August this year, which found that 40 per cent of Australians were unable to access dental care when they needed it. The states and territories need the Commonwealth to play its part by contributing to the alleviation of Australia’s dental crisis and not engaging in the blame game, as we have seen again and again in relation to the many issues that are raised in this parliament.

The Howard government has continued to play the blame game with the states on dental health. The Commonwealth continues to try to shift the blame to the states and territories. However, the Commonwealth has the power to take hold of dental services and ensure that adequate dental care is delivered to all Australians. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, in its report entitled The blame game: report on the inquiry into health funding, made the following recommendation:

The Australian Government should supplement state and territory funding for public dental services so that reasonable—

and I emphasise ‘reasonable’—

access standards for appropriate services are maintained, particularly for disadvantaged groups.

This recommendation has, in my view, not been taken seriously by the Commonwealth, as 650,000 Australians are still languishing on public dental waiting lists. The responsibility for the training of dental professionals lies entirely with the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth has not planned for ensuring that there is an adequate dental workforce. There are only about 9,000 practising dentists in Australia. These dentists are not distributed evenly or in areas with the highest need. Many of these dentists are in the CBD, business districts, residential suburbs or high-density areas.

This workforce shortage has received a lot of attention in the electorate of Hindmarsh, with thousands of individuals signing a petition to increase the number of dentists available in Australia. The community is angry that there are not sufficient dentists available in the public sector and, as a consequence, they are forced to wait for years to see a dentist, without any hope. Labor understands that there needs to be an investment in the dental health area. That is why we announced today that, as a first step, we will be committing to funding up to one million additional dental consultations for all Australians. As I said, this is the first step in Labor’s Commonwealth Dental Health Program, which will aim to service all Australians, including Australian families.

Poor dental health impacts on the whole health system. Simple dental treatment can often prevent the development of other, more complex health issues. As an individual’s health condition escalates, they are more frequently hospitalised and there is an increased use of prescription drugs and painkillers. This places an increased burden on our health system. Early prevention of medical conditions is preferable to treating complex and often advanced health conditions.

Labor has taken the first steps to addressing Australia’s dental crisis, unlike the government with its Health Insurance Amendment (Medicare Dental Services) Bill 2007, which does not provide the dental care that thousands of Australians need.

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