Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Colin Yearby is a local Nowra resident. He has been nominated to be a World Smile Day ambassador by the Personal Helper and Mentors—PHaMs—program. This came after PHaMs recognised Mr Yearby's personal commitment to encourage others to smile. His philosophy is simple and he has dedicated his time to making people in the community smile.

The Smile Project is run by a non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging as many people as possible to share their smile with others. World Smile Day's theme is 'Do an act of kindness.' Admittedly, it is not a unique concept but it is an effective one.

Last week my office got involved by hosting a sausage sizzle in Junction Court, in Nowra. It was done in conjunction with some local identities. I would like to thank Bakers Delight, Pacific Smiles Dental and Centre Butchery for their donations to World Smile Day; Clive Brooks from Great Southern Motorcycles for providing the BBQ; and Adam Straney, from 2ST, for spruiking.

The team from PHaMs helped with all the cooking, all contributing to making it a very successful promotion. What struck me most of all is how readily people can smile, just given the opportunity and the right circumstances. PHaMs is a new program, funded by the Commonwealth government, which supports people whose lives are severely affected by a mental illness.

It is a key part of the Australian government's mental health package, which was announced in the 2006 budget, and is part of the Council of Australian Governments' National Action Plan on Mental Health. This package was released by the former coalition government a year or two after we introduced the Medical Chronic Disease Dental Program, an equally successful program that has helped many older Australians get desperately needed help for their teeth.

But the Labor government want to cut the program. This will be their third attempt and in the face of all the evidence that points to the success of and need for such a program. The Medical Chronic Disease Dental Program, introduced by the Howard government more than seven years ago, provided up to $4,250 for patients whose dental problems were compounding an existing illness. This scheme allowed those with dental issues needing immediate attention to bypass waiting lists, which can sometimes take years to provide a service.

I question Labor's commitment to dental services after they announced that a new government scheme would replace the MCDDP. Even after   proclaiming they were killing a good scheme, it turns out that their latest brainwave is just another thought bubble—yet again another example of making up things as you go along. Labor have cut an acute dental scheme that has helped many thousands of ordinary Australians, only to replace it with nothing. The end of the MCDDP has potentially left thousands of Australians needing immediate dental care on a waiting list that can take years to provide service.

I am calling on the government to immediately reinstate the MCDDP until it can at least introduce an alternative scheme that will provide for acute dental needs in the electorate of Gilmore. Perhaps if common sense took hold and Labor had the courage to accept what the coalition did was a good thing, the likes of Colin Yearby may not have to go around trying to get people to smile. After all, when you have rotting teeth, why would you smile?