Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Hansard source

I would also like to speak on the Report on the third review of the Dental Benefits Act 2008. This review considered whether the act and associated rules achieved their purpose in supporting the establishment and operation of the Child Dental Benefits Schedule—the CDBS—from 1 January 2014 and the operation and closure of the Medicare Teen Dental Plan up to 31 December 2013. The report

In particular, the Panel noted the success of the CDBS in targeting the oral health of young Australians at an age where preventative measures can be most effective. It supported the right of every child to access dental treatment from both the private and the public sectors.

There is the important finding for those opposite to note:

The Panel agreed that it would make clear recommendations to Government to ensure the ongoing success and effectiveness of the CDBS.

I hope that a copy of this report makes its way to the desk of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health, because, as we now know, the CDBS is set to be next in line for the government's never-ending quest for health cuts.

The $2.7 billion dental program has provided one million Australian children with affordable dental care over the past two years. Nearly all those children have been bulk-billed, and 80 per cent were treated by private dentists. In the first year alone, nearly 900,000 children accessed the program. Many of these children are from families that have never previously been able to afford a dentist.

Labor initiated the scheme, following alarming reports by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that 42 per cent of five-year-olds and 61 per cent of nine-year-olds had experienced decay in their baby teeth, and 58 per cent of 14-year-olds had experienced permanent tooth decay. Despite the overwhelming need for the scheme, it has been under attack from the Liberals since the moment it commenced. Hopefully now they can read this review and see the difference the CDBS is making.

This review also makes a number of important recommendations that I hope the government will very seriously consider. Instead of ripping funding out of this program, the government should be promoting it. While more than a million children have accessed the scheme, it is admittedly far fewer than the anticipated three million, and the majority of the recommendations in the report go to this issue, supporting exactly what Labor has been saying, many parents remain unaware the scheme exists, and the Abbott and Turnbull governments have done nothing to address this. They have done nothing to promote it. Instead, in last year's budget the government ripped $125.6 million from the CDBS, and now we hear that the government is set to axe the program completely in the upcoming budget—whenever that might be.

However, I hope that those opposite can take note of the findings in this report and abandon their ridiculous attacks on this program. If they will not do this then maybe they will listen to the experts in the field. Tony McBride, the Chair of the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance, said:

I'm particularly concerned about the child dental scheme because it is about early intervention. It is already a means-tested scheme so it is targeted to those families from average income and down, those currently least able to afford dental care.

The federal president of the Australian Dental Association, Rick Olive, expressed concern about the news that the CDBS was facing the axe, and urged parents to lobby local representatives to keep the scheme.

The CDBS ensures that children have access to critical preventative dental treatment. That is why the CDBS is so important. The scheme provides eligible children up to $1,000 in dental treatment every two years. We know that the cost of dental health care is a significant barrier to access. In fact, we know that the out-of-pocket costs for dental care are four times higher than what it is for average health care, and now the government are looking to make it even harder for families to access these important health services. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.