Greens’ spokesperson for dental health, Senator Richard Di Natale, has welcomed Tony Abbott’s backing of the Greens’ Denticare plan, but says that the Australian people want a commitment, not just aspirations.
“I am pleased to see that the Greens’ plan to bring dental treatment into Medicare is something that Tony Abbott aspires to - but he needs to put his money where his mouth is.
“Millions of people delay treatment due to cost. Basic problems become serious ones, resulting in $500 million in costs from visits to emergency departments and GPs with 2 billion in lost productivity. In extreme cases, lives are at risk.
“It’s not good enough for the alternative PM to express his concerns about the problems facing the nation – he needs tell us what he’s going to do to fix them.
“The Coalition should back the Greens’ plan for Medicare funded dental treatment, which is fully costed, backed by experts and is a reform that the Australian public want desperately.
“To the person who is in chronic pain or can’t get a job or rental property because their dental health is so poor, an aspirational goal is meaningless.
“We can afford a Denticare scheme - it’s all about choices. The opposition chose to say no to the Treasury-backed mining tax and now plans to vote against means testing of the private health insurance rebate. Both of these measures could have gone a long way to funding Denticare.”
Media contact: Andrew Blyberg 0457 901 600