2022-04-13
In a major address outlining the party’s election platform, Adam Bandt will announce the Greens’ plan to get dental into Medicare at the National Press Club in Canberra today.
The Greens leader will outline how the party is on track to hold the balance of power after the election, and will say the party’s priorities are taking climate action by stopping new coal and gas mines, and tackling the cost of living by getting dental and mental health into Medicare, fixing the housing crisis and wiping student debt.
The Greens’ plan will mean people can use their Medicare card at the dentist, just as at the doctor. Everyone entitled to Medicare will be able to get bulk billed or rebated dental care and orthodontic treatment and receive free oral surgeries, periodontics and prosthodontics as well. The plan would allow practices to choose whether to bulk bill or offer Medicare-rebated services, as with GPs.
The speech will outline how the Greens will tackle the increased cost of living that is driving the inequality crisis by making the billionaires, like Clive Palmer, and big corporations pay their fair share of tax, to fund universal services such as dental into Medicare.
Lines attributable to Adam Bandt MP:
“Last time the Greens were in the balance of power we got dental into Medicare for kids, and now we’ll finish the job by getting dental into Medicare for everyone.
“The best way to tackle the rising cost of living is to make healthcare and housing cheaper, not one-off handouts that get eaten up by inflation.
“People will be better off if dental is in Medicare.
“The Greens will make Clive Palmer pay more tax so you can fix your teeth.
“In balance of power, the Greens will kick the Liberals out and take climate action by stopping new coal and gas mines, and we’ll tackle the cost of living by getting dental and mental health into Medicare, fixing the housing affordability crisis and wiping student debt.”
Extract from the speech:
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Under our plan, everyone entitled to Medicare will be able to get bulk billed or rebated dental care including oral surgeries and orthodontic treatment.
The Greens want you to be able to use your Medicare card at the dentist.
Under the Greens’ plan, you can go to the dentist of your choice and use your Medicare card, just like at the GP.
Our policy will cost $77.6 billion over the decade - about $8b a year - funded by making billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share of tax, and it will make people’s lives better.
The money is there to pay for these plans if we have the guts to take on the billionaires and big corporations.
Labor agrees with Liberals that workers should get a one-off payment of $420 but billionaires should get a tax cut of $9000 per year, every year, forever, but the Greens want something different.
The Greens will introduce a billionaires tax, which will tax the growing list of 131 billionaires in Australia 6% of their wealth every year.
We will introduce a corporate super profits tax or tycoon tax, which will get the 1 in 3 corporations that currently don’t pay any tax and force them to hand over their excessive profits on anything they make over $100M, and we will crack down on multinational tax avoidance.
And we will end the billions in subsidies to fossil fuel corporations which are not only trying to kill us, they’re sending us an invoice.
The Greens will make Clive Palmer pay more tax so you can fix your teeth.