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May 6th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda A half billion dollar package to cut dental waiting lists is the first step towards developing a national dental care scheme, Greens senator Richard di Natale says.
The federal government on Sunday announced a $515.3 million dentistry package ahead of Tuesday’s budget.
The package includes $345.9 million to treat some of the 400,000 patients on dental waiting lists over the next three years. Funding will also be provided to improve dental services outside metropolitan areas.
“New spending in this budget will see a blitz on state government waiting lists to help meet the emergency treatment and prevention needs of people who are eligible for public dental care,” Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement.
The Green’s health spokesman, Senator di Natale, said the first $70 million of that fund would be spent in the first half of next year, with the bulk of the package allocated in the forward estimates.
He said the timeframe would allow six months to negotiate with the states to ensure they didn’t withdraw funding on the back of extra cash flowing from the Commonwealth.
Senator di Natale said there was not the capacity in the dental workforce to be able to make the investment sooner, and that some foundation work was needed first.
“It’s step one of what the Greens have been campaigning for a long time and that’s a Denticare-style scheme,” Senator di Natale told reporters in Melbourne.
“It will go a long way to reducing waiting lists, but on its own it won’t be enough, so we’re really encouraged that the government’s said the next two months we’re going to work together on getting that new national dental scheme off the ground.”
The package includes doubling to 100 the number of placements available under the Voluntary Dental Graduate Year Program, and introducing relocation grants to encourage dentists to move to rural and regional areas.
“We acknowledge this won’t eliminate waiting lists but it will go a long way to reducing the 400,000 people on current waiting lists,” Senator di Natale said.
“The next step is really critical and that next step is making sure we’ve got a Medicare-style scheme.”
The Australian Health and Hospitals Association (AHHA), which has been campaigning on the issue for the past seven years, also welcomed the package as a big step towards improving universal dental health care.
“This (package) will greatly help improve both their dental health and quality of life as well as improving productivity and reducing hospital admissions,” chief executive Prue Power said in a statement.
“The AHHA is ready to support and assist the forthcoming negotiations between the government and the Australian Greens which will consider further steps on the journey towards universal access to dental treatment for all Australians.”
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