Opposition Calls for Australian Government to Release Dental Report
The opposition in Australia has called for the Labor government to release a dental report.
The opposition is encouraging the federal government to release a report, which suggests the introduction of a universal dental scheme. Leader of the Green Party, a party that joined the coalition after Julia Gillard’s Labor failed to gain the majority, is supporting the opposition on this issue and wants the report to be made available as quickly as possible.
The Labor Party announced that the report from the National Advisory Council on Dental Health had been sent, but Green party health spokesman, Richard Di Natale said that it would be unwise to release the report at the moment, as it is only an interim report. In a joint statement Di Natale and Labor Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, said that the final report would be issued in “due course.”
Media reports have suggested that the advisory council has proposed a universal dental scheme, which would cost around $9 billion over the course of a four year period. The Green Party has been campaigning for the scheme since joining the coalition and dental issues were a major part of the deal between the two parties during negotiations after the election.
Talking to Sky News, Peter Dutton, health spokesman for the opposition party, accused Nicola Roxon of “sitting on” the report and urged the government to release the findings as soon as possible. Senator Di Natale said that the interim report favoured a new universal scheme, which is consistent with what his party have been campaigning for all along.
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