Morwell electorate
Martin CAMERON (Morwell) (14:43): (408) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health, and the question I ask is: what is the Labor government doing to reduce public dental waitlist times? The waitlist time for general dental care in Victoria was 16.9 months for the first half of 2023, but data from the Australian Dental Association shows that in my electorate of Morwell the average waiting time is 30.4 months, or 2½ years. One constituent in my electorate has been on the waiting list for vital dental treatment for 10 years. In that time this person has had one tooth removed, and after initial treatment they were returned to the bottom of the waitlist. Aside from the serious risk this poses to physical health, this person said the agonising wait has affected their confidence, mental health and ability to gain employment. There are more than 1.5 million adults who are eligible for access to dental health care in Victoria, but only 197,641 were able to receive care in the past 12 months. Minister, what is being done to address the unacceptably long waitlists for dental care?