Dental health.

One issue yet to make an impact in the runup to this year's Federal election is dental health. For over half a century this has been the poor relation to the national health system.
Medicaire is probably as good a safety net as any in comparison with the health system of other countries. All citizens are entitled to free care within the state hospital systems and a sufficiently large number of doctors bulk bill to provide service free of charge for those unable to pay. Unfortunately - when it comes to dental care the provision of services for the average person falls far short.
There are facilities for those unable to pay, but the waiting list is years rather than months - and such is the rationing applied that when a patient reaches the front of the queue he or she receives attention to a single tooth - and then goes back to the end of the cheque should additional treatment be required.
Kevin Rudd has seized the initiative and promised that if Labor is elected he will elevate dental care to the same level as medical care within Medicaire. So far the Liberal government has not responded with a counter scheme - but that will probably happen within the short term.
This is one of the benefits of our Federal system. Every three years we have an election to see who controls the levers of power in Canberra - and in bidding for our vote the government and the opposition party are forced to present their agenda for our scrutiny. The people get to pick and choose according to what the political parties promise.
There is just one fly in the ointment. Politics is a strange game totally removed from the laws that prevail in the business community - where a company can be sued and severely punished for misrepresentation of it's prospectus. When politicians speak and make promises - and that applies to both sides of the house - there is no law that insists that those promises will be carried out or not drastically altered to the point when they become worthless.
Basing a vote on promises is a bit like taking numbers in Lotto. Occasionally Lady Luck smiles and bestows a winner - but most simply end up in the discard bin when the election is finally over !