National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025

Senator STEELE-JOHN (Western Australia) (12:08): I move the second reading amendment standing in my name: At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate: (a) notes that: (i) Australians are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, (ii) 3 in 10 people delay or avoid seeing the dentist due to cost, (iii) in 2022-23 there were more than 87,000 potentially preventable hospitalisations due to dental conditions; and (b) calls on the Government to recognise that the mouth is part of the body and to bring dental healthcare fully into Medicare, starting with an immediate commitment to fund and implement a Senior Dental Benefits Scheme".

The PRESIDENT: The question is that the second reading amendment as moved by Senator Steele-John be agreed to.