FEDERAL election greens candidate Michael Organ is calling for Medicare to cover the cost of public dental care in his campaign for Riverina.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Organ said at the top of his priority list is climate change and the cost of living- starting with dental health- which he said is the only public health sector that isn't supported by Medicare.
"You can walk down Baylis Street in Wagga and see that people's teeth are too often a visible sign of class and personal wealth," he said.
Mr Organ said there are currently more than 16,000 children and over 125,000 adults languishing on the NSW public dental waitlist.
"It is one of those issues that is really connected to the costs of living and the crisis we're currently having in Australia where families are finding it really hard to put food on the table and find accommodation," he said.
"Dental care shouldn't be a matter of privilege."
Lead NSW Greens senate candidate David Shoebridge showed his support for Mr Organ's campaign when he visited Wagga on Thursday.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"But also, we are here to talk about making sure everybody has the means to get their teeth fixed so we're no longer seeing what is increasingly a class divide between those people who can afford to get dental work done and those who can't.
"For the life of me, I can't understand why Medicare stops at your mouth."
Government corruption and misuse will also be on Green's agenda this federal election.
"It's not just Wagga that faces these kinds of issues, it's across the entire country we're seeing public money being spent on vanity projects for politicians to get votes rather than on real essential needs," Mr Shoebridge said.
Mr Organ said Australians have seen corruption in government for too long.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters