Stewart Barbara: Reports — Inquiry into Improving Child Health Outcomes and Preventing Child Abuse with a Focus from Preconception Until Three Years of Age (Volumes 1 and 2)Text is incorporated into the Bound VolumeStewart Barbara: Reports — Inquiry into Improving Child Health Outcomes and Preventing Child Abuse with a Focus from Preconception Until Three Years of Age (Volumes 1 and 2)[Sitting date: 10 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15463. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]BARBARA STEWART (NZ First): I am very pleased to rise on behalf of New Zealand First to speak to this report. First I have to congratulate all of the members of the Health Committee on the substantial report that we wrote under the excellent leadership and chairmanship of Dr Paul Hutchison who I must say spent many hours ensuring that the committee was on track encouraging the committee to review the submissions and keep to the topic and ensuring that the recommendations that we weremaking were as realistic as they possibly could be and as perfect as they possibly could be. So thank you Dr Hutchison for your patience in that area.Also we have to give thanks to the select committee staff for their tireless work on this massive project. Thank you to the submitters the advisers and the many others who willingly and passionately gave of their time to ensure that the recommendations were achievable and realistic.It has been great to see a Health Committee report acclaimed by so many organisations and so many people including in editorials and various publications. The fact that there was general consensus within the committee shows that we wanted the best for New Zealand children regardless of our political affiliations.This report should provide a signpost for many years to come. We know that it is very important to invest in the early years and of course there have been very few reports written for this age group. The goal must be to ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential. A good start in life should pay dividends when school age is reached and further on. I am reminded of the words of my former late colleague the Hon Brian Donnelly who used to say on a regular basis that the quality of the children we leave for the future determines the quality of that future and this is an instance where it is absolutely accurate.One of the areas that I am very passionate about is oral health and I will always stand up for that area. I know that poor oral health affects learning self-esteem development and overall well-being. Dental decay is one disease that is chronic here in New Zealand but fortunately it is one of the most preventable in all age groups. Nothing is sadder than seeing the struggle that children have when they go to school and are trying to learn to read with no teeth. It is difficult to participate in classroom activities. Communication is very very difficult. It generally results in a degree of isolation from their peers and no child should have that. The eleven recommendations that we made in the oral health section are achievable without a huge financial input by the Government.One issue that divides the community is the issue of the fluoridation of water. We have traversed that in this particular report and have come up with some recommendations that hopefully the Government will ensure come into being.The ongoing monitoring of preschoolers who miss scheduled dental appointments is really necessary as this hard-to-reach group cannot be allowed to continue to slip through the cracks. Some administrative factors such as defining dental neglect so that it can be managed accordingly and further defining ethnicity in the category of “other” for children are absolutely essential to identify any groups that are at risk. In this section we attempted to ensure that the recommendations once implemented would significantly reduce the risk factors associated with children’s oral health and dental caries. Our dental therapists do a massive job often in difficult circumstances and we hope that this section assures them that Parliament is keen to support the hard work that they do.I look forward to the Government’s response to the recommendations.