Turia Tariana: General Debate 
Turia Tariana: General Debate 
[Volume:639;Page:9849] 
TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 Tena koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tena tatou katoa. You know the general debate must be the worst hour of the week in the House—an hour where people are slagged off for 5 minutes at a time. There is no policy debate and no one smiles. It is all based on the politics of nothing. There is a Nat King Cole song that goes: “Smile what’s the use of crying? You’ll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile”—and so it would seem. All the psychological studies tell us that doors open to people who smile people listen to people who smile and employers look favourably at job applicants who smile. 
So today I want to talk about a serious primary health issue and I have to say how disappointed I was when the Minister of Health today said that he did not believe that oral health issues were as significant as other primary health issues. Yet we in the Maori electorates know the significance that poor oral health plays and its impact on the overall well-being in our communities. It affects something as simple as trying to get a job—if someone smiles people can see the damage to that person’s teeth at that time. 
Two days ago in my electorate I spent time with dental health providers who told me about being constantly blocked in their ambition to provide quality dentistry to low socio-economic and vulnerable communities—and it is not the first time that a dental health provider has raised these matters with me. They showed me the policy spin—the Minister’s pledge to address “Maori Pacific rural and low socio-economic populations that are all showing progressively poorer oral health”—and they shared with me their ideas around providing services that address the very real barriers of cost of access and of fear. But despite their innovation and despite their commitment they keep getting turned away. 
The district health boards say there is no money for low-income adults and Work and Income’s subsidies are limited to the relief of pain and infection—preventive oral health is not a priority—and essential dental contracts for community cardholders who have infection and pain are being denied. They shared with me their belief that their services can reduce the pervasive inequalities as most dental disease is preventable. They talked too of the all-important need to address the whole person and to make the connections between one area of health and another. 
Oral health is as important as and must be considered equal to all other primary health matters that are fully funded by the Government. Oral health is a core health service issue. We know that it is linked to other chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease malignant melanomas may appear orally ulcers can indicate deficiencies in vitamins B and C and infections may present first in the mouth. The World Health Organization has defined oral health to the extent that “an individual can eat speak and socialise without discomfort pain or embarrassment for a lifetime and which contributes to general well-being.” It seems such a simple wish a humble aspiration to eat speak and smile. We have providers out there who want to meet those humble aspirations and we know it can be done. In Rotorua for instance a mobile dental clinic operates under the Lakes District Health Board and there is another two-chair mobile dental clinic that the Tipu Ora Trust will be shortly rolling out to service low-income families in schools. In Whakatane there are six mobile dental clinics which cover Tauranga Whakatane Te Kaha Murupara through to Ruatahuna. Yet in Te Tai Hauauru which has providers out there ready and willing with mobile clinics they are told it is not a key priority. 
The Maori Party believes we can and we must return to a time when Maori again can have the finest teeth of any existing race a time when the closing of gaps takes on another meaning—reducing regional difference addressing whanau ora and helping people to smile again. This is a Government policy that would go down well in Maori communities right throughout the country. I urge those Maori members on the other side of the House—who are talking and taking no notice of me—to introduce this into their communities. It might help them to do well at the next election. Kia ora.