Got a reply from Peter Garret, MP, about dental scheme

I wrote to my local member of parliament about the new federal dental scheme to see what the answer would be to my question about the closing of the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme. My federal MP is, believe it or not, Peter Garrett, lead singer of the Australian group Midnight Oil a few years back. Here is one of the more popular singles of the time:

My question was very specific regarding my circumstances, but unfortunately all I got back was a form letter.The most relevant bit being:

The Government’s intention is to close the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme (CDDS) at the first opportunity after the Budget to enable work to commence on a national scheme which is better targeted to helping those who most need support.

Once again, thank you for writing to me and if you require any further assistance in relation to any other Federal matters please don’t hesitate to contact my office.

Yours Sincerely

Peter Garrett AM

Federal Member for Kingsford Smith
Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth

Meh, very disappointing really. I thought Peter would have been more forthcoming than that. I mean it's not every day a politician gets an email from an HIV+ person asking a very specific question about new gov rules coming in that will directly affect them. This was my reply:

 

Um, all already knew all of that from the media reports online. Something more than a form letter would have been nice.

My specific question hasn't been answered at all. That being:

Being HIV positive, will I still be eligible for assistance under the new scheme, and will I be able to use the private dentist that I've been using for the last 2 years who is part of my health care plan?

I look forward to a more detailed reply.

BTW I'm keeping track of this on my blog and letting people who view my blog as well about this correspondence. The blog is currently getting about 100 views a day.
http://lifewithhiv-peter.blogspot.com.au/

We'll see how it goes from there. 

Didn't go out anywhere last night. Simon and I ended up staying in, and getting to know each other's bodies again. It's been a while as last time he was here all we had was one fuck and then I got Shingles. It was amazing to reconnect again after such a long time apart physically like that. Today we're going out for some drinks somewhere just to get out. He wanted to go out last night but I had the shits from work and was just too tired. It all worked out well in the end!