Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

It's an honour to follow my friend the member for Macarthur in this debate, and I acknowledge the very personal story that he told in his contribution. The member for Macarthur is much admired as a medical practitioner and as a parliamentarian around this place. The nature of his personal story indicates that, if someone with his distinction as a medical practitioner was not able to identify endometriosis, we as a society have much further to go in needing to encourage medical practitioners across the country to properly diagnose this issue. I want to acknowledge his work and the work of the members for Bendigo and Forrest, who, together with Nicolle Flint, Gai Brodtmann and me, were among the founders of the Parliamentary Friends of Endometriosis.

Seeing a photograph of Bindi Irwin in hospital recently, announcing her decade-long battle with endometriosis, will have caught the breath of many Australians, partly because of the realisation that this dynamic young woman with the world at her feet was suffering enormously despite her brave smile, and partly because many of us have seen exactly this sort of bravery and silent pain before, demonstrated by the amazing women that we love. My own wife, Joanna, is extraordinary in countless ways, but when it's come to her own battle with endometriosis, I've seen bravery and endurance that's nothing short of heroic. The ongoing pain, the surgeries and the question marks over fertility are very, very heavy burdens that don't last for weeks or months, but years. Endometriosis affects the lives of women dealing with it. Bindi's words, 'Please be gentle and pause before asking me, or any woman, when we'll be having more children,' ring very true.

Among our neighbours, friends and families, many women are quietly wondering what endometriosis will mean for their possibilities of family and what it will mean for their own body. Many others are silently living in the aftermath of surgeries, having organs removed and trying to deal with the debilitating pain they've lived with. For a condition that's only been historically spoken of rarely, endometriosis is actually very common, with one in nine Australian women suffering from it.

Endometriosis is a debilitating condition in which the endometrium, the tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus, grows outside and around the uterus or on other reproductive organs—the ovaries, the fallopian tubes—and, in extreme cases, on other parts of the body. The symptoms can vary significantly. For many women it means significant pain, nausea and, in some cases, infertility. It can also be present without those symptoms. This is perhaps one of the reasons why endometriosis diagnosis takes far longer than it should. According to Endometriosis Australia it takes on average six and a half years to be diagnosed. There are many misconceptions about the condition in the community. Too many Australian girls and women have suffered silently with endo, believing their severe period pain is normal or just part of being a woman. It's a particular problem, I think, in some multicultural communities where women's health issues remain a serious taboo. This is why raising awareness is essential: so that women no longer have to suffer without support where it's available. The sooner someone is treated, the sooner life can resume as normal.

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. It's an important opportunity for us to talk about the disease and encourage women to investigate if they think they might be affected. We also need to talk about it because recent research from universities has found that the lack of understanding is affecting many women in the workplace. The vast majority of women with endo who were surveyed report that endo has impacted their working life in some way: 70 per cent of women with endo have had to take time off work to manage the symptoms they deal with, and one in three of the survey respondents said they'd been overlooked for promotions because of the impact of endo on their working life. We are missing the talents of amazing women.

The estimated cost of endo in Australia each year is significant. A report released in 2019 estimated that endometriosis costs society $9.7 billion annually. The majority of that is not health care, but it's productivity related. For the women who are experiencing the pain of endo, that will be no surprise. The toll on their lives and bodies is inescapable. I want to say to any woman out there who's affected by endometriosis: there is help available. Don't suffer silently. Speak to your doctor, and if you don't make progress go and seek a second opinion.

I want to celebrate the progress we've made in recent years. I'm proud that when we were in government we invested record levels of funding in the care, diagnosis and treatment of people with endo. In 2022, Prime Minister Morrison announced $58 million of funding for MRI scans and the establishment of endometriosis treatment clinics, and I commend the Albanese government for continuing with the plan. I'm looking forward to seeing the clinics set up and running in due course. I want to also acknowledge all the advocates, the amazing endo warriors in this space, particularly my friend Syl Freedman from EndoActive, who I met when I first became a parliamentarian. Finally, I want to say something to the women who battle endometriosis. On behalf of your husbands, your partners and the people who love you: we think you're incredible. We think you're amazing. We love you and we want to support you in any way we can on this journey.

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