Zoe McKenzie (Flinders, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

According to Endometriosis Australia, there are 830,000 endometriosis patients in Australia. Almost 220,000 of these are in my home state of Victoria. According to the ABS, there are 87,640 women in Flinders, so, by deduction, some 6,000 Flinders women suffer from endometriosis. For women who do not suffer from it, little is known about it; for those who do, it is both life changing and life dominating, starting early in life and enduring throughout most of it.

The coalition has a proud history of delivering record funding to improve the diagnosis, care and treatment of more than 800,000 women with endometriosis. The former government was the first to acknowledge and recognise endometriosis and its impacts on women across our country, much of which was spearheaded by my predecessor, Greg Hunt, led by his excellent policy adviser at the time, Ms Briony Hutton. Since then, Briony has been a constant advocate for women suffering endometriosis, no more so than in Hastings, within the Flinders electorate, which she sought to represent at the last Victorian election, losing by only a few hundred votes. I had the chance to reach out to Briony over the weekend and talk to her about endometriosis. In turn, she reached out to a close friend who has suffered from endometriosis for some time and who gave me permission to read out her story, so I will.

The story is that of Bethany Toporzisek, from my electorate of Flinders. I'm able to share her story of endometriosis today. Bethany grew up with her family in Somerville and attended school in Tyabb. At age 26, after exploring every corner of the peninsula and travelling through Europe, she now works as an artisan baker at Flinders Sourdough. At the age of 20, Bethany had her first laparoscopic surgery to determine the cause of chronic and severe pain she had been experiencing for several years in her pelvis, lower back and upper thigh, along with painful digestive complications. When she thought she was suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, she was, to her surprise, diagnosed with endometriosis. Bethany's eventual surgical diagnosis finally made sense of her symptoms and equipped her with the knowledge to seek help. She still suffers from symptoms of endo but has become passionately diligent about her diet and exercise as a way of managing her chronic illness. The average endo diagnosis takes anywhere between seven and 10 years. Bethany hopes that by sharing her story she can encourage other young women experiencing unusual period and digestive symptoms to not accept this as normal and to seek professional help.

More than $333 million was budgeted in the 2022-23 budget to strengthen health services and make more support available to women and girls through a range of new initiatives, including a focus on endometriosis. As part of this investment, the former government committed $58 million—the largest funding for endometriosis on record, in fact—to support women experiencing endo and improve their quality of life, building on the National Action Plan for Endometriosis to ensure women are diagnosed and supported in the best way possible. It is quite remarkable that a disease that affects so many Australian women was so misunderstood and shrouded in ignorance.

This month is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Held in March each year, it raises important awareness of this painful and debilitating condition. Incredible organisations, like Endometriosis Australia, play a vital role in supporting patients throughout their endo journey from diagnosis to treatment and beyond. They are also a wealth of information and provide connections to various support groups around the country.

The 2018 national action plan describes endometriosis as a chronic disease that occurs when cells similar to those that line a woman's uterus grow in other parts of her body, usually around the pelvis, and less commonly in tissues and organs outside it. It is a highly individualised disease, with the symptoms and impact of the disease ranging significantly from person to person. The coalition remains profoundly committed to helping to improve the quality of life for an extraordinary number of Australian women and girls living with endo.

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