Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this matter of public importance as well and welcome the topic that has been put forward by the member for Mayo. It's great and refreshing to be able to have this debate on the floor of our parliament. We have lots of health debates in this place, but this is possibly the first time that I can remember participating in a matter of public importance about women's health. So it is welcomed that we are having this honest conversation about where we are at when it comes to women's health in this country.

I want to acknowledge the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Health and Aged Care for backing in and introducing a lot of the reforms that I will talk about today—reforms that not just affect people in my electorate but will support and help people across our country. I'm very proud to be part of a Labor government that is working to improve women's health and putting it front and centre on the agenda. We are listening to women in addressing the systematic bias within our health system. As the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care has told us, we instigated the review into medical misogyny. The fact that we've even acknowledged it's an issue is a step up for this place compared to what we've seen from the previous government. In the recent budget, the Albanese Labor government made a historic announcement committing $49 million towards improving services to help women access treatment for complex gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis. Medicare will also now pay the same fee for consultations required for other complex gynaecological conditions. This is just one area where we're seeing improvement.

Also in the budget was $160 million for tailored services to tackle the bias and improve access and a review of MBS items to identify the bias and better balance the health system. We've heard examples of how that has been improved. There will be more access to choice and support for women during pregnancy, including longer antenatal and postnatal consultations delivered through participating midwives. I know this is something that people in my electorate welcome—that ability to engage with your midwife post birth as well as pre birth. There is funding to continue strategies to prevent early-term birth and improve participation in maternity services. There is support for our First Nations community to have birthing on country. That has happened under this government, because we've listened to and worked with community on how we can deliver that. There is also the investment into general health, which is enabling more women to access health services.

The investment in tripling the bulk-billing incentive for children under 16 and people on concession cards is seeing more women access health services. Far too many women in my electorate who are on a healthcare card did not access health care if they couldn't see a bulk-billing doctor. It was in free fall. So to know that they can access a bulk-billing doctor is a weight off their minds. Too often, the mums and the grandmas were putting the money that would have paid that gap fee into feeding children and grandchildren or supporting their family members to access health care, and now they don't have to do, because this government invested in tripling the bulk-billing incentive and introduced cheaper medicines.

Another thing this government has done since coming to office is the investment into endometriosis. I am the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Endometriosis Awareness, and we welcome the continued investment by this government—over $107 million to support women with endometriosis, including funding to establish specialist clinics to help people. Australia's first endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics were opened by this government—22 across the country, including one in my electorate. The bid that was put forward by the Bendigo Community Health Service really has achieved amazing things, not just for women accessing their services but in the way in which they've been able to educate and engage the broader medical fraternity in my electorate. We're seeing the lift in education and awareness amongst GPs. There is support for sexual and reproductive health, for all women to have the form of contraception that they choose. We're investing $1.2 million to support healthcare professionals to train around menopause. I know that this is an area, like all areas of women's health, where we need to do more, and this government will.

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