Emma Comer (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This week is Women's Health Week, and the theme is 'Say yes to you'. It's a powerful reminder that women so often put themselves last. Between work, caring for children, supporting partners and looking after ageing parents, women are the ones who hold families and communities together—but too often that means putting their own health on the back burner. 'Say yes to you' is about encouraging women to take that time to book a check-up, to follow up on that referral and to put their own wellbeing first, because, when women are healthy, whole communities are healthy.

When Labor came into government, we made a clear commitment that women's health would no longer be treated as an afterthought. For too long, policies and programs were designed with a one-size-fits-all approach—and that size rarely fits women. Labor is listening to women. We've established the National Women's Health Advisory Council, that brings together experts, advocates and women with lived experience, making sure women's voices shape the policies that affect them. We're investing in women's reproductive health. That includes funding to expand access to clinics for endometriosis and pelvic pain, conditions that have been dismissed and underdiagnosed. For the first time, women don't have to suffer in silence. We are also increasing access to contraception and reproductive health services so that women have greater choice and control over their own bodies.

Women's pain is too often dismissed and swept under the rug. Today, I met with one of my constituents, Rachel, who was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer at 38. Her GP dismissed her pains. After a year of fatigue and stomach pains, she was admitted to the ED with stage 3 bowel cancer. Rachel was having symptoms of fatigue, which were attributed to the fact that she's a busy mother. This is a story that is too common. I also met with Kelly, who had constant medical challenges for four years before being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer. We know the facts. On average, it takes seven years for a woman with endometriosis to be properly diagnosed; seven years of being told their period pain was just part of being a woman; seven years of missing school, missing work and missing out on life, while the health system failed to listen.

It's not just endometriosis. Studies show that women are less likely than men to be given adequate pain relief in emergency rooms. Women presenting with heart attack symptoms are more likely to be misdiagnosed. Conditions like menopause and pelvic pain were barely researched, because the system didn't think they were important enough.

This is what happens when there are no women at the decision-making table. When half the population hasn't been properly represented in parliament, it's no surprise that issues like endometriosis, pelvic pain, menopause or the cost of contraception were pushed to the bottom of the pile for decades. They were underdiagnosed, and support was not prioritised. These are real issues that affect millions of Australians every single day.

For the first time in our nation's history, we have a female majority caucus. We have a cabinet where women hold critical portfolios in finance, in sport and in foreign affairs. When women are in the room, women's experiences are heard. This representation matters. It means that, when a woman talks about waiting 10 years for an endometriosis diagnosis, there are MPs and senators who nod, because they've lived it. When women share stories of juggling child care, work and caring for elderly parents while managing their own health, there are ministers who don't just sympathise; they understand from personal experience.

That empathy, that lived experience, transforms into policy priorities. It's why Labor has funded specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across the country. It's why we're expanding Medicare coverage for reproductive and maternal health. It's why women's health is not a side note in our health policy; it's front and centre.

Representation also ensures accountability. Women in caucus push for women in the community. They make sure the government doesn't let these issues slide back into the too-hard basket and keep women's health on the national agenda. It's worth remembering that women's health has always been undervalued not because it isn't important but because the people with the power to set priorities didn't see themselves in it. Changing who sits at the table changes what's on the agenda. Representation matters. It matters because it leads directly to outcomes—outcomes that change lives, outcomes that save lives—and under Labor, with more women in parliament than ever before, we are finally starting to close the gap on decades of neglect in women's health.

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