Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It wasn't very long ago that women's health was completely taboo. It wasn't very long ago that, when health issues were spoken about, they were spoken about quietly, in hushed tones, secretively and privately. When it comes to women's health issues, women's voices weren't heard, because words like 'miscarriage', words like 'endometriosis' and words like 'menopause' weren't shared and their experiences weren't shared. Women dealing with medical issues often felt like they faced stigma and were coping alone. Many of them still do to this day. Many women suffered from delayed diagnosis for their conditions because the issues were not spoken about, or they had their pain dismissed. Many struggled to receive the support, care and medical attention that they desperately needed.

I'm pleased to say that this is starting to change under a Labor government. Labor has listened to Australian women and is delivering more choice, lower costs and better health care for women and girls right across their life span. It is not surprising that this movement comes at a time when, in this place we are standing in right now, the House of Representatives and the Senate have more women's representation that we have seen in generations—the most we have seen ever. Ensuring that women's voices are heard in parliaments and ensuring that women are represented so that our parliaments and democracy are reflective of our communities is critical to ensuring that women's health is brought to the forefront and that it is given the funding and attention that it truly deserves.

I had the great pleasure this morning of standing at a press conference with the member for Lyons and many, many women across Australia coming together to talk about not just Women's Health Week and the women's health package that Labor has put forward but also the many thousands of women that this is impacting every single day, in many different ways for all different ages. That's what Labor reforms have done in the space. We've made the biggest investment in women's health ever, and it is changing lives.

Women's health is now part of the national conversation, and it is timely to reflect on that this week, during Women's Health Week. Women now feel empowered to discuss their health concerns, to talk about them and to advocate for change. Importantly, the Albanese Labor government has boosted this with more funding and more services for women's health. I want to acknowledge the fact that the contingent from Queensland parliament was here earlier today. As a sign of how much our things have changed when it comes to misrepresentation, not very long ago there were more people in the Queensland parliament with the name 'Mark' than there were women in the Liberal Party. That is a pretty stark example of how, by ensuring that in this place women's representation is front and centre, women's voices are more likely to be heard and indeed are heard.

In February this year, Labor announced a historic half-a-billion-dollar investment in women's health. A crucial part of this was adding medicines to the PBS. This includes the first PBS listing for new oral contraceptive pills in more than 30 years. Women who rely on Yaz, Yasmin and Slinda—there are 150,000 of them across the country—are now saving hundreds of dollars a year. Additionally, two national trials for contraceptives and uncomplicated UTIs will benefit 250,000 concession card holders. Under that trial, users will be able to consult a trained pharmacist at no cost, and, if medications are required, they will pay only the usual medicine cost. An additional 150,000 women are benefiting from the addition of new menopausal hormone therapies to the PBS for the first time in a long time.

There are further supports for women going through menopause, with over 20,000 women undergoing a Medicare funded menopause health assessment since they became available on 1 July. Labor has provided funding to train health professionals and supported the development of the first-ever clinical guidelines and a national awareness campaign, making menopause an open conversation. This is really relevant because, for so long, when many women have walked into their doctors' offices and consulted with their clinicians, they have simply not been taken seriously. This work makes it clear that they deserve to be taken seriously and, when they are taken seriously, that that work is backed up by funding. That's what Labor's done.

There is also more affordable and earlier access to Pergoveris, a fertility treatment for Australian women undergoing IVF. It was added to the PBS, and the number of pens per script was doubled to four. A new endometriosis treatment option, Ryeqo, was also added to the PBS. What this means is significant financial relief for women. At a time when the cost of living is the number one issue facing our community, that is more important than ever. When you consider that, from 1 January 2026, the co-payment for PBS medicines will decrease to $25—and never any more than $25 per script—the savings just keep adding up, particularly for women. Around 8,500 Australian women suffering from endometriosis could save more than $2,300 a year. Additionally, women who use Yaz and Yasmin contraceptive pills will pay nearly one-quarter of the original amount from 1 January 2026.

The opening up of more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics only bolsters the support that Labor is delivering for women in this crucial space. I want to specifically mention Labor's initiative in supporting those women with endometriosis, because endometriosis is complex, debilitating and chronic, and it can be hard to diagnose. It takes an average of six to eight years to diagnose this progressive condition. At least one in nine girls, women and those assigned female at birth suffer from endometriosis.

In February this year, the Albanese Labor government announced an expansion to the number of endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. This includes 11 new clinics, bringing the national number to 39, the largest number we have ever seen. These are clinics that provide multidisciplinary care with a focus on improving diagnosis timelines and promoting access to intervention, care, treatment options and referral services for endometriosis and pelvic pain. They also build the primary care workforce to manage this chronic condition. Of course, all these initiatives come on top of Labor's enormous investment in Medicare—an investment that has not been matched since Labor introduced Medicare all those years ago.

Labor is making the largest investment in Medicare since we created it over 40 years ago. It bears repeating, because, when it comes to Medicare, when it comes to health care and when it comes to making sure that health care is affordable and accessible, it is in our DNA. Our DNA has always meant that Labor prioritises health, and making sure that that health support extends to women's health is so important.

With the aim of delivering an additional 18 million bulk-billed GP visits annually, we are investing $8.5 billion to expand bulk-billing. By 2030, we expect nine out of 10 GP visits to be bulk-billed, tripling the number of fully bulk-billed GP practices to nearly 5,000 nationally. I'm also really proud of Labor's urgent care clinic program. Many constituents in my electorate of Moreton, on Brisbane's southside, have benefited from both the urgent care clinic in Oxley and the Buranda urgent care clinic, across the road at the PA. Fundamentally, we know that Labor will always prioritise health, and this week we acknowledge that women's health is an important part of that priority.

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