Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

For too long, issues that impact women's health have been ignored. With more women in parliament, there is no doubt that we are seeing more focus on women's health issues. After all, women make up 51 per cent of the population, and, despite tremendous strides in health care, women's health continues to be an area that needs more attention. Physical health issues like endometriosis, perimenopause and menopause affect half the population. We will all go through it. Yet, they are surrounded by stigma and silence, and that has been the case for too long. We must remember that mental health issues should not be ignored. We need to look at complete body health, both mental and physical. In fact, this week is Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week. It is a timely reminder of the importance of having a healthy body image. It's also a reminder that mental health challenges, particularly around body image, are especially confronting for young women.

In Warringah, we have over 78,000 women. These women are mothers, sisters, wives, carers, professionals and volunteers. Our electorate is fortunate to have outstanding organisations that show the value of early intervention and compassionate care. I've visited some of these organisations recently, and I want to give them a special mention. For generations, Tresillian has provided support to families adjusting to the challenges of early parenthood. I recently visited their facilities, and it was incredible to see the level of support that they have been offering for so long for young mothers and young families. The Gidget Foundation—again, out of an incredible tragedy has come the most amazing organisation, which offers trusted and specialised mental health care for new and expecting parents. The Butterfly Foundation, which is an incredible organisation as well, provides essential treatment, resources and support for those affected by eating disorders and negative body image.

These organisations demonstrate a vital truth: women's health cannot be separated into physical and mental health boxes. They're deeply connected, and in our policies and health services we need to reflect that reality. It's as true for young women struggling with body image as it is for midlife women navigating menopause. While there is access to these important services in our electorate of Warringah and in urban and city areas, the same is not true for First Nations women, and we must always be incredibly conscious that we still do not have parity in Australia when it comes to access to health services for all Australians. We also know that, for remote and regional committees, it is incredibly difficult to access that same level of care. When we think of that access to health, it's incredibly important to look at making sure we have culturally safe, comprehensive health care for First Nations women.

We know, for example, that around one in nine Australian women live with endometriosis and often have waited years for diagnosis. In fact, it affects around 80 per cent of women who have experienced menopausal symptoms, and one in four experience it severely. Eating disorders are among the most fatal of all mental health conditions, disproportionally affecting women and girls, and yet there proportionally are still very few services available for support. With these realities, women's health has historically been underresearched, underfunded and underrecognised. For decades, women were told their symptoms were just part of life or sometimes dismissed without proper consideration. In fact, menopause will impact all women at some stage in their life. It's mostly between 45 and 65 that the perimenopause period occurs, but, of course menopause and postmenopausal periods will also occur, and it often impacts women at the peak of their careers. It's often misdiagnosed and poorly treated. There is too often inadequate treatment. This all has adverse impact on women's careers and health, and it all contributes to the unequal economic outcomes that we know women in our society still suffer.

Whilst I do commend the government for there having been an increased focus in spending on those aspects, it must continue. Celebrating small gains is not sufficient until we get to the parity that is necessary. We need to elevate and make sure there is awareness of these issues and health conditions and to make sure our GPs are much more cognisant of these more specific issues when it comes to women's health. For wellbeing, for workforce participation, for families and for communities, we need to ensure that all areas of women's health are properly addressed.

What can we do? Of course, the government funding Medicare rebates for longer consultations that address mental health concerns is something to consider. We continue to partner with proven committee services, and I urge the government to support services like Tresillian, like the Gidget Foundation, like the Butterfly Foundation, who build out holistic, family-centred models of care. We need funding for genetic screening for ovarian cancer. It still has the most horrendous outcomes and will devastate families. It has huge consequences for the broader family unit. We need to track outcomes. Women's health must not remain invisible in national reporting. There is still a long way to go, but it is good to finally have women's health on the table, being discussed in this place. I do think it is overwhelmingly because there are more women in this place, whether it is in the government ranks or the crossbench ranks. It is still falling pretty short in the coalition ranks, but that is something for them to address.

We know that, if we fail to act, women will continue to be dismissed, symptoms will be minimised, their health outcomes will be compromised and we will all suffer as a nation. If we act, we can deliver equity, reduce stigma and build health systems that value women's wellbeing at every stage of life.

Finally, we can't talk about women's health without talking about intimate partner violence. We know intimate partner violence is the leading cause of death for women aged between 25 and 44. It's a pretty sobering fact, when you think of all the other aspects of women's health, that it's actually at the hands of intimate partners that those women are most at risk. It causes a huge number of hospital presentations and disruptions, and it's horrific to think of the fatalities that are still occurring.

There's still a lot more work to do. We are in a decade where there's a plan from the government, but it's lacking KPIs and underpinning policies to actually achieve the stated outcome of eliminating intimate partner violence and fatalities from domestic violence this decade. I urge the government to consider the independent recommendations that have been made—for example, the rapid review commissioned just last year in response to the spate of horrific killings. Experts came together to quickly provide a key roadmap to the government of how they could act promptly. Unfortunately, key recommendations have not been acted upon. These include restricting access to alcohol, especially home delivery of alcohol, and restricting gambling advertising. These areas have direct, statistical links to increased rates of domestic and intimate partner violence.

You can't pick and choose which issues are more politically easy or convenient to address. If we're going to talk holistically about women's health, we have to address all of the factors that impact that. So I urge the government to not be selective and to tackle the hard ones, like gambling advertising and access to alcohol, because of their impact on intimate partner violence.

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