Kara Cook (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This week is Women's Health Week. It is Australia's largest event dedicated to the health and wellbeing of all women, girls and gender-diverse people. It is a reminder that women must be heard and supported in the health system. Women face a range of significant costs simply by virtue of being women. In fact, 60 per cent of all health services in Australia are consumed by women. However, for decades, women's health has been ignored.

Women have asked government to take their health seriously, and the Albanese Labor government has listened. That is why Labor delivered the almost $800 million women's health package, one of the largest investments into women's health by any government. It is changing the lives of women across the country. Hundreds of thousands of Australian women are accessing cheaper medicines thanks to the women's health package. With more medicines listed on the PBS, it has enabled more than 365,000 women to access more than 715,000 cheaper scripts for oral contraceptives and menopausal hormone therapies. Labor has invested more than $49 million to provide around 430,000 more services to help women across the country with complex gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and chronic pelvic pain.

The package includes the first listing of new oral contraceptive pills in more than 30 years, with the listing of Yaz, Yasmin and Slinda saving 150,000 women hundreds of dollars every year—more choice, lower costs and better access to long-term contraceptives. On 1 November this year, further changes to the PBS will take effect, giving women access to affordable IUDs and birth control implants, saving around 300,000 women up to $400 in out-of-pocket costs each and every year.

There will be more Medicare support for women experiencing menopause with the new rebate for menopause health assessments, funding to train health professionals, the first ever clinical guidelines and a national awareness campaign. Over 20,000 women have undergone a menopause health assessment covered by Medicare since they became available on 1 July. We have the first PBS listings for new menopausal hormone therapies in over 20 years, with around 150,000 women saving, again, hundreds of dollars each and every year. Women might have paid up to $670 these medications; now they are only paying $31.60 for a script, or $7.70 if they are a concession card holder. As we know, from 1 January next year they will be just $25.

We will also see more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics treating more conditions, opening 11 new clinics and ensuring all 33 clinics are staffed to provide specialist support for menopause and new endometriosis treatment options through the PBS.

We will see contraceptives and treatment for uncomplicated UTIs directly from pharmacies, with two national trials to benefit 250,000 concession card holders who will be able to consult a trained pharmacist at no cost and, if medications are required, pay only the usual medication costs. Australian women undergoing IVF will also receive earlier and more affordable access to fertility treatment. We're adding onto the PBS new medications, and the access to those items available per script will be increased.

We know that, too often, women are seeking treatment from a doctor for conditions ranging from endometriosis to heart disease. We know that, too often, women have their pain dismissed and struggle to get support for issues such as unplanned pregnancies, menopause or miscarriage. Endometriosis, for example, affects one in nine women, and currently takes an average of seven years to diagnose. This is simply unacceptable. The new PBS items will help by giving Australian women more treatment options for pain management, and will deliver better healthcare services for Australian women and girls to support them during pivotal life stages, particularly with their gynaecological health.

Four in 10 Australians don't know what health checks they need, and one in three are overdue. Jean Hailes, for women's health, is a national not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving women's health across Australia through every stage of life. This week I had the pleasure of attending the Jean Hailes launch of Her Health Check. It is a free digital tool for women in Australia outlining which health checks and screenings women might need, and the tool is based on current medical guidelines and reviewed by clinical experts. I encourage people in my community back home in Bonner to check out Her Health Check online. It's a valuable resource and takes only a few minutes to use.

Labor's investments into health seek to make health care more accessible and equitable for all women, right across their lives. It means women and girls get appropriate assessments sooner, ensuring they aren't waiting for critical diagnoses and treatments. Sex and gender bias in the health system is real. Women shouldn't be going go back and forth between doctors to be taken seriously. Labor is righting that wrong.

This year Women's Health Week's theme is 'Say yes to you.' For Labor, this has been about more than just awareness; it has been action. For me, it is also personal. Almost 12 months ago, I lost a dear childhood friend from Yeppoon in Central Queensland to uterine sarcoma. Her name was Amy Cullinan. She was just 39 years old, and she was one of the funniest and most caring people I've ever met in my life. She was also a loving auntie, sister and daughter. From her diagnosis to her passing, it all happened so quickly. In just a few weeks we will mark the anniversary of her death. Amy was someone who loved politics. She would have been so proud to see me standing here, and I know she would want me to use my voice to speak up for women's health—not just during this week but every week that I have the honour to be here.

Amy's story is a painful reminder of why this work matters. It's about real people—our friends, our sisters, our mothers and our daughters—and making sure their health concerns are never again ignored or dismissed, particularly if they live in a regional part of our country. So today I speak in memory of Amy and in honour of every woman whose voice has been silenced too soon. We owe it to them to keep raising our voices. I am proud to be part of the Albanese government, which is helping put women's health first, and I'll continue to do all I can to make sure every woman is seen, heard and supported.

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