Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Well, friendly reflection. While I don't think we need to reach for gender based insults, stereotypes or pejoratives, I've certainly never argued middle-aged white men ought to determine such policy. But the experience of my daughter, someone who would be directly impacted by this policy, is more relevant than any older politician, regardless of their gender.

I'd also note Senator Michelle Ananda-Rajah's comments where she raised very strong and sensible concerns that there are more effective forms of contraception these days. The pill, I think, is about 92 per cent effective—so, eight in 100 cases, there's the baby. I won't tell the story of how my daughter was conceived in the Hansard, but it had something to do with the pill. If you take one every second day, it's not very effective. That's a tip for young players. But we were on holiday. There you go. I told the story. The world needed to know that. Ninety-nine per cent of IUDs are effective. So there are other safer mechanisms out there. It's not for me or any politician to say to young women or, indeed, young couples and young men, if they want to pursue male contraceptives, what the right option is, but I passionately believe it is the safest thing to do for Australians to ensure that there's a proper medical consultation where people consider all the options and we don't have the commercial conflict of interest of a pharmacist writing a script and then profiting from dispensing the script. I say that very genuinely.

The Commonwealth has announced, as the dominos have fallen, that the government will ensure concessions are available to support pharmacy prescribing of contraceptive pills, and that is a logical position. There is little else you can do once the states have decided to do this but extend the concessions for concession patients. I mean, it's just a ridiculous situation that you'd be paying full price for people who should be getting a concession with a valid prescription.

I'll just conclude on this. I know it was done in good faith; I really do, but I do encourage all of the states and territories that are looking at this or intending first-time prescriptions to restrict it to repeat prescriptions only. This is an area to make haste slowly, if I can say that myself. I'll give the member for Calwell the choice of whether he wants me to add further contributions to the Hansard or give him the five minutes now.

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