Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We know that women are held back from fully participating in work, family and community because of health issues. I met a lady in Lutwyche while I was doorknocking not that long ago who rarely went out and socialised because of the issues she was facing associated with menopause. She missed work, her illness was debilitating and her treatment too costly. And she's not the only one I've met along the way.

This Labor government is helping to fix this, and with more than 50 per cent of the government caucus being women, we are driving the change that's needed for women. We believe that women's health is central to women's equity and our community wellbeing, which is why it's at the heart of our government's agenda. Us women make up half the population, yet our issues were often misunderstood and dismissed and we've heard many stories of them being ignored. To all the women in Brisbane and across the country, I want to say that you matter and this Labor government is listening and delivering.

Last year our government announced the landmark Women's Health Package—$790 million in women's health. This didn't happen under the Liberals and Nationals, it didn't happen in the nine years that they were leading this government, this country. This is the single biggest investment in women's health in our history, and it has been life-changing for so many women across the country. This investment improves access to long-term contraceptives and provides better support to women experiencing chronic pelvic pain and menopause. That funding includes 11 additional endometriosis clinics, and expanding all 33 clinics to provide specialist menopause care. Since this historic health package was announced, more than 660,000 women have accessed more than two million cheaper scripts.

Before the listing of Yaz, Yasmin and Slinda, women were paying around $380 a year for contraception; now they're paying $25 a script. I mentioned this to a number of young women I saw at the university O-week: (a) they didn't know about it, and (b) when we told them, most of them being on Youth Allowance, that they'd have to pay only $7.70, they were absolutely thrilled. Before the listing of Oestrogel, women would have to pay up to $670 a year; now they're paying only $25 a script, or $7.70 if they're on concession. Since this package was announced more than 71,000 women have now received Medicare funded menopause health assessments, and 363,000 have saved more than $45 million on menopausal hormonal therapies. In times when the cost of living is tough, that's a lot of money.

Since 1 November last year, women in Brisbane have also had access to affordable IUDs and birth-control implants. Brisbane's first GP endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic is open in Toowong. It provides care for women with endometriosis or persistent pelvic pain, and it will expand to cover menopausal care. The centre has strong connections with local allied health, specialist gynaecology and other services, and that's needed to provide that multidisciplinary health support that women in these situations really do need. It's the first of its kind in Brisbane, and it's life-changing. It's changing the lives of women every single day. Gone are the days when women were told by their doctor to just take a panadol and see if the pain goes away. These changes are helping women not only in Brisbane but also across the country by providing more choice, lower costs and better health care.

Those opposite don't have a strong record when it comes to women's health. That's just the facts. A woman's right to choose has always been at risk under the LNP government. In my home state of Queensland, most LNP members sitting in parliament believe that abortion should be a crime. Even the Queensland Premier has gagged parliament from debating this important topic. These decisions are never easy for women, and this choice really should only be between a woman and her doctor. It is 2026, and I can't believe we're still talking about this issue—but here we are. Make no mistake: the LNP will always try to take away a woman's right to choose.

The former deputy prime minister of this country, former leader of the Nationals and now member of One Nation said in 2006 about the HPV vaccine:

Don't you dare put something out there that gives my 12-year-old daughter a licence to be promiscuous.

Come on! I don't even know how you could say that. But, anyway, it was said. Australia's HPV vaccination program is a global success story due largely to former prime minister Mr Rudd. We have more work to do. (Time expired)

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