Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very proud to rise in favour of a motion that speaks to a turning point when it comes to how we view women's health, and I acknowledge the significant milestone that it represents for women and girls across Australia. I want to thank the member for Lalor for bringing it to the parliament, and I acknowledge the previous member's contribution to shining a light particularly on the experience of regional women.

For far too long, women's health has not been taken seriously, and too many women and young girls have had their serious pain and suffering dismissed. Too many women have been left unsupported when they needed it most. Too many women have fallen through the gaps in our healthcare system, waiting years for diagnosis and care. I want to acknowledge all the women, some of them calling themselves 'endo warriors', who have shared their very personal stories and their battles within the healthcare system, because it is those stories and their standing up and sharing these experiences that have led to change, to a recognition of this disease, to bettering our understanding of what these women are going through and to recognition within the medical system.

From my electorate, there are a couple of names that come to mind. One is Caitlyn Tough MLA. Another is Ellie Angel-Mobbs, who's been a radio presenter in Canberra. There is also Ella Blackamore, whose horrific story we read about in the Canberra Times this weekend. But there are so many more. There are so many women who have experienced shocking years of their pain being dismissed, and I want to acknowledge that today as well as what it meant for them to share those stories and what that has meant in terms of policy and changes in medicine. I also want to acknowledge my predecessor, the former member for Canberra, Gai Brodtmann, who used her role in parliament to do a lot to shine a light on this and worked really tirelessly to highlight endometriosis.

The Labor government is recognising these gaps, and we're doing the work to actively address them. We've said we would open endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across the country. We originally promised 22, but we've now delivered 33, including one here in the electorate of Canberra. With these clinics operating around the nation, we are seeing real, tangible change, because these clinics make an immense amount of difference for women and girls who have lived with debilitating pain without diagnosis or treatment, and we are working to expand what they can offer. All 33 clinics are now being expanded to deliver menopause and premenopause care as well, and we will ensure that women are supported at every stage of life.

In 2024 I had the opportunity to join the former assistant minister for health and aged care, Ged Kearney, at the announcement to establish the endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic right here in Canberra. I want to acknowledge as well Assistant Minister Kearney for her longstanding commitment to improving women's health and all the work she had done in that space first as a nurse, then as a union leader and then in her role in parliament. The clinic at Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT means that people in our community can now access the specialised care and support that they need closer to home—care and support that is built for them and built around their needs.

Importantly, this work is being reinforced locally, and I'd like to highlight the ACT government's inquiry into endometriosis and other pelvic pain conditions. This inquiry is helping to shine a light on the lived experiences of many women across the ACT who are managing chronic pain, often without the recognition and support that they deserve. It is an important step in ensuring these voices are heard and that the healthcare system continues to respond to them.

From a federal perspective, this only reinforces the importance of continued investment in women's health and the need to keep building a system that listens and delivers. Ultimately, this is what equity in health care looks like, because this work does not just stop at the clinics we've opened around the country. It is part of our government's broader, landmark—almost $800 million—investment through our women's health package. We know that, systemically, women's health has been ignored, and this investment is changing that. We've capped PBS scripts at $25, including new contraceptives and menopause therapies. I'll just say this again: it had been 30 years since new contraceptive pills had been added to the PBS. I just find that extraordinary, and this is changing that. We've also boosted Medicare rebates for IUDs and other long-acting contraceptives to save women up to $400 and introduced new Medicare items to make gynaecological and menopause care more affordable, because women's health needs to be taken seriously, and our government is taking it seriously.

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