Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 11 March this year, the Central Coast Community Women's Health Centre made a presentation to the Senate Select Committee on Health. This is an organisation that delivers on-the-ground services to women. It provides vital services in an area where services are greatly needed. It is a feminist health centre and a centre of excellence. It gives women on the Central Coast access to holistic health care. It is a non-profit organisation that has been running since 1976.

All the Central Coast members of this parliament, including Senator Deb O'Neill, are patrons of the Central Coast Community Women's Health Centre—the member for Robertson, the member for Dobell and myself are all patrons. We all take the work they do very seriously. The centre has a membership base of approximately 50. That is not the people using the services; it includes staff, volunteers and community women who work to advance the health and wellbeing of women on the Central Coast. The centre runs preventative and early intervention holistic health services—a range of services. It is unique in that, as a women-only service, it offers a safe place for women under a social model of health. I think that is very important, particularly on the Central Coast where there are very high rates of domestic violence. It has the highest rate of domestic violence of any area in New South Wales.

It has a non-institutional approach to providing services and is affordable and low cost. It also provides women with the opportunity to volunteer. It maintains a feminist perspective within a preventative-health framework. It is sustainable—it has been running since 1976. It provides clinical services, counselling and advocacy, group services, child care, community engagement and development and alternative services. Central Coast Local Health District provides gynaecological and outreach services, pap smears and breast clinics. They provide services in all areas of the coast. Interrelate Family Centre, Uniting Care, Coast Care and CatholicCare all operate through the centre.

When the service presented to the Senate health committee, they emphasised the need for a service such as theirs, a service to look at well-women's issues—including gynaecological health and breast health—and chronic-disease health, domestic violence, self-esteem, sexual health, anger and anxiety. Quite often, women will present at the centre with one problem and, as they become more comfortable in that environment, they will disclose many other issues. They are currently making an effort to highlight the unique grassroots nature of the organisation and how they have a flexible response to the needs of the women on the Central Coast.

Over the last 12 months they have had a number of client contacts, and these are broken down into different areas. The service is funded through New South Wales Health. I encourage them to continue to fund it. I know that a Foley government would continue to support it. It is really important that services such as this are maintained. Homelessness is a major issue for women and children experiencing domestic violence, and cuts to funding of women's refuges has made it even harder for women on the Central Coast.