Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about some of the absolutely horrific stories emerging from a Melbourne hospital about Dr Simon Gordon, an OBGYN whose female patients are alleging they were left traumatised and betrayed. Doctors play a valuable role in our lives. They look after our health systems and take care of our health. But it's a lot deeper than that. No matter who you are, when you visit a doctor or a specialist, you are putting your trust in that healthcare professional—trust in their authority, trust in their professional training and expertise, trust that the advice they give you is correct and trust that they have the best intentions to do what is genuinely in the interest of your own health. It's an incredibly vulnerable experience to undergo surgery, trusting that your doctors and your healthcare team are there to give you the greatest possible care. For a medical professional to break that trust is a violation. The allegations against Dr Simon Gordon are a demonstration of a violation of the trust between healthcare professionals and their patients.

Women have alleged they have undergone many highly invasive surgeries they were told were medically necessary, only to find out that they weren't—women who allege that they were told lies about their pathology results, which led to their ovaries being removed unnecessarily, and that the numerous invasive, expensive surgeries left them in far greater pain than before. It is an absolute blight that these allegations are coming from women navigating women's healthcare problems.

Historically, women's health hasn't just been neglected; it has been taboo. I remember, when I was in year 8, one of my best friends had endometriosis and had to undergo surgery. Granted, we were in year 8, and going through that at a young age while you're still growing up is really, really tough. But what sticks out to me now from this memory is just how taboo that was. We weren't supposed to talk about it. We weren't supposed to ask about it. Women's health conditions, like endometriosis, were very stigmatised back then, and no-one really knew what it was. Issues women and girls were having around women's health were shoved under the rug. So it's not altogether surprising that, at a government and policy level, you could almost say the same. The fact of the matter is that, for decades, women's health was neglected, and the bottom line is that, a lot of the time, women aren't listened to. We've been told that the pain's in our heads—that we just need to go on the contraceptive pill and all will be resolved. Because of this, many women have understandably felt mistrust towards our health system. So for allegations to come out about a Melbourne doctor betraying his patients in such a significant way is absolutely despicable.

It takes just one bad actor to further erode women's trust across the healthcare system. That should anger all of us, men and women alike. I'm part of a Labor government that is made up of women across the country, women who understand Australian women's experiences because we live them too and who care deeply about women's issues. I'm signing on to be the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Endometriosis because these issues matter to me. I'd like to thank the outgoing Labor co-chair, the member for Bendigo, for all her hard work and advocacy in this space over the last few years. I support the minister for health in having written to the Victorian health minister about the stories from Epworth hospital that have come to public attention, and I support the minister for health in asking to consider whether agency Safer Care Victoria, which oversees the operation of private hospitals in that jurisdiction, should conduct an inquiry into the Epworth hospital. I also welcome the Victorian premier's referral of this case to the Victoria Police for potential investigation around any criminal offences that might be involved here.

Most of all, I thank the women involved in these allegations for sharing their stories. It's not easy, and it takes a great deal of courage. The bottom line is that women's health needs to be taken seriously, and that starts with listening to women.

I'd like to raise a second grievance. I'd like to condemn the recent disgraceful comments made by Senator Hanson. The rhetoric that has been echoed in the parliamentary chambers and in public statements around the country in the recent weeks has been absolutely abhorrent. We had this senator recently tell the Australian community there are no good Muslims. As a so-called leader in a country built on the backs of migrants, what exactly does she mean by that? I invite the senator to my electorate in Melbourne's western suburbs, to tell that statement to over 12,000 people belonging to the Muslim community in my electorate. It's a shame that I have to say this, but I'm not surprised that this came from One Nation. Quite frankly, this is by no means the first comment Senator Hanson has made during her terms in parliament that deserves every bit of criticism and condemnation. Let's call it what it is: racism. It is racist to say there are no good Muslims in Australia. One Nation have one clear goal: dividing everyday Aussies and disrupting social cohesion—while, by the way, being bankrolled by wealthy overseas donors and being flown to the US for flashy speaking tours.

I am surprised, though, at the role the Libs have in this, and the space they seem to try to carve out for themselves in the future of Australian politics. I don't know about anyone else watching the Liberal-National 'noalition' lately, but they seem absolutely lost. They are stooping to One Nation's divisive tactics, inciting hatred and sowing fear. The three right-wing parties of Australia—the Libs, the Nats and One Nation—are seeming more and more the same. Frankly, I don't get it. It's not what the Australian people want to hear about. Right now, Aussies across the country care about the cost of living, access to health care, education and improved infrastructure. Divisive language and divisive politics is not in the interest of a single Australian.

In yesterday's censure motion against the One Nation senator, the Liberal-National coalition, bar just two, sat alongside her, signalling support for her racist remarks. The member for New England simply brushed these comments off as just words, and from the Liberal-National coalition's actions yesterday in the Senate it seems they agree. I'm sorry, but it's not good enough. Words have consequences. Extremist language fuels extremist behaviour. It feeds violence. Over the summer we saw at Bondi what this kind of extremist rhetoric can lead to. It is not enough to condemn the comment without real accountability. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

The Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation are hand in hand trying to redefine Australian identity—and we won't let them. We are a country strengthened by multiculturalism. We are a safe haven for multicultural communities to practice their religion free of discrimination. Living in freedom, not in fear—that is the Australia we know and love, and we refuse to let these extremists make Australian identity anything but that. Using religion as an excuse to vilify other groups has no place in our country and in our society. The recent reports of hate preachers stoking the flames of hate have no place in our society.

I went to a Melbourne beach with a friend a few weeks ago. While we were there we saw a group of men from the National Workers Alliance walking up and down the beach, spouting white supremacist views and hatred with microphones and speakers to beachgoers. They were using our flags in vain, not as a symbol of democracy but as a symbol of division and contempt for multicultural Australia. These men are not living Australian values. I would argue these men are not welcome in our community or in any community in this country to spout such vitriol. We call it out, and I stand here to call it out.

There is a lot of discussion happening at the moment, and it's pretty dark. But I agree with Senator Wong when she says she maintains hope for Australia. I have hope for Australia. Personally, I have hope for my community—a proud, multicultural, multifaith community. Young leaders working together to combat racism at school gives me hope. Volunteers from mosques, temples and gurdwaras feeding those in need gives me hope. Members of the RSL raising money and awareness for veterans' welfare gives me hope. Every action of kindness, no matter how small, gives me hope in that face of division. We are stronger.

When I give these speeches in parliament calling out the abhorrent language and racist behaviour from the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation, I have my community in mind because they're good people and because they're who get hit by these comments of hatred the hardest. The hatred rhetoric is real, and they're forced to face it day to day. Calling out extremism matters. It matters for my community and for Australians right around the country. We choose what is Australian identity and what is not. There is strength in our diversity. That strength binds us and unites us. That's the message I would like to give Australians.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for the grievance debate has expired. The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 192B. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:39 to 16:00