Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Communications) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Leyonhjelm. Yes, I can confirm that breastfeeding provides short-term and long-term health benefits to both the child and the mother and contributes to reduced chronic disease. The World Health Organization advises that breastfeeding stimulates bonding with mothers and assists psychosocial development. It's also key to improved nutrition and physical growth, reduced susceptibility to common childhood illnesses and better resistance to cope with them.

The Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council and the Department of Health are developing an enduring Australian national breastfeeding strategy which will aim to create an enabling environment to protect, promote, support and value breastfeeding across Australia. The strategy is being developed in conjunction with states and territories, key stakeholders and experts in the field. The final strategy will be handed to AHMAC at the end of this year.

More broadly, the coalition government has made significant investments to support infant and maternal health, including investing $39.5 million to list on the PBS from 1 July this year whooping cough vaccinations for pregnant women. This will ensure that mothers and babies are vaccinated against whooping cough during pregnancy and from birth, before the baby can be vaccinated at six weeks of age. We've also committed $17.5 million for women's health research and a Maternal Health and First 2000 Days initiative through the Medical Research Future Fund to develop novel tools to improve infant and maternal health into the future. We're delivering $3 million to support the development of easy-to-understand resources and education materials about healthy pregnancies. We will invest $600,000 for improving education for women with gestational diabetes about the risk that they and their children have of developing type 2 diabetes and encouraging follow-up testing to avoid, prevent and detect the condition.