Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unrecognised pain, delayed diagnosis, shame in having to ask to leave work a little earlier—these were the themes I heard at a women's health forum I hosted in Goldstein with Assistant Minister Rebecca White. The stories shared were deeply familiar and far too common. Almost every woman knows what it feels like not to be listened to and to have that dismissal stand in the way of care. Even after nearly 30 years in medicine, I am still moved by these experiences. That is why we must keep listening to women, centring them in conversations about health and training the next generation of doctors to do better.

But we are seeing change led by a government that is female dominant, that is 56 per cent women. We have delivered a landmark women's health package totalling nearly $800 million. For the first time in decades, new menopausal therapies and new contraceptive options beyond the pill—I'm talking about IUDs and implants—have been listed on the PBS. We have established 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics nationwide that will expand to include menopause care. Don't tell me representation doesn't matter. When women are heard, change follows.

That is what is missing from those opposite, where women make up just 28 per cent of the Liberals and Nationals. This is a party whose first female leader was torn down in just nine months and whose own former members have said that they have never been less representative of Australians. For the Libs and Nats, change is just a slogan, not a plan. The Albanese Labor government will keep building a health system that works for women. That's what representation in action means. Don't tell me it doesn't matter.