Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) | Hansard source

For too long, women's health has been put off, set to the sidelines or just downright ignored—women being dismissed by their doctor for real concerns, women being told that life-altering perimenopause and menopause symptoms are normal and something they just need to put up with and women being plainly misdiagnosed and feeling misunderstood by a system that was set up for men. It's not new. It's just new that we're talking about it—admitting it—because this government doesn't put women's health on the sidelines. This government doesn't hide from the very real health issues that women experience. We on this side of the chamber put women at the forefront of health policy development, because it's about time a government did.

Perimenopause and menopause shouldn't be whispered about like a dark secret. Women's health shouldn't be a background policy issue. Something had to change. And that is why the Albanese Labor government has established the first national menopause and perimenopause awareness campaign—because women shouldn't feel alone when it comes to something we all go through. Women shouldn't be made to think that to feel severe pain, crippling fatigue and even a loss of their sense of self is a normal phenomenon. There is an explanation, there is support, there is informed health care, and we as women should feel empowered to access it.

Thanks to this Labor government, we can. We can access new Medicare subsidised menopause assessments, PBS listed affordable menopause treatments and specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics. These resources mean that women don't have to guess, and they don't have to suffer. Most importantly, they don't have to feel alone. To the people watching, we hear you. We see you, and we will continue to prioritise women's health awareness, research and care.