Assistant Minister for Social Security, Assistant Minister for Ageing, Assistant Minister for Women
KATE THWAITES, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY, AGEING AND WOMEN: The announcement the Albanese Labor Government has made about the investment we are making into women's health is a game changer. The first listing of the pill on the PBS in more than 30 years. Better access to long-acting contraceptives. The first listing of menopause hormone therapy treatments on the PBS in more than 20 years. Longer consults for menopause, training for GPs, a national awareness campaign around menopause, more pelvic pain and endo clinics. As I said, this is an absolute game changer for Australian women. And of course, we know we have heard from Australian women that for too long, their health needs have been overlooked, underappreciated and are absolutely costing them too much. So we are changing all of that. And we are doing that because we are a government who understands Australian women. We are Australia's first majority female Government, and I'm delighted to be surrounded by so many of my wonderful colleagues, who help drive this policy, who understand how important it is for Australian women. Of course when we contrast, when we look at Peter Dutton and the Liberals that is not the case. Peter Dutton's track record when it comes to health - voted worst ever Health Minister by doctors. Tried to make all people, men and women, pay more to see the GP and has got $315 billion worth of cuts that we don't know where they're coming from. So he is absolutely a risk to Australian women's health. When we as a Government think about these improvements to our health system, we also don't think about them just from the perspective of Australian women as individuals. We also think about our community as a whole and that's why I'm also pleased to be joined by Lisa, from Chief Executive Women to talk about how this is really going to impact on Australian businesses, and the benefits is going to bring to Australian businesses. Chief Executive Women have done a lot of work to look at particularly what it will mean for women to support them with menopause and menopause symptoms in the workforce. I want to thank them and all the stakeholders, all the women around Australia who have told us that we need to do better when it comes to women's health. This Government has heard you, we are listening to Australian women and we are delivering for women's health.
LISA ANNESE, CEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE WOMEN: Since 1985, Chief Executive Women have been working to empower women. We represent over 1,200 of Australia's most senior women across industry, running businesses and important members of the economy. Our mission is, women leaders empowering all women. But it's pretty hard to be empowered if you're riddled with pelvic pain, or if you're suffering the terrible symptoms around perimenopause or menopause. So we really welcome this announcement by the Government to invest in women's health. This is not a luxury. From puberty to menopause women's reproductive health shapes their lives, and either enables them to participate in the workforce or stops them from participating in the workforce. So we welcome any type of intervention that supports women's health and wellbeing. What we know is that women on average retire 12 years earlier than what they otherwise would like to retire. One of those reasons is due to symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. We know that should women be able to continue to participate in the workforce, not only does the Australian economy have access to highly talented workers who've given a lot throughout their working career, relates to our productivity as a country. It adds to success for business and it makes Australia more prosperous. CEW will continue to advocate for reforms that support women's empowerment. Women are half the population. They're not a minority group, they're not a special interest group. They're a group of national interest, and I think it's really important that one of the key aspects that we focus on is women's health. I welcome this change for all women but especially the focus area for CEW, which is mature age women or women entering into that phase of life, where they're dealing with perimenopause or menopause symptoms.
NITA GREEN, SENATOR FOR QUEENSLAND: Thanks Lisa, and thanks for your advocacy. We have listened to Australian women and they have told us that they want the Government to take their healthcare seriously, and that's exactly what the Albanese Government is doing. Now as Kate said, this is a game changer for Australian women and when it comes to delivering lower costs, more choice and more access, for regional women what that means is health care closer to home. I live in Far North Queensland and we know that it is harder for women to get access to the health care that they need. And this package from the Albanese Government will mean access to more care when they need it closer to home. We've got a pelvic pain clinic in Cairns, we're one of the very lucky communities to have one and I can say that it has been incredible for the women in Cairns to have access to the healthcare that Dr Sam and her team provide, and giving that clinic more staff to be able to deal with menopause and provide advice on menopause as well will mean that more women in Far North Queensland have access to this incredibly helpful care. I'm really excited about the access GPs will have to more Medicare rebates and more Medicare items to provide more access for women in their GP clinics. What this means is that GPs themselves will have the time to actually sit down with women and give them the health care they need. GPs are the backbone of our regional primary care system and we can't thank them enough for the work that they do, what the Albanese Labor Government is doing through this healthcare package is giving them the support they need to deliver the care that they know they need to deliver to regional women and it will make a huge difference to their lives. Just before I hand over to my fantastic colleagues, I will just make a short comment on the Queensland floods. We know that there is an enormous amount of weather still in North Queensland, and we understand that there are still flood watches and flood warnings in place across North Queensland. And what that means is that we are still in an emergency situation. My thoughts are with the people of North Queensland who've endured this weather now for well over a week. What I can say is that our Minister McAllister is working incredibly hard with the Queensland Government to make sure that all the support that's necessary from the Commonwealth Government is available, and we are working with the Queensland Government to ensure that we have supply through our supply chains, that support is on the ground when it comes to the ADF, and that we are delivering the financial support that people need. And I'm pleased that over the weekend we have extended the disaster recovery allowance to more areas in the Charters Towers LGA, the Townsville LGA and through the Cassowary Coast. Of course our Minister McAllister will have more to say about this but my thoughts really are with the people back home. I will be back with you very soon, but all of our members of Government here in Canberra are thinking of you and the Albanese Labor Government has your back, we will build back better.
LOUISE MILLER-FROST, MEMBER FOR BOOTHBY: I used to run Women's Health in South Australia in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. And I am absolutely ecstatic about the announcement that we have today. We do have a pelvic pain clinic in my electorate, it is life-changing. The number of women who say to me, they have lived with so much pain, not really understanding why, not really knowing what they can do and then they find their way to our clinic at Glenelg and their lives have changed. They can resume working, they can be a reliable worker, they can resume their social life, they can resume their parenting duties because that chronic pain affects all parts of their life. So between that, the long consults for menopause, again, this will be another life changer for women who are starting to go through menopause, who have those symptoms and who need to have a plan that works around their lives and works around all of their symptoms. This is an amazing thing. I'm so pleased that we have had both Kate, and Ged Kearney and Mark Butler, have seen that women's health is a really important thing that we need to be acting on and we have done this as an Albanese Government.
MERYL SWANSON, MEMBER FOR PATERSON: Now, I'm a bit sleep deprived. I woke up at 2.30 this morning, thank you menopause, I didn't go back to sleep till about half past five and I needed to be up at six. And I am like countless women, who are my generation, from 45 it hit me, perimenopause, I'm now 55, still got the menopause friend with me most nights. I know how terrible it can be. And I know that Australian women really are so absolutely grateful that the Albanese Labor Government is stepping in, we're leaning into women's health and saying, no, no, this is not acceptable. We can't have a whole generation of women coming through that hit 45 and just think, 'oh, you know, what have I got in store for the next 20 years?' We've got to do something about it. On the other end of this, I'm a bit sleep deprived because I had about 150 21 year olds at my house on Saturday night, half of them were women, young women. My youngest daughter turned 21, and let tell you, young women are thinking about their health, they're thinking about contraception, they're thinking about having good health as young women. They're thinking about, do I want an IUD, what am I going to go on the pill? What am I going to do for my contraceptive health? What am I going to do for my sexual and reproductive health? So young women need to go to doctors and get really good, professional advice. And as a Government, we are helping make that more affordable for young people. It is such an important thing and it's great for young blokes as well. Because they want their sisters, their girlfriends, their friends to be able to be empowered for their health. When I talk to women in my community, one of the biggest, and first things that comes up is health, they're either talking about the health of their children or their parents or themselves. They know how important health care is and so do we. The Albanese Government takes your health seriously, we want you to be fit and fantastic from the cradle to the grave and we're prepared to put money into doing that. And I couldn't be more delighted to think that you know what, we get it, women get it. We get it as a Government and we are going to continue to do more for the health of not just women, of all Australians, quite frankly.
