Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning, as co-chair of Parliamentary Friends of Women's Health, I hosted the Jean Hailes for Women's Health organisation, led by the indomitable Janet Michelmore, to launch this year's National Women's Health Survey. It must be said that the results of that survey ring alarm bells. Half of all Australian women have reported a decline in their physical and mental health and wellbeing since COVID. As Janet said to us this morning, at the start of the pandemic Damian Barr wrote a poem, lamenting: 'We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.' And that sums up this year's findings. Younger women, women with disabilities, women from non-English-speaking backgrounds and the LGBTQI+ communities have been disproportionately affected. The results ring alarm bells, but they also give us an opportunity to better respond to the health needs of Australian women. I'm really proud to be part of a government that has that high on its agenda. The Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the wonderful Ged Kearney, announced $1 million worth of funding this morning—this week is Women's Health Week, themed 'Menopause matters'—to do research to improve GPs' ability to provide health advice to women going through menopause. Great work, Minister.