Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak very briefly, with the two minutes we have left, in strong support of this bill, the Health Legislation Amendment (Removal of Requirement for a Collaborative Arrangement) Bill 2024. This bill will remove that legislative requirement, and it will enable a midwife or nurse practitioner to prescribe under the PBS and to provide services under Medicare.

With the mandated collaborative arrangements currently in place, women are bearing the financial burden due to increased travel time and the cost of finding a GP who will provide a referral for midwifery care. This is even more problematic in rural and regional areas, where access to care is already limited. Removing these mandated collaborative arrangements is a very positive change for women's access to maternity care, sexual and reproductive health care and nurse led care. It's one that the Greens have supported for many years, and we're thrilled to see this legislation come to the chamber today. These are particularly important changes for women in rural and remote areas. We support this bill.

We also urge the government to get on with its response to the unanimous recommendations in the report from the Senate inquiry into universal access to reproductive health care. I'll flag that we will be supporting the coalition's second reading amendment, but we won't be supporting One Nation's second reading amendment.