Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is said that only women and a few toothed whales experience menopause, so you'd think that, for something so rare and for creatures so special, it would be paid a bit more attention. At the very least, we should be able to talk about it without cringing, yet, despite half the human population experiencing menopause, it remains an uncomfortable and taboo subject.

During the Senate inquiry into menopause, many women have recounted feeling scared, confused and even traumatised by their symptoms and their experiences when seeking medical help. Through the course of the hearing and evidence we have heard so far, the women speaking have given evidence offering some very simple solutions: flexibility and awareness—two straightforward concepts that can be easily integrated pretty much anywhere. The women we listened to were seeking not special leave or anything to be done particularly differently but just some understanding and some awareness—maybe the option to work from home if dealing with insomnia or the comfort to take off your jacket when you're burning up, like I've had to do many times in this place, without being seen as disrespectful or judged as unprofessional.

We want GPs not to overlook the possibility of symptoms of menopause or perimenopause. The topic of menopause shouldn't be doom and gloom for women. Menopause isn't the end of useful life for women; it is a stage of life. I sincerely believe that, through this Senate inquiry and broader societal awareness, menopause will get the attention it deserves and that the 50 per cent of the population who experience it in the future will have a better experience than the generations before us and my own generation.