Jana Stewart (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Too often women's health is not taken seriously. But we're changing that with an historic investment of over half a billion dollars into women's health, and we know that will deliver more choice, lower costs and better health care for women. Women make up half of the population—that's a pretty significant proportion of the population—so it's great to see this investment from the Albanese Labor government.

Women have asked and asked governments to take their health seriously, and we on this side of the chamber have listened. We're making big changes to make oral contraceptives and IUDs more accessible and affordable, including the first PBS listing of new oral contraceptive pills in 30 years. Yaz and Yasmin will be listed, saving 50,000 women hundreds of dollars a year, and there is work underway to list more contraceptive pills.

We're also opening even more endo and pelvic pain clinics across the country. We'll open 11 new clinics and ensure that all 33 clinics are staffed to provide specialist support for menopause. And there's a whole bunch of improvements for women experiencing menopause, including a new Medicare rebate of around $110 for menopause health assessments. This will help around 150,000 women each year, saving hundreds of dollars every year. Again, this is not a small proportion of the population. Women make up over 50 per cent of the population, and we all go through menopause. All of the changes that have been announced are going to save women hundreds of dollars every year. In a cost-of-living crisis, it will mean women are more easily able to prioritise their own healthcare needs. This is a government that will always take women's health seriously. (Time expired)