Defence Portfolio

Ms RYAN (Lalor—Chief Government Whip) (18:36): For far too long, women's health was overlooked and underfunded. There was a government—a 9½-year-long government—that failed in exactly this place. I stand tonight to applaud this budget, because too many women struggled to access affordable treatment, too many conditions were poorly understood and too many women were told to simply live with the pain.

This was despite women from the former government raising issues about pelvic pain and endometriosis. But there was never a program or funding to follow until Labor came to government and we made women's health a priority. That commitment is reflected in our landmark women's health package, representing an investment of almost $800 million to deliver more choice, lower costs and better health care for women and girls across Australia.

We are building, budget to budget, in this space. These reforms, importantly, are already making a difference. Since the package was introduced, more than 700,000 women have accessed cheaper PBS prescriptions.

Women are paying less for contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies and treatments for conditions such as endometriosis. This government delivered the first new contraceptive pill listed on the PBS in more than 30 years and the first new menopausal hormone therapies listed in over 20 years. These are reforms women had been waiting decades to see, and it took a majority-female government to deliver on them.

For women living with endometriosis, the impact has been significant. More than 7,000 women have accessed around 30,000 PBS scripts for endometriosis treatments, saving an estimated $5.7 million. But improving women's health is about more than cheaper medicines; it's also about ensuring women can access the care and support they need through a stronger Medicare system.

Already, more than 71,000 women have accessed Medicare-funded menopause health assessments. This is breakthrough stuff. We've introduced new Medicare items and increased rebates for gynaecological care, making specialist treatment more affordable and accessible.

Around 430,000 additional services have been delivered for women experiencing endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, chronic pelvic pain and other gynaecological conditions. We've also made it easier and cheaper to access long-acting reversible contraception, including IUDs and contraceptive implants. Importantly, this government, under Minister Butler, Assistant Minister White, Assistant Minister McBride and Assistant Minister Cooper in the last term have established a national network of endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics.

Recently, we announced an additional 11 clinics across Australia, including one in the heart of my community, in Werribee. This brings the total number of clinics nationwide to 33. I've had the Prime Minister visit and I've had Assistant Minister White visit our local clinic.

During both visits, we heard from clinicians who spoke directly about the differences these services are making. What impressed me most about those conversations was hearing that it is actually building the entire GP network's understanding and capacity to treat and support women in these spaces. I know that the clinic in my community is, as we speak, reaching out to GPs in my community to include them in these networks.

This is, powerfully, going to change health treatment for women across our country, not just in these clinics. For too many women, years of pain were dismissed. Too often, women were told their symptoms were normal or that they simply had to live with them.

These clinics provide understanding, support and a pathway to diagnosis—and, more importantly, treatment. We cannot underestimate the economic impact of the pain that these women suffer from and the lack of treatment compounding that. This is what happens when women's health is treated as a national priority.

It means cheaper medicines, it means a stronger Medicare and it means better access to specialist care. These reforms sit alongside our broader investments in Medicare, including in Lalor—the over 35,000 visits to our Medicare urgent care clinic. This budget is making Medicare urgent care clinics a permanent feature of our health system.

We've also doubled the number of fully bulk-billed clinics to 41 clinics across Lalor so locals can see a GP for free as long as they have their Medicare card. Our cheaper-medicines policies have saved locals in Lalor $13 million on over 2.1 million scripts. (Time expired)