STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator WHITEAKER (Western Australia) (13:12): Over the past few weeks, I've had the pleasure of meeting with Western Australian women and healthcare providers in a series of women's health forums to better understand their experiences of the healthcare system. They've highlighted the progress that we have made since coming to government, but they also highlighted the work there is still to do.

I met with Luma, one of Australia's largest not-for-profit organisations specialising in women's health and wellbeing, providing services for women in WA since 1977. Importantly, they run an endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic in Joondalup, in the federal seat of Moore, one of the 11 new endo and pelvic pain clinics that we have opened as part of our women's health package.

We are really excited that we have now opened 33 of these across the country, with three in my home state of WA. After a 10-year journey towards my own diagnosis of endo, I understand the importance of being able to access this multidisciplinary care that takes women's pain seriously. Luma also have recently released a really important report called The voice of 1000women.

They surveyed Western Australian women about their experiences with health care. It's a really important report because it centres women's voices in the findings. It shows that women's experiences highlight the need for a health policy approach that takes a holistic view of health, recognising that people's healthcare journeys often extend across multiple services and systems.

Their research found that one in three women are not confident in their health knowledge. When women don't feel equipped with the information they need, they struggle to navigate the healthcare system and understand treatment options or where to seek support. The report also found that young women self-ranked their mental health the lowest of any other age group, and that it was their top health priority.

This finding reflects conversations I've had with young women in our communities who speak about the increasing pressures of study, work, housing affordability and the cost of living, and it shows why access to timely and affordable mental health support is so important. It also highlighted that cost remains the biggest barrier for women in accessing the health care that they need.

No-one should have to delay seeking the care that they need because of financial pressure. It's why I am so proud of the work that our government has done to make health care more affordable for all Australians. We have reduced the cost of medicines on the PBS to $25, the lowest they have been since 2004.

It means women are saving hundreds of dollars a year on the medications that they need. We've added new contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies and endometriosis treatments to the PBS for the first time in my lifetime, which means that women can access the medicines they need at that lower cost. This week we've seen that bulk-billing rates are up at 84 per cent—a truly extraordinary achievement by our government and a reflection of our commitment to making sure that Australians can see the doctor for free.

Our Medicare urgent care clinics are now a permanent part of Medicare, providing cost-of-living relief and timely healthcare support, right when people need it. We've also increased Medicare support for long-term contraceptives such as IUDs and implants. On the topic of mental health, I think this is sometimes one of the hardest conversations to have with people in the community, and it can be particularly tough for women.

But our Medicare mental health clinics provide access to free and confidential support without needing a referral. Just a couple of months ago, I was down in the South West of WA with Emma McBride, the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, announcing that we would open a brand-new Medicare mental health clinic and a perinatal mental health clinic in WA's South West.

I think the report that Luma have released really highlights why that mental health support is so important for Western Australian women. Thevoice of 1000 women report shows that the work we are doing on making health care more affordable, particularly in making mental health care more affordable and women's healthcare services more accessible, is so important.

I am proud to be part of a Labor government that is committed to doing that work, not just in my home state but right across the country.