STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator MARIELLE SMITH (South Australia) (13:32): I've stood in this chamber many times before to raise the importance of prioritising and adequately investing in women's health and listening to women's voices not just with empathy but through action. I am deeply proud of our government's massive investments in women's health care to date through our landmark nearly $800 million investment in women's health.

That is delivering more choice, lower costs and better care for Australian women. This represented a step change in the way women's health is funded and prioritised in Australia. But there is still a lot to do.

In the last parliamentary sitting week, I asked the Senate for its support to establish a new select committee that would give us the power once again to spark a national conversation, to elevate women's voices and to build an evidence base that could inform future policy reform. Since then, I have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people who have reached out to me in support of this work.

Women and their partners have shared with me their deeply personal experiences in the postpartum period and have shown me extraordinary kindness after sharing my own. Families have spoken about their painful and heartbreaking struggles in accessing fertility treatments and support, and women have expressed their frustration and exhaustion that their pain continues to be ignored or dismissed.

I am looking forward to working with Senators Stewart Whiteaker, Kovacic, Ruston and Senator Waters, who is the deputy chair, in bringing these voices into the spotlight, and I thank all of these senators for putting their names forward to do this important work. I want to thank every woman who will come before us and share their story too. This Women's Health Week, know that your voice matters and we are listening.