Thursday, 8 February 2024

 Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Ambulance Services) (14:09): I rise to update the house on the Allan Labor government’s $153 million investment in the health of Victorian women. I have stood here before and spoken at length about women’s health here in Victoria, and some might say I have to do so in order to make up for lost time. We are giving women’s health the attention, the focus and the funding that it needs and deserves. I have had a look, and prior to the election of our government, words like ‘endometriosis’, ‘menstruation’ and ‘menopause’ barely got a look in in this house. It is time to break the shame and stigma that is associated with women’s healthcare needs. Our health matters, and I will gladly take every opportunity I get to talk about the important work that the Allan Labor government is doing to change the way in which we deliver health care to women here in this state.

Can I talk about our women’s healthcare clinics? The 20 we are establishing are an absolute game changer. They will support women needing treatment and advice on issues like pelvic pain, polycystic ovary syndrome, menopause and incontinence. We are also expanding our existing network of sexual and reproductive health hubs so that we can provide the treatment that women need for STIs, we can give them access to effective contraception and we can expand accessibility of medical termination of pregnancy. We are increasing the number of laparoscopies that will be delivered in our state so that the symptoms of endometriosis can be diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively. We are making sure that our health services will have the workforce that they need, delivering scholarships of up to $20,000 to up to 100 healthcare workers so that we have those additional specialists that we need. Our government is showing real leadership on a real issue that matters to the women of Victoria. Only the Allan Labor government – (Time expired)