Wednesday, 19 February 2025

 Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Government Services, Minister for Treaty and First Peoples, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Minister for Women) (14:27): Period products are not a luxury; they are a necessity. We know that too many Victorian women and children cannot afford them. In fact, one in five of those who need pads and tampons report struggling to meet the costs. That is why I rise to update the house today about this government’s free pads and tampons program.

We are fighting period poverty, and we are supporting women with the cost of living. Free pads and tampons can now be found in places like the State Library Victoria, Thomastown Library, Gordon Werribee TAFE and Sydenham Library. With more to come across the state and regional Victoria, women can access what they need when they need it. The first 50 machines have already been used more than 10,000 times over the last few months, and once they are all installed they will be available at 700 sites across our state. We know that this initiative is improving access and saving women hundreds of dollars, delivering cost-of-living relief. It also helps to tackle the stigma that girls are taught to feel about their periods, a feeling of shame that often follows them right into their adult lives.

This scheme is an Australian first, and one that we are extremely proud of. Had those opposite been in government, with their all-male leadership team, I am not sure this sort of program would have been supported, because it takes this sort of government, the Allan Labor government, to put a program like this in place that puts women’s needs at the forefront. We do not even know if those opposite support this initiative. I am proud of this program because it means that women will get period products where they need them and when they need them, period.