PATRICK GORMAN, MEMBER FOR PERTH: it's great to be here with some friends in the electorate of Perth in Northbridge today at Sexual Health Quarters. We've got Rebecca White, the Assistant Minister for Women, the Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing and the Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health. I've got my colleague, Senator Dorinda Cox, a great West Australian who's always stood up for making sure that we have the health services that Western Australians and Australians need, and Dr Hagar Haviv, who is one of the doctors who delivers services to some 9000 people who use this clinic in Northbridge every year.
And what we're talking about today is about how do we make our health services here in the West and here in the Perth electorate even stronger. One of the reasons I got into politics was because I saw the transformative power of Medicare. What we know is that before Medicare, the leading reason that people went into bankruptcy in Australia was because they couldn't pay their hospital bills or their doctor's bills. Labor changed that some 41 years ago, and we are a proud part of that legacy of making sure that we continue to strengthen Medicare, making it stronger for the future, as we did on 1 January this year with our cheaper medicines policy. Meaning that you now only have to pay $25 to fill your scripts – the cheapest it's been in more than 20 years. And I want to pay huge credit to the work that Rebecca White has done in making sure that we have that stronger Medicare system, not just for my electorate of Perth, but for all of Australia.
And one of the things that we know is that if you believe in a stronger Medicare, you have to care about women's health. The reality is that this government has done so much over just three and a half years to deliver on our commitments for women's health – a massive package that Rebecca and Minister Mark Butler are guiding and delivering across Australia. It's made a huge difference here. And to talk more about how our investments in Medicare are making a difference for women across Australia, I'll hand over to Rebecca.
REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: Thanks, Pat. It is a great pleasure to be here today at Sexual Health Quarters, and I want to thank Debra and her team who've taken some time with us this morning to share the stories of the women who are using this service and the impact it's making on their lives.
Across the country, we've seen women benefit from the investment the Albanese Labor Government's made in our Women's Health Package, which was a nearly $800 million commitment delivered before the last election. And that included listing new medicines on the PBS, including new contraceptives, new endometriosis medicines, and more medicines for women dealing with pre-menopause and menopause. Here in Western Australia, 80,000 women have benefited since 1 March last year through accessing cheaper medicines, saving about $8.4 million. And that is truly remarkable because what we know is that a lot of women put off accessing the healthcare that they need because they couldn't afford to. And that's why our investment in Medicare, but also in listing more medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme, has meant that for the first time in some cases, women have been able to get access to the medicine they need rather than worrying about how they're going to afford it, sometimes putting it off, or not accessing that medicine at all. The fact that 80,000 women here in Western Australia have been able to access cheaper medicines from 1 March last year is testament to the investment the Federal Labor Government has made, but also to the voices of women who shared with us their stories about how often they felt they weren't listened to, that their health needs weren't prioritised. And I'm really proud of the work our Labor government has done working with women and services just like this one to put them first.
DORINDA COX, SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA: What a great day it is to be here alongside Assistant Minister Rebecca White and also my good friend and colleague, Assistant Minister Patrick Gorman, the Member for Perth.
West Australian women benefit from the wonderful work that is done here in Sexual Health Quarters. I have been a long advocate of the health system here in Western Australia. I worked in the public health system and made sure that the connection that we've had with this place and seen its evolution and to be here today to look at the refurbishments and the work that has been done is just remarkable.
It'd be remiss of me not to mention the wonderful program that they deliver, the Mooditj program that is delivered nationally, and I want to thank Debra and also Dr Hagar and others here that work particularly to cater to First Nations communities. But West Australian women benefit from Sexual Health Quarters being able to provide those services, and I think the 9000 women a year that access the clinic here is a really, really important statistic. And it's really important because our government, as the Assistant Minister's already said, have made a landmark investment, particularly in women's health.
And as the Chair of the Legislation Committee on Community Affairs, I will also pay homage to Senator Marielle Smith from South Australia, who led a landmark inquiry into pre-menopause and menopause. That was also a catalyst to some of the work that we've done in women's health, but led by our wonderful Assistant Minister, these are really important measures.
They are important measures for women's health, but also our larger investment, whether it's PBS, whether it's getting to see a GP for free or the PBS ensuring that you don't pay any more than $25 for a script, they're important things that matter to women and particularly here in Western Australia.
DEBRA BARNES, SEXUAL HEALTH QUARTERS: Good morning. So on behalf of SHQ, I'd like to thank the ministers and Patrick Gorman for coming to visit our clinic today. SHQ has welcomed the Medicare Women's Health Package that was introduced. We have seen dramatic changes in the care that we can provide our clients, not only in making medicines cheaper, more accessible, but also increasing the number of medicines such as contraceptives and menopause medications that patients can now access on the PBS. The introduction of new Medicare items and the increase in the rebates to some of the pre-existing Medicare items has meant that we have been able to provide more services to more patients in the community in need at lower cost as well. So, thank you so much for these changes. It's made a huge difference on the community. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Yeah. Can I just ask how much of a barrier has cost been historically when it comes to women's health? And is there still a ways to go with these efforts? What's coming next?
WHITE: We had a landmark $800 million Women's Health Package that was informed through the voices of women who share their stories with the Senate Inquiry, who told us that too often they put off healthcare because they couldn't get answers to the questions they had.
I think there's a large story of Australian women who have been dismissed or felt ignored when they raised concerns about their health needs, but also that the pathway to treatment was unaffordable. And that's where investment in both the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme but also Medicare broadly has made it possible for the first time for some women to be able to access the healthcare that they need.
The stories are such that- yesterday, I heard a story about a woman who went to six different doctors to try and find answers to her pelvic pain, and each time, she felt that she couldn't get an answer or her pain was dismissed. On the seventh presentation to one of our endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics that we funded, she finally got answers. She finally got access to the medicine that's changed her life and given her life back to her.
And I think this is emblematic of the fact that too often women have had their symptoms dismissed or ignored and not being able to access the health care that they need at an affordable price - we are starting to change that. No doubt there's more to do, there's always more work do, but this is a fantastic start.
JOURNALIST: What sort of feedback are you getting from healthcare providers?
WHITE: Healthcare providers are sharing with us that, for the first time, they're able to make suggestions to women about healthcare needs without worrying if they can afford it or not. We've listed contraceptives on the PBS, endometriosis medicine on the PBS. In some case we haven't had any listings like this in decades. And what it offers women is choice and affordability and better healthcare.
Clinicians are telling us that this is changing their job because they can finally have conversations with women about what's in their best health needs, and not just what they know that woman can afford. And we're seeing the results with 80,000 Western Australian women accessing cheaper medicines that have been listed on the PBS since 1 March last year. And it will become an even greater saving to them from 1 January this year when the costs of medicines on the PBS were reduced to $25 and remain at $7.70 for a concession card holder.
JOURNALIST: And are there other services or pharmaceuticals that the Government's looking to next to bring into this?
WHITE: So, we've already committed and introduced a number of reforms. Not only have we listed new medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that support women to access the healthcare that they need, on 1 July last year we introduced a new Medicare item for women who seek support with perimenopause and menopause which provides a great rebate for them and hopefully means they can see a GP without an out-of-pocket expense, or if there is, it's much smaller.
On 1 November last year we listed a new contraceptive, Nuvaring, but also made it cheaper for the insertion of long-acting reversible contraceptives, which is making a profound difference. And we expect that 300,000 Australian women will benefit from this and, in most instances, will be able to receive that care bulk bill because of the reforms and improvements that we've made to strengthen Medicare.
There are further improvements on the way and I'll be very excited to share them with you when we're ready to announce them.
JOURNALIST: I have a couple of questions as well on hate speech laws and gun reforms. How is that going? What can we expect to see from it? And do you have concerns about the response you've had from the Coalition so far?
GORMAN: Well, firstly we've been consulting over the summer and we've had our parliamentary drafters drafting these laws over Christmas and New Years, and they're ready for the Parliament next week. The Parliament will be sitting on Monday and it will be the earliest sitting of the Parliament in a calendar year in more than a century.
We are taking this incredibly seriously. And what we have happening in Canberra right now is the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is looking at these bills, talking to all of the experts, doing the final public hearings and consultations. But I want to see these laws passed next week. The Australian community wants to see these laws passed next week in full.
When it comes to what the Coalition have done, which is they demanded that Parliament return early but now we learn that they didn't even know what they believed in. They don't even know what they're going to vote for. And we see an absolute failure of leadership from Sussan Ley and the Coalition who have said that they don't know what they're going to do in a week's time. They don't know what they stand for.
They are arguing across this country for a range of different responses. You've got, within the Coalition, Andrew Hastie is leading a new Noalition saying that nothing should change - that is of extreme concern. I think Australians know that we need stronger hate speech laws, we need stronger powers from the immigration minister, and we need to reform our gun laws. That's what I want to get done next week. That's what the Albanese Government wants to get done next week. And the fact that Sussan Ley is leading division and delay once again is very disappointing.
JOURNALIST: Do you see things potentially being slowed down or distracted as a result?
GORMAN: Well, the Parliament has a clear choice. There is a bill out there on the Attorney-General's website that everyone can see. Every individual member of Parliament will be accountable for the decisions they make next week. And I'll call on all in the Coalition to very clearly look at that bill, see how it's drafted in the interests of the community in the response to an horrific anti-Semitic terrorist attack which happened on the shores of Bondi Beach a month ago today.
We have acted as fast as possible to get those laws ready. We've done all of the consultation that is necessary. The public consultation is happening now. But I think the Australian people would look very poorly on the Parliament if those bills did not pass next week. And I think the Coalition need to think very carefully about how they act. Because if they're only looking for excuses to say no, if they're only looking for excuses to delay, then that delivers nothing for the Australian people.
JOURNALIST: And how about the role of religious exemptions in the hate speech laws? Do you see that featuring?
GORMAN: Well, we've again done a consultation with both the Attorney General's Department, with Parliamentary Council, with a range of faith leaders, and some of those faith leaders are actually speaking to the Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Matters in Canberra today. So, we'll continue that consultation.
But we have defined the way to have the strongest possible hate speech laws within the bounds of the Constitution, and that's what we've done.
JOURNALIST: There's a search underway for a replacement for Kevin Rudd as US Ambassador. There's a suggestion, I believe, from Joe Hockey that Peter Dutton might be a suitable candidate. What do you make of that?
GORMAN: Well, firstly, I've got great respect for former Ambassador Hockey and the engagement that he had with previous US administrations. And I think what you find when it comes to former diplomats is that they've always got a view. And particularly, once they're out of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade System, they're often very happy to freely put that view.
Obviously, this is a decision for the Prime Minister and the Government, and it will go through in the normal way, in a normal announcement. I'm not in the business of ruling in or out candidates. I respect that there'll be lots of suggestions put in the media, but it's a decision for the Prime Minister. And so that's not to have any disrespect to Mr Dutton who's now out of public life, but it's a decision for the Government. And there will be many names put forward, but we'll do that in our internal way as is normally the case.
But if you don't mind, I might also just say, Ambassador Kevin Rudd has served Australia with distinction. He has ensured that we have the congressional legislative approval for the AUKUS scheme that will make a huge positive difference here in Western Australia, including down at both Henderson and Stirling.
He has ensured that we got Julian Assange home to Australia. He has delivered on the critical minerals deal that will make an enormous benefit for the jobs and the economy of Australia, including here in the West. And I think across the political spectrum, including in the United States, you've seen a real recognition of just how hard he worked.
But there was one other person who also worked really hard, and that's his wife, Thérèse Rein. Thérèse has been, as we see from diplomatic spouses, has been there at the dinners, at the events, at all of the things that you'd expect her to do in terms of making sure that Australia has the sort of representation that we need as Australians with our closest strategic ally in the United States. So, I want to say special thanks as well to Thérèse for all the work that she's done, both in this role and previously as a Prime Ministerial spouse.
JOURNALIST: Do you see past public criticisms of Donald Trump being a hurdle for potential candidates?
GORMAN: We'll make a decision based on Australia’s national interest - it's as simple as that. But we'll do that internally through our normal mechanisms and the Prime Minister will make an announcement at the appropriate time. Thank you.