Page 2919 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 15 August 2018
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Mrs Dunne’s amendment, which has been withdrawn, removed paragraph 3(c), which related to signage, and replaced it with the requirement to explore an online resource. Through my amendment, that is now in addition to the government exploring the online resource. That has been achieved by negotiation, and that is good.
In conclusion, the issue of signage within pharmacies, based on my conversations with pharmacists and the Pharmacy Guild, is complex, both legislatively and through the requirements of the TGA, and there are complexities with regards to who is the pharmacist on duty and whether pharmacies stock any of these products for whatever reason.
We also need to be aware that this can be an emotive issue on both sides of the debate. We do not want to unnecessarily cause any sort of conflict within a pharmacy. These are all issues that need to be understood and addressed as the government goes forward to examine how this can best be done.
I think we have ended up in a good place. If these steps can be taken it will improve access, remove barriers, and remove stigma for women seeking access to medications and products or advice, and that is a good thing. I commend Mrs Dunne for moving the amendment that has now been withdrawn, and I also thank the minister for tidying up the motion and working cooperatively on this issue.
MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (10.41): I reiterate that the idea of my motion was to open the doors to a conversation to talk about the stigma faced by women in the community. For a moment I was quite shocked that Mr Hanson and I were agreeing on several things; I was a bit shaky there for a moment. Mr Hanson raised a very good point that there are employer organisations, such as the Pharmacy Guild and the AMA and all those sorts of organisations that pharmacists and health practitioners deal with every day, that are important, but so are the women in my community. I am important; we are all important.
It is the women in my community and the women in the Labor movement who brought this motion to me and who have been asking for this for quite some time. In my motion I have asked the government to undertake to explore with the Pharmacy Guild, with health practitioners and with their registered and relevant bodies how we can better remove the stigma for women to access the rights they have for reproductive health.
I am really excited and looking forward to the debate that will ensue in the coming month, hopefully, on Ms Le Couteur’s bill on abortion. I think abortion is a very topical discussion, and I look forward to standing up for the rights of the women in our community every day who have to face these questions and these concerns.
I find it very interesting that Mrs Dunne had major concerns with my motion yet I had not heard a word from her or her office about any of those concerns. As we all know, my motion has been sitting on the notice paper for a few days. It is interesting that Mrs Dunne raised her concerns in here but did not bother to have a conversation with
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