Victorian Premier, Dan Andrews promises free period products in public places if Labor is re-elected in the forthcoming state election.
Dan Andrews has declared the state of Victoria will gain access to free pads and tampons in a myriad of public locations, should the Labor Party be re-elected in the upcoming election, set to take place on November 26.
As reported by 9News, the Victorian Premier stated, “If we’re re-elected, we’ll invest $23 million over four years to put 1500 dispensing machines into 700 different public [locations].”
According to Andrews, this would be the “next step” in making period products more accessible to women, following the 2019 initiative to roll out free pads and tampons across Government schools in Victoria.
“It’s about making sure women and girls not just at school but right across the community can have access to the period products they need completely free of charge,” says the Premier. “This is in some ways a simple thing but it will make a very big difference to women and girls right across our state.”
This will be an Australian first.
It's a small thing – but it'll make a huge difference. pic.twitter.com/ctPcKMg5EZ— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) November 11, 2022
If this policy is established, it will make Victoria the first state in our nation to offer this level of free access to sanitary products, which Andrews says will include “hospitals, train stations, libraries and other big cultural institutions like the museum of Victoria, the State Library, but also community libraries.”
