Jenny Morrison, the wife of Prime Minister and Federal MP for Cook Scott Morrison, placed herself firmly in the public eye this week, issuing an impassioned plea to women not to ignore their health, despite the pandemic.
Mrs Morrison has stayed largely out of the spotlight since her husband became Prime Minister in 2018, granting only a handful of interviews and rarely speaking publicly.
But that changed yesterday when she released a video to coincide with Women's Health Week (September 7-11).
In the video, Mrs Morrison implored women who may have failed to get regular health checks during the coronavirus pandemic to "call the doctor" and "book that appointment".
"2020 has been such a crazy year. It's been a real blur," Mrs Morrison said in the video.
"There's been so much disruption, loss and sadness, and we think of our friends and family in Melbourne and they're still doing it particularly tough.
"During this time, we have all been trying to do the right thing. We're wearing our masks, we're washing our hands and maintaining our distance to keep ourselves and others healthy.
"But there's some things that we might have put off that are really important as women and that's something we all need to pay attention to.
"The evidence is that women are putting off their health checks, pap tests, mole checks, mammograms and so much more.
"Pathology centres are reporting that thousands and thousands of Australian women have put off their pap smear tests.
"Even with Telehealth, GPs are reporting that female face-to-face visits are down as well."
Mrs Morrison said Women's Health Week was a chance for "women across Australia to remind themselves about getting up to date with all of those tests" and their overall health.
"Don't let it be the year where we say 'I'll put that off'," Mrs Morrison said.
"Because your health is so important to you and those around you
"So make the call. Go on, go book that appointment now. It's really important," she said, adding she booked a mammogram that morning.
She also urged women to visit the Women's Health Week website. Click here.
