Carrie Bickmore has given politicians a good telling-off for not scrapping the tampon tax.
The Project host performed a hilarious rap on Tuesday night's episode in which she sung about how it was unfair condoms and lubricant were GST-free, but women's sanitary items are not.
"Every month, Aussie women get their cramp on," she sang. "Every month, Aussie women need a tampon. The tax man has got his hand out, 10 per cent GST get the f--- out."
Bickmore called on Health Minister Greg Hunt to finally put his foot down and keep the tax man away from people's periods, complete with a mic drop.
"So it's time to make things fair," she said. "Come on, Greg Hunt... I don't have a word that rhymes with Greg Hunt."
Things then took a far more serious turn, with the popular television host and radio personality grilling Labor's health spokeswoman Catherine King. The Greens have been up in arms because Labor joined forces with the Coalition to block an amendment that would have removed the GST from tampons, but the federal opposition says the Greens move was simply a stunt attached to an unrelated bill.
"Get in done," Bickmore said bluntly. "It's 2017, it seems absolutely ridiculous that we're having this conversation. I mean, today I was reading that incontinence pads are GST-free, but sanitary pads aren't."
King was forced onto the backfoot and admitted taxing tampons was "crazy". However, she said removing a tax was more complicated than most people thought and Labor wanted to make sure it was done properly.
"The state and territories depend on the revenue," she said. "They've got funding for public hospitals [tied up with the tampon tax]... so we've obviously got to find a replacement for it. And that's going to be the challenge."
But Bickmore wasn't having any of it.
"That's a shame [if that's] where the conversation ends," she said. "Because, in principle, it [the tampon tax] shouldn't be there - but then people aren't wanting hospitals defunded. You know what I mean? [You're saying] it's either that, or that."
Bickmore isn't the only celebrity to have pointed out how ludicrous the tampon tax is in recent days. On Tuesday, 2Day FM's Em Rusciano said there absolutely would not be a tax on pads and tampons if all the men in parliament had to deal with periods.
"I don't think the government should be able to tax bodily functions," she said. "And yet, that's what happens to millions of Australian women."
