Unsolicited feeding advice. Every new mum’s favourite rite of passage.
Apparently the Chief Whip, Scott Buchholz, would prefer if his colleague Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer didn’t breastfeed in parliament.
Despite the rules being on her side, after the birth of her daughter Olivia in May, Kelly O’Dwyer was advised to express her breast-milk rather than breastfeed in parliament, in order to prevent disruption.
Fairfax Media reports O’Dwyer received the ‘advice’ from Chief Whip Scott Buchholz, after she was unable to attend a speaking obligation and a division because she had just begun breastfeeding her daughter.
The issue is now said to be resolved, and the pair have refused to comment. According to sources known to Fairfax however, O’Dwyer was extremely unhappy to receive unsolicited feeding advice from her colleague.
Currently, the rules stand that breastfeeding mothers are to be given a proxy vote – that is, their vote is counted in their physical absence. It is believed the Whip was unaware of the rules at the time the comment was made, but was informed by the Opposition’s Chief Whip, Chris Hayes.
Top Comments
I worked for a whip and their role goes well beyond the vote counting. They are responsible for the emotional wellbeing of the members and the party usually selects an experienced well respected and liked person whom the MPs can confide in with any personal issues they may have, they should also be well across the rules including the proxy vote rule in this case. Besides Telling someone to express more is just way too personal and inappropriate
A Whip's responsibility is to ensure the votes in the house go to plan - a number of us probably remember when the Liberal Whip in WA stuffed up the numbers and Labour spent the entire sitting period passing bills that could not have been passed if not for the Liberal Whip's stuff up (he had not matched up absent members correctly and allowed too many Libs to be absent - changing the balance in the house). Old mate here was ignorant of or forgot the rule regarding the proxy vote when breast feeding - a mistake but hardly a sackable offense. If not for the proxy rule the other solution would have been for a labour member to abstain from voting while she was absent to maintain the equivalent numbers but that is the Whip's job to organise.