By political reporter Stephanie Anderson.
Breastfeeding politicians could be allowed to feed their babies while in the chamber under several options being considered by a parliamentary inquiry.
Committee head and Liberal MP Andrew Southcott told Parliament today the rules technically banning children in the chamber were being revisited in the wake of an increasing number of new mums in office.
“You could say that the House is experiencing a baby boom, with more than 10 members welcoming babies into their families this year,” he said.
“As the numbers of breastfeeding members in the House have increased, the need for adequate provisions to support these women has become apparent.”
Under parliamentary rules, mothers who are breastfeeding get a proxy vote.
Mr Southcott said the proxy system was being examined, while other options were also on the table.
“The committee will consider whether members should be allowed to feed their infants in the chamber, the federation chamber and during committee proceedings,” he said.
Ms O’Dwyer was asked whether she had considered expressing more breast milk to avoid missing parliamentary duties.
A parliamentary paper has listed numerous examples of serving politicians bringing their children into the chamber, including Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who was forced to remove her then two-year-old during a division in June 2009.
Other politicians have brought their children into the chamber without incident during divisions, including former politicians Senator Natasha Stott Despoja and Mark Latham.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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Top Comments
I'm absolutely pro breastfeeding but once I returned to work it would not have worked for me/my baby or my workplace to have me breastfeeding in the middle of a meeting or a client negotiation. Is this really necessary??
Not sure I support this idea. Is the House of Reps really a nice, calm, quiet place for a baby to settle down and have a feed? Is a feeding baby likely to cry or otherwise disrupt people in their workplace? Can the parent concentrate on work while feeding and cleaning up a baby? Is it possible to organise for feeds to happen during work breaks? What about OHS, WorkSafe issues, insurance etc?