Sarah Hanson-Young's daughter removed from Parliment.

[Sojourner]

Its interesting that the Greens plan to "debate" this issue in the Senate on Monday Morning, clearly it is much more important than issues relating to Climate Change or the Stimulus Package....

How good would it be if each of us could take our kids to work and have our employer provide staff to take care of them, how professional is it for employees in the Private Sector (where results for work are actually expected) to have their children present in board meetings?

If I have to place my children in Childcare whilst I am at work, why is it not ok for our politicians to do the same, or is this as Barnaby Joyce suggests actually a Stunt? Pathetic attempt to divert attention away from the fact that the Greens have achieved SFA in Parliment except to have Aussie workers stimulus payments reduced to redirect funds into supposed enviromental projects that are dubious at best perhaps?

Sarah Hanson-Young has no requirment to actually vote on any issue if for reasons of illness - or an issue relating to a child she cannot make it to the chamber to vote, politicians often abstain from voting for those reasons, so what really is the issue here?


Friday, 19 June 2009 12:10 PM
Senator Hanson-Young denies Barnaby Joyce's accusation that toddler in Parliament was a stunt

This is from a party that is known for its stunts.

Senator Barnaby Joyce

A Senator who was ordered to remove her child from the floor of Parliament denies it was a stunt.

Sarah Hanson-Young says she was caught out with her two year old when a vote was called and it was humiliating to have her removed.

“The way this was handled was a mistake and if anything it brings forward the questions of what we can do to make Parliament more family friendly,” she said.

The incident has prompted fierce debate over whether parliament should be made more ''child friendly''.

But Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce says there was no need for the Senator to bring her child in to the chamber.

“If it was from a party that never affected stunts then maybe you’d say, ‘Oh, OK, it’s a one off,” he said.

“But this is from a party that is known for its stunts.”

Speaking on Sky News shortly afterward Ms Hanson-Young said Senator Joyce’s comments were unwarranted and unfair.

“I’d like to think that upon reflection Senator Joyce will come to regret those comments,” she said.

“My understanding is that Senator Joyce was not in the chamber himself during that vote – so he clearly didn’t see what happened, he wasn’t there.

“I haven’t spoken to him. When I do I will tell him exactly what happened and that this was not a stunt.

Senator Hanson-Young said knee-jerk reactions should be avoided and the wider question of making Parliament more inclusive should come into focus.

“If we want diversity in our parliament… we really need to manage these sort of things properly,” she said.

“I would never suggest that children should regularly be in the Senate for Question Time or anything like that, but a vote is very different.

“You don’t know when they are going to be called.”

[Dogwatcher]

I seriously doubt that the Senator brought her child into the chamber as a pre-organised stunt.
The Greens will do certain things to make a point but surely no loving mother would put herself and her daughter in that position deliberately for the benefit of political points.
Brown did as any leader would, stood by his party member. Whose to say though that Brown didn't see the opportunity to win points though when she was ordered from the room.

As for Barnaby Joyce having a crack at people about political stunts.....

[dedja]

Barnaby Joyce is best described by Confucius below ... disregarding his comments to discuss the issue at hand.

While I would sympathise with her to some extent because of the fact that she would have significant periods away from her child because of the demands of her job, I don't think this excudes her from abiding from both the Senate rules and what most of us would describe as the acceptable norm in the workplace.

I would expect most people in her situation to have asked for permission prior to taking the child into the workplace ... that's just common courtesy.

I see that today she had admitted that the Senate rules were applied ccorrectly but words to the effect that the incident was handled in a mean spirited way. Well, unfortunately for her, she caused the situation by her actions.

How would it be perceived if the Governor of the Reserve Bank brought his (or her) child into the Boardroom for the monthly Board meeting to discuss official interest rates? Would that be appropriate?

Remember she brought her child into the Senate without permission and was correctly asked to remove her child when a Division was called to vote on legislation. Now, the Senate will debate the issue next week which will take up valuable limited time instead of debating important proposed government legislation ... our tax dollars at work apparently.

If she or anyone else disagrees with the standing rules, then address that issue in the most approriate way that doesn't impact on the running of the Senate.

I know what it's like to manage work around children, my wife and I have 3 who were at one stage all under 4 years, but we managed to not interfere with the running of the businesses we worked for.

[Dogwatcher]

A very sensible post.

[Psyber]

I agree dedja, excellent summation.

[Cambridge Clarrie]

Yep. Agree. Parliament is no place for a two year old. (though ironically, you'd expect a two year old would fit in perfectly given most politicians act that age...)

The Reserve Bank example is a good one.