By Dan Harrison
GREENS Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wanted five minutes with her daughter Kora yesterday before the two-year-old was flown back to Adelaide.
But when the bells rang through Parliament House, calling her for a vote, her plan ended in tears and set off a debate about the place of children in Parliament.
When she took Kora into the chamber, Senate President John Hogg was unimpressed. "We can't allow children to be in here for a division," he said.
Greens leader Bob Brown objected, but Senator Hogg insisted. Senator Hanson-Young passed her child to a staff member at the chamber doors. The girl burst into tears, and her cries could be heard through the thick Senate doors after they were locked for the vote.
Sarah Hanson-Young and Kora.Credit: Glen McCurtayne
As she left Parliament House last night, an upset Senator Hanson-Young said she had "never felt so humiliated".
Her leader, Senator Brown, said the rules that describe an infant with her mother as a "stranger" in the House were old fashioned, and should be changed so that parents were not discouraged from becoming MPs. He said he would pursue the issue in a debate on Monday.
But Nationals Senate Leader Barnaby Joyce questioned whether children should be present in the House.
"There are 76 people who are voted by the Australian people to have the capacity to walk beyond that bar (into the Senate chamber)," he said.
"You get to vote for a whole range of things that change the lives of the Australian people. Never lose sight of the seriousness of exactly where you are."
He accused Senator Hanson-Young of a stunt. He said she should have left her child with a staffer, or arranged to miss the vote on the bill, about banning junk food advertising during children's viewing hours, which she must have known would fail. (It was defeated by 42-5).
"You can have a moment with your child outside the chamber," he said.
"If you bend the rules for a very good reason, it's understandable, but if you bend the rules for theatrical effect, you've done something wrong."
Asked why she had not arranged to be "paired" with an opposing senator, allowing her to miss the vote, Senator Hanson-Young said this needed to be organised well in advance.
The Senate President's ruling was in contrast to the approach of Governor-General Quentin Bryce at a recent swearing-in ceremony for new ministers at Government House.
When the baby daughter of new Employment Participation Minister Mark Arbib became upset and his wife moved to take the child outside, Ms Bryce said: "I'm not in favour of children being taken out."
Senator Hogg issued a statement last night saying the rules were confusing and that he could have handled the situation better.