The Greens push to protect breastfeeding in public after County Court incident

The Andrews government says it doesn’t have the power to amend the Equal Opportunity Act and allow women the right to breastfeed in court.

A mother was recently ejected from the County Court for breastfeeding her baby.

The Andrews government says it doesn’t have the legal powers to amend the Equal Opportunity Act and allow women the right to breastfeed in court.

The Greens on Tuesday called for amendments to the Act in a push to protect breastfeeding in public places, including courts.

It comes after a woman was last month booted from the public gallery of the County Court for breastfeeding her baby.

According to the Greens, the current law covers employment, education, the provision of goods and services and accommodation.

But deputy Greens leader Ellen Sandell said it was clear there are “grey areas and loopholes” around public places.

The Greens have threatened to bring their own Bill before the parliament if the Andrews government doesn’t commit to closing the loophole.

On Tuesday morning, Daniel Andrews admitted that changes to the Act were needed.

Speaking about the ejection of the breastfeeding mother, the Premier said: “I’m not quite sure how in 2023 anyone is making decisions like that. It doesn’t make much sense to me.”

Greens deputy leader Ellen Sandell spoke to parliament about protecting breastfeeding. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“I can indicate to you that I think there’s a number of areas where we need to update those laws. I think it’s always important that we look to update those laws,” he added.

‘They’re about protecting everybody, whether it’s a breastfeeding mum all the way through to others in our community that have been persecuted and been the subject of just some vile, hateful stuff recently.”

But a government spokeswoman later confirmed it didn’t have the powers to amend the Act and let women breastfeed in court.

“Judicial Officers have discretion as to how to manage courtrooms and what conduct they consider is appropriate for protecting the rights of Victorians to have a fair trial,” she said.

“Part of protecting this may include ensuring their courtroom is free of legitimate distractions — this is ultimately a matter for the relevant Judge or Judicial Officer to determine.

“Our expectation is that Judicial Officers conduct themselves appropriately and with respect at all times to ensure the justice system has Victorians’ confidence and trust.”

Following the incident, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes spoke with the courts where she made her expectations clear about how other cases should be handled.

The spokeswoman added that “no one deserves to be shamed or humiliated for breastfeeding in a public space”.

In 2017, Ms Sandell was the first woman to breastfeed in the Victorian parliament in 15 years, after Kirstie Marshall was kicked out for doing so in 2003.

“Whenever my babies needed to feed, I breastfed them, including in parliament, churches, cafes, and even on the kerb in the city when there was nowhere to sit,” she said.

“There is clearly a loophole in the law in Victoria that still allows women to be excluded from public spaces like the courts, simply for needing to breastfeed a baby.

“Women should be able to breastfeed their babies wherever and whenever they need to. Telling women they cannot breastfeed in a public place is humiliating and degrading, it sends the signal that women are not welcome in public spaces.”