Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader
When the rules for Tasmania's House of Assembly were first written, they were written by men, for men and largely, about men.
To be fair, it simply didn't occur to them that women had a role to play in Parliament and that, from time to time, expectant and nursing mothers would be regulars in the Chamber.
Thankfully, much has changed since our founding fathers wrote their own rule book. Today's announcement by House of Assembly Speaker, Elise Archer, that babies will be no 'strangers' in our House, is warmly welcomed.
No baby should be a stranger anywhere, least of all at the heart of our democracy.
These are the sorts of changes that can make the difference to inspiring women and girls to represent their communities as Members of Parliament.
I commend Madam Speaker and the heavily male-dominated Standing Orders Committee for taking this step to bring Tasmania's Parliament into a more equal age.