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  • 2 years ago
A South Australian politician is calling for more support for parents working in State Parliament after giving birth to a son earlier this year. Jayne Stinson has written to the Speaker of the Lower House saying the building's facilities need a desperate upgrade.

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00:00 A new type of challenge for the member for Babco.
00:05 "Can I have a play in the sun, buddy?
00:07 There we go."
00:09 Baby Quinn is only a few weeks old but has already attended a parliament sitting.
00:14 His mum marks history by being the first South Australian lower house member
00:18 to take formal maternity leave under new rules.
00:21 Previously, MPs had to seek permission if they planned to be absent longer than 12 sitting days.
00:27 "Obviously these days maternity leave is a right
00:30 and not something that other people should be voting on whether you get it or not."
00:34 In a letter tabled in parliament, Ms Stinson is calling for more to be done to support working parents.
00:40 "I've written to the Speaker asking that there are wide enough car parks
00:44 to get a baby in and out of the back seat.
00:47 I'm asking for change tables in all the bathrooms."
00:51 The Labor MP wrote it was also difficult to wheel a pram around parliament
00:55 describing the building's accessibility as poor.
00:59 "I am passionate about the parliament being more family friendly
01:03 so we can attract a diverse range of candidates and future members of parliament
01:08 into that building to represent their communities."
01:11 "This building was built for men.
01:13 When I first came here there weren't even women's toilets on the ground floor."
01:17 The new lower house Speaker, Leon Bignall, says he'll be looking at other parliaments
01:21 across the country to identify what could make the workplace more baby friendly.
01:26 He says that some facilities are already in place including a parents room
01:31 but concedes it could still do better.
01:34 Ms Stinson says she will also write to the Parliament Standing Orders Committee
01:39 as she embarks on solo motherhood.
01:41 "I have chosen to have Quinn by myself and raise him solo.
01:46 That's my choice and I'm loving it so far but I'm sure there will be challenges and tough times
01:52 and you'd be an idiot to think there wouldn't be."
01:54 A challenging yet rewarding experience.
01:57 .
01:58 .
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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