She’s just two-and-a-half-months-old, but last week little Alia Joy Waters made history in the Australian parliament.
The 10-week-old baby joined her mother, senator Larissa Waters, in the Senate Chamber of the Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday.
It was the senator’s first appearance back in parliament since having the child. And when Alia became hungry, she didn’t hesitate to breastfeed her.
Taking to Twitter after feeding the little girl, Larissa, who is co-deputy leader and senator for Queensland, said she is “so proud” that her daughter made history.
She said: “So proud that my daughter Alia is the first baby to be breastfed in the federal Parliament! We need more women and parents in Parli.”
Fellow senator Katy Gallagher said that the moment “represented a reality for female politicians”.
She said: “Women have been doing it in parliaments around the world … It is great to see it is able to occur now in the Senate. Women are going to continue to have babies and if they want to do their job and be at work and look after their baby. The reality is we are going to have to accommodate that.” The milestone moment comes after Waters introduced changes to Parliament in 2016.
