New report addresses how current parliamentary practice fails to accommodate the caring responsibilities of representatives in various ways.
Lead author and Director of the Pathways to Politics for Women program, UNSW Professor Rosalind Dixon, is launching the UNSW Family Friendly Parliaments Report at 6pm tonight.
The report is the product of a collaboration between UNSW and the national Pathways to Politics Program for Women, supported by the Trawalla Foundation.
The report proposes five amendments to parliamentary practices which seek to make Parliament more 'care-friendly' and accessible to those with significant caring responsibilities:
· Amendments to Standing Orders to remove children from the definition of 'strangers' not permitted in the chambers;
· Changes to the parliamentary calendar and sitting hours, to better align with child-care hours and school holidays;
· Parental leave for Members of Parliament;
· Increased investments in child-care facilities and options for remote learning for the school-aged children of Members of Parliament; and
· More use of 'Zoom' and other virtual platforms for parliamentary hearings, such as committee hearings.
Three politicians will also be taking part in this launch, namely – Courtney Houssos, Peter Poulos and Cate Faerhmann.
About the authors:
Rosalind Dixon is a Professor of Law at UNSW Law & Justice, Director of the Gilbert +Tobin Centre of Public Law, and Pathways to Politics for Women Program NSW, at UNSW Sydney.
Kate Jackson was a Public Law Fellow with the UNSW Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law. She graduated from UNSW in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) in 2021.
Matthew McLeod was a Public Law and Public Policy Fellow with the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law in 2021. He graduated from UNSW Sydney with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons I) and a Bachelor of Arts in 2021.
