Senate debates

Thursday, 26 June 2008

Parliamentary Zone

Approval of Works

Photo of Steve HutchinsSteve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Minister—you SNAG, you.

11:41 am

Photo of John FaulknerJohn Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | | Hansard source

Thank you for that very generous, albeit somewhat disorderly, comment from the chair. I move:

That, in accordance with section 5 of the Parliament Act 1974, the Senate approves the proposal by the Department of Parliamentary Services, relating to the construction of a childcare centre.

Photo of Trish CrossinTrish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

With your guidance, do I need to seek leave?

Photo of Steve HutchinsSteve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

You do not need my guidance at all. You can go for your life.

Photo of Trish CrossinTrish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I can go for my life?

Photo of John FaulknerJohn Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | | Hansard source

You’re obviously not going to be called a sensitive new-age guy.

Photo of Trish CrossinTrish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

A new-age girl, maybe. I rise to speak in relation to this proposition that we finally—can I say with some sense of pride—see an approval going through both houses of parliament to provide a childcare facility in this building. Ten years ago this week, in fact, I stood in this chamber for the first time and gave my first speech. I had my family with me and little Kate was two years and three months old. I was still breastfeeding at the time. I had this to say:

I put on the record that it is unfortunate that there are no child-care facilities in this building for a politician like me. It may well be one of the reasons limiting the capacity of women to enter this arena.

From the moment I put those words down in Hansard, I decided that I would spend my time in this place developing a campaign and pushing for some recognition that a childcare centre would benefit not just politicians—in fact, not politicians at all—but the many thousands of families, women and men, who work in this place. I came to realise their life would be much easier if in fact there was a childcare centre within the building. So I embarked on a quest to see if I could realise that ambition.

My research of the history books tells me that in an article in a newspaper some 25 years ago this was said:

After months of apparent inaction, the new Parliament House may get a creche.

Senator Pat Giles, a fantastic Labor senator from Western Australia, was quoted as saying:

“We have been frustrated about the whole thing”—

Can I say, Senator Giles, tell me about it—

the head of the caucus committee on the status of women said yesterday. A commitment had been given in 1983 that there would be provision made for childcare in the new building.

Jumping to 1986, Senator Powell asked of the minister representing the then Prime Minister here in the Senate whether they could inform the Senate if the original plans for the new Parliament House, which did not provide for child-minding facilities, had been changed to make such provision. Of course, a couple of days later this was the answer:

The Joint Standing Committee, through a special sub-committee, considered the question of a childcare facility within the precincts of the New Parliament House. I am advised the JSC has decided that no childcare facility will be provided within the precincts.

So I am not the only one who has been on a quest to ensure that we have some family-friendly provisions within this building; it emanated many years before I entered this chamber. In 1988, a Parliamentary Zone survey was conducted by the Parliament House childcare committee. It surveyed workers in Parliament House, the National Library and the National Gallery and found that 83 places could be taken up if available. Funding of $0.7 million was included in the National Capital Development Commission’s 1988-89 capital works program.

We then go to 1989, when the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House recommended approval of a centre, but four senators at that time presented a minority report. In December 1989, the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House recommended the establishment of a community based childcare facility adjacent to the provisional Parliament House, and that year a community based childcare centre catering for 40 places was due to open next to the Forrest Primary School. Since my day, of course, the recommendation has been made to many people who have worked in this House that they use that Forrest childcare centre, but that did not quite go to the nub of what people were actually looking for.

Moving on to childcare issues in Canberra in 1992, the CSIRO were in the process of completing a childcare centre at Black Mountain and the ATO became the first public sector organisation to reach an industrial agreement regarding the provision of childcare for staff. Going on, we see that even the new Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade building has a childcare centre, which is dedicated to staff that specifically work there.

In 2000, I started to convene informal meetings of people in this House who might be interested in pursuing the issue of childcare facilities at Parliament House. Certainly, these meetings had no structure and had no legal standing within this parliament; nonetheless, we got together. At that time, Senator Woodley of the Democrats was still in this place and was very supportive of this move. I place on record my appreciation of the work of Consie Larmour from Senator Kate Lundy’s office and Meg Martin, who with a number of us—including, of course, Senator Lundy—have vigorously pursued the quest to have a childcare centre in this place. Mike Bolton from the Joint House Department joined us at that time, and we finally managed to convince the Joint House Department to hire a consultant, Prue Warrilow, from Families At Work. However, again we had another survey. It seems that the path this childcare centre has taken in Parliament House has been step by step and survey by survey. If my memory serves me right, that survey showed that at that time this place could support a childcare centre for at least 95 places.

We did make some gains, though. In 1994, the former Spouses Lounge on the House of Representatives side of the building was converted to a child-friendly family lounge. That was not really the same as a childcare centre; you could send your children there and they could be occupied throughout the day—unsupervised, though, unless you were there with them. It was suitable for children of various ages, but it did not quite hit the mark in terms of what was needed in this place.

Nevertheless, we pursued and continued. My informal reference group met from time to time, with invitations being extended to people like Joe Hockey, who, I have to place on record, was a great supporter of this campaign, and Jackie Kelly, who, as we know, also jumped on board and started to push for this campaign. We have been down to the DFAT childcare facility and we have looked at the one at Forrest. With Maggie Barnes from the Joint House Department, I have walked this building looking at potential spaces where a childcare centre could be built. We have talked about having a childcare centre in one section of the ministerial car park and we have talked about locating a childcare centre out near the tennis courts on the House of Representatives side.

However, finally, a couple of years ago, we got down to the serious business of really looking at what sort of space was available inside this House and what we would need in square metres per child, because any childcare centre established here needs to comply with the ACT regulations and guidelines. We did home in on a few places—the old staff bar and the back of the staff canteen. Of course, you will know now that we finally decided on renovating the old staff bar. We know that it will take children only of up to 18 months and that it will have only 22 places. We would like to see the provision for at least a 75-place centre in this building, but that is never going to happen, because we literally do not have the space. Back when the building was designed—and I can only imagine there were very, very few women in parliament at that time—there was very little prospect of ever thinking that there would be women in this parliament who would one day need a childcare centre. It was not on the radar and it was not on the agenda—or, if it was, it was completely dismissed out of hand.

But we move on. We have had debates about whether or not this parliament and this workplace should be paying for such a facility. We have had a debate, believe it or not, about whether the clocks that ring in this House would actually wake the babies who were asleep—ably discredited, of course, by the number of members who have had young babies in this place and who have said, ‘Well, it never seemed to wake my little tacker up when the bells went, despite the fact that they were sleeping in my office.’

I sometimes felt at joint house committee meetings that I was taking two steps forward and 32 steps back. But I do want, very sincerely, to place on record my colleagues from across the parties—and also from the national press gallery. There were certainly times when people like Catherine McGrath and Steve Bloom came to me and urged me to keep going. Of course those people, like Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, have had children, and those children have moved well past their need for child care. That is certainly the case in Catherine McGrath’s instance. In my instance, that is the case. Kate is now 12 and enjoying a day at Questacon today. Nevertheless, I always knew that this was going to be a long, hard struggle, but it was something that we could put in place for people in the future.

I have a vivid memory of gathering people together, when the campaign became increasingly frustrating, and urging them to bring their babies and partners into this house. There were many delightful photos taken of young babies crawling up and down Senate committee tables, to press the point that putting your young child on a committee table was not acceptable in this day and age and that really staff in this place were looking for the recognition that, to balance their life, family and work commitments in this house, they needed a childcare facility.

I am specifically talking here about people in Hansard, people in the Parliamentary Library—and I must pay tribute to Glenda James for the research work and the work that she did in our campaign to get this established—and the many staff who work in the committees and particularly in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. So do not be under any illusion here that this is a childcare centre for politicians; it is clearly not. In fact, of the 20 or 22 places, I think, in the coming year, I will be surprised if four or five politicians take one up. Hopefully, Catherine King might be lucky enough to be able to put her new baby in there next year to make her life a little bit easier. But this was always about providing a childcare centre for the staff who work here: security staff, Hansard, DPS staff, committee staff—everybody except us, essentially. It was not about us as politicians; it was about finally recognising that this Parliament House, in this country, needs to be at the leading edge as a workplace that recognises the needs of families in this place, the needs of working mums and working dads, in having on hand their child at their workplace.

It was also about acknowledging the very crucial role that breastfeeding plays in the early weeks and months of a child’s developing life. Not everyone can stay at home with a young baby, and not everyone wants to stay at home with a young baby, but we should be a country that encourages women to breastfeed. When we have a childcare centre in this place and women choose to come back to work when their child is six months, nine months or 12 months old and they are still breastfeeding, they will be able to go down to that centre and continue to feed their child in that way. This should be the pre-eminent place in our nation that encourages breastfeeding and encourages a work-life balance and now, finally, it recognises the role of having child care in the workplace.

I am incredibly proud today to be able to stand up and speak to this approval motion. But I also want, as I said, to place on record the large number of people who have been on my email distribution list and who have been at the end of my phone calls—and I apologise to the people in the Joint House Department who occasionally had to deal with, perhaps, my wrath as I continually put this on the agenda. Senator Jacinta Collins, for example, was one of those people who were part of that campaign. She has actually gone from the Senate and come back again. Finally, though, we will now have a childcare centre.

Photo of Ruth WebberRuth Webber (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Webber interjecting

Photo of Trish CrossinTrish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

No, she does not have any young children now, but she would have been one of those people who would have benefited back then. Tanya Plibersek is another one, and I know Joe Hockey is another. I know there are a number of politicians from both sides. But it is not about the politicians in this place. It is about the other people who support the life of this parliament 24/7 and who need the support of this childcare centre, as I said, so they can put their young children there and continue to breastfeed. I also want to place on record your support, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, in this campaign. It has been a bipartisan campaign, and I am so pleased to be able to say that we have reached the end of it.

However, I do want to give one final warning and fire this shot across the bow. We have got 22 places. The centre is for children under the age of 18 months. So now we look forward to the next campaign, which is to finally extend that to a 75- or 95-place centre very close to Parliament House. As I said, it cannot be built inside, but it will have to be around National Circle or State Circle. I reckon there is plenty of land out there in the bush to build a purpose-built childcare centre so that, if people cannot get access to their child inside the building, it is less than a couple of minutes walk away. That is the next phase of our campaign, and I look forward to starting that. I congratulate everyone who has been involved in getting this to this stage and, as I have always said, I look forward to cutting the ribbon on the first cot that is placed in that childcare centre early next year.

Photo of Steve HutchinsSteve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Senator Stott Despoja, there are three minutes left in this debate.

11:58 am

Photo of Natasha Stott DespojaNatasha Stott Despoja (SA, Australian Democrats) Share this | | Hansard source

I just want to put on record that, while many of us are very pleased to have Senator Trish Crossin’s acknowledgement, she has been very generous. I think it needs to be recorded once again in the Hansard and for all to see that Senator Trish Crossin has done more than any other individual, certainly in contemporary times, to make this a reality. My child is also at Questacon today, like Kate. Had Katie been here today, she would have been a very clear reminder of the fact that she, a 12-year-old, was two when Trish started this campaign.

Senator Crossin, you deserve to be applauded for this, and I look forward to seeing you cut that ribbon—although maybe I will not be here. The only point I was going to make was one that you picked up at the end, relating to breastfeeding. Obviously you have put on record the clear association between breastfeeding and mothers being able to be close to their children. I think that perhaps the Senate should take a leaf out of the House of Representatives’ book today in relation to breastfeeding and consider implementing a process of pairs, because it ain’t easy. That is one thing I would have liked to have seen rectified before I left this place, but I am sure that there are many women in the future who could benefit from that particular change. I say to Trish and the many other people she has acknowledged: well done. I think it is incredibly symbolic that this Parliament House, built only 20 years ago, failed to have a childcare facility. I know my former colleague the late Janine Haines had something to say about that. I know it has been a cross-party effort, but bravo Trish and the many others who have been involved. This is a historic occasion, but I look forward to, as Senator Crossin said, the next phase. I think all men and women in this place should play a role in it.

12:00 pm

Photo of Jacinta CollinsJacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I would like to briefly take this moment to also commend Senator Crossin on the work that she has put into this issue over a very lengthy period of time. Sitting up in my office just now, I was pleased to hear her go through the very long history that has been involved in establishing this centre. Indeed, I look forward now to the possibility of using it for my grandchild rather than for my own children. That is how long this history has been. Senator Crossin did not go into the full details about the difficulty of accessing child care in Canberra. Senator Stott Despoja has covered some of the breastfeeding issues, but there is a far broader range of issues about accessing child care and services relevant for members and senators with children that relates to the nature of our work, the amount of time we spend away from home and the hours which we work. Some of those issues have been accommodated for public servants working for organisations such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, but there had never really been any effort in the past to deal with those issues as they relate to members and senators.

Senator Crossin and Senator Stott Despoja, I am sure, would reinforce the point that as politicians we are not looking for any special treatment or any additional funding to meet our own personal costs in relation to childcare arrangements. But we do need services that will be accessible, given the nature of our work. The very first point made to me about accessing child care when I came here—I was pregnant with my son James, who is now 12—was that there was indeed a centre at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. My first inquiry at that centre was met with, firstly, ‘We’re full,’ and, secondly, ‘We only take full-time places.’ By ‘full-time places’, they meant paying for a childcare place that you used 50 weeks of the year. We are not here 50 weeks of the year, and the arrangements just would not suit. I look forward to some of those flexibilities being incorporated in our new centre. As Senator Crossin indicated, it will only be available for children up to the age of 18 months. But from experience I have discovered that, by the time your child is around that 18-month stage, there are often many more reasons why you make arrangements back home to better suit their needs. Certainly we will need arrangements to accommodate our needs beyond the 18-month stage. It may be a bit less critical that the facility actually be in Parliament House itself, but I look forward to joining other senators in the campaign to improve services for children over 18 months of age as well.

Question agreed to.