Australia's House of Representatives is about to become a lot more mom-friendly.
The Australian parliament has passed a motion to allow breastfeeding and bottle-feeding infants in its chamber. The motion changes standing order 257's definition of "visitor" to exclude infants, since visitors aren't allowed to attend parliamentary meetings.
Christopher Pyne, leader of the house, told The Guardian that the order's definition of visitors was "antiquated." And since 40 of the Australian parliament's 150 members are women, the change is a welcome one.
"I want to see as many women entering parliament as possible and for them to not be deterred by any antiquated rules or practices that currently govern how our parliament operates," Pyne told The Guardian. "There is absolutely no reason that rules should remain in place which make life in politics and the parliament more difficult for women."
Pyne also told The Guardian that he wants the Australian House of Representatives to be the "most family-friendly chamber of any parliament in Australia." The Australian Times notes that members of Australia's Senate have been allowed to breastfeed during Senate meetings since 2003.
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