Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

On indulgence: Mr Speaker, the day before yesterday there was a visitor in the gallery with a young child. The young lady raised with me the issue that she was embarrassed about the child crying in the chamber. I said to her that she should not be embarrassed at all. It is a great sound, in fact. I was reflecting on what she said and recalled there are closed-in galleries here, some of which are not used. I was wondering if you could consider over the break whether there would be the capacity for parents with young children to go into some of those galleries to observe question time in a more family-friendly environment, particularly with a little toddler running around or something. The ones up above the chamber would certainly provide a good opportunity for that, even though a lot of the closed-in galleries are used for schoolchildren.

Finally, Mr Speaker, merry Christmas! To the Leader of the House, thank you for your cooperation last night. To all members of parliament, I hope you have a really safe, happy and blessed Christmas, a wonderful new year, good health and that all your dreams come true.

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