FEDERAL member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, has logged into Parliament remotely over the last two weeks for her first sitting since going on maternity leave earlier this year.<\/p>\n
She said while COVID-19 restrictions made it too difficult to travel to Canberra, she was excited to work from within the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve ever had remote Parliament from the Bendigo electorate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not the only one\u2026 over half the Parliament is participating this way because of the border restrictions and lockdowns that we have going on around the entire country.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s important is we\u2019re still able to argue on behalf of our electorate\u2026 and we do it from our electorate.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the online working arrangement pointed towards Parliament \u201cbecoming more family friendly and flexible\u201d and logged in with the help of four-month-old son Charlie last week.<\/p>\n
Other people in the House of Representatives favoured the virtual practice for a different reason, according to the MP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe speaker loves it because he\u2019s able to mute us at any time,\u201d Ms Chesters said. \u201cQuestion time isn\u2019t as rowdy as what it usually is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said it was \u201ccritical\u201d virtual Parliament was an option for MPs, and the practice could become more common in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe it should be on the table as an option for parliamentarians who, for caring reasons, may not be able to travel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one that will be debated beyond the pandemic about whether it should continue as an option.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s still a few things that we need to sort out. You\u2019re not able to fully participate when you\u2019re being involved in remote Parliament but once we get those little kinks ironed out, I\u2019m sure that we\u2019ll be ready for the broader debate about having it as an ongoing feature.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FEDERAL member for Bendigo, Lisa Chesters, has logged into Parliament remotely over the last two weeks for her first sitting since going on maternity leave earlier this year. She said while COVID-19 restrictions made it too difficult to travel to Canberra, she was excited to work from within the region. \u201cIt\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n