Games that children play !

Shakespeare said that " All the worlds a stage " - and we witnessed just such an example of drama in the Senate this week.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young rushed to a division and brought her two year old daughter Kora with her.

Senate President John Hogg reminded her that the presence of children in the chamber was forbidden - unless the mother was breast feeding - and insisted that Kora be removed by one of Ms Hanson-Young's staff.

Greens leader Bob Brown was immediately on his feet protesting - and urging that the Senate dump this rule " and make life a little more parent friendly ".

It could be called " political drama ", or a stunt by the Greens to appeal for more of the women's vote. These days the women's movement seems to bristle at all and every rule that imposes a sense of duty on their gender.

The parliament of the nation is a serious place. We elect representatives to go there and seriously consider the legislation that governs our lives. We expect that this will receive their full attention - and that they will not be distracted by the need to attend to their offspring.

Senators are not poorly paid members of the workforce. They not only receive a hefty salary and a range of allowances, but the government also pays for them to be attended by staffers. In the Hanson-Young incident, Kora was taken from the chamber by such a staffer - and disrupted proceedings by her loud protests.

The exclusion of children, other than breast fed babies - is a sensible rule. What other employer would allow a mother to come to work and allow children to play alongside her desk - or alongside the machine she is operating - and would the nation's safety laws not rebel at such a proposal ?

We are also committed to gender equality. Just suppose this rule is relaxed. Most Senators are a bit too long in the tooth to have small children, but suppose they decided to bring their grandchildren - or great-grandchildren into the chamber, for no other reason than they now are able to do so !

Just what sort of workplace would it be with Senators trying to debate an issue - and the floor a pandemonium of crying, fighting, unruly children competing for their carer's attention.

The sad thing is that in this twenty-first century such a ridiculous notion quickly becomes a " rights " issue. In politics - nothing is certain. Turning the Senate chamber into a kindergarten could actually happen.

Whatever became of the practice of using common sense to decide these issues ?