‘Historic’ moment mum openly breastfeeds on live TV as she questions Australia’s rental crisis: ‘Love that it’s normal now’
Breastfeeding mother Kat Watkins is praised for taking action in questions and issues
She told host Stan Grant about the cost of living pressures in Wagga Wagga
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth rejected calls to introduce a rent cap
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Social media has erupted with praise after the ABC aired a question from a young mother who was breastfeeding while asking a question about cost of living pressures and unaffordable rent.
Kat Watkins’ baby grabbed her blouse on Thursday night as she told host Stan Grant and the panel show how she moved to Wagga Wagga in southern NSW in a bid to find good jobs and a more affordable house.
Watkins breastfed during her question to Social Affairs Minister Amanda Rishworth as she spoke about weekly rents rising sharply with each lease renewal.
Most viewers praised the moment. ‘Breastfeeding at QandA has to come first. Well done,’ said one Twitter user.
“Hats off to mom breastfeeding her baby while asking a question on Q&A,” said another.
‘We are in the 21st century!’ another man celebrated.
Not everyone was as forthcoming: ‘I could have done without the distraction of breastfeeding on national TV,’ said another.
In response to Ms Watkins’ question about rent controls being introduced, Ms Rishworth said tenancies were a matter for state governments.
“Well, look, I mean, tenant regulations and laws are matters for the state government,” she said.
Q&A host Stan Grant asked her about the cost of living pressures only for Ms Watkins to accidentally reveal her left nipple during the Skype crossing on Thursday night from her living room
Labor went to the May 2022 election with a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund pledge to build 30,000 new affordable social housing properties over the first five years.
“We’ve made a commitment where we’re moving forward to establish a Future Australia where we’re actually going to build public housing, community housing,” Ms Rishworth said.
The cabinet minister promised to work with local councils to build public housing but refused to commit to capping rent increases, citing the constitution, when Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi challenged her.
Senator Faruqi called on the federal government to freeze rents for two years and called for one million new homes over the next 20 years.
“The rent is sky high,” she said.
“The situation is so bad in Australia that people live in cars, they live in tents, they live in caravans.
“They move from motel to motel.”
Landlord investors who rent out homes are also being squeezed with the Reserve Bank of Australia in October raising the cash rate for the sixth consecutive month to a nine-year high of 2.6 per cent.
The latest rise means a borrower with an average mortgage of $600,000 will see their repayments rise by a further $89 a month to $3,055, with the big banks all passing on the RBA’s 0.25 percentage point increase.
Grant noted that Kat’s son was resting comfortably after the live televised discussion “after enjoying his meal”.