The speaker of New Zealand’s parliament has cradled a lawmaker’s baby while he presided over a debate in the House of Representatives.
Trevor Mallard tweeted a photo of himself feeding MP Tāmati Coffey’s baby boy in the speaker’s seat.
Mr Coffey, Labour MP for Waiariki, announced the birth of his son, Tūtānekai Smith-Coffey, in July.
The baby was born via a surrogate mother and is the biological son of Mr Coffey’s partner, Tim Smith.
In a tweet about the baby’s birth, Mr Coffey said he and his partner were “overwhelmed at the miracle of life” and the surrogate mother – a friend of Mr Smith – was “doing awesome”.
On Wednesday, Mr Coffey attended a parliamentary debate with his baby for the first time after returning from paternity leave.
During the session, father-of-three Mr Mallard took on the role of babysitter as well as speaker.
