Political Career
On 3 September 2002, Victorian State Premier Steve Bracks announced that Marshall had been nominated for preselection as a Labor candidate in the Victorian state seat of Forest Hill. In the election that followed, she won the seat of Forest Hill with a swing of more than 10%.
On 27 February 2003, twelve days after giving birth to her first child, daughter Charlotte Louise, Marshall attended the first sitting of parliament following the 2002 election. When official proceedings commenced whilst she was still breastfeeding her newborn, the Speaker of the House ejected Charlotte (and therefore her mother) from the chamber as "only MPs and certain parliamentary staff are allowed in the House during sitting times". The controversy that followed was headline news and led to widespread debate in the community regarding the merits of women breastfeeding in public or at workplaces.
Marshall was re-elected for the seat of Forest Hill in the 2006 state election. She lost her seat in 2010, with local residents citing her choice to live in Richmond rather than the electorate and media reportage of avoiding interviews as key reasons. A statement issued by her office on election day stated "Kirstie will not be doing any interviews today or tonight. She will not be having any (photo) shots done during the day or at her function tonight."
Read more about this topic: Kirstie Marshall
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