Canberra Labor MP Alicia Payne has welcomed her third child, which was announced in a statement this morning. Payne is practiced at balancing parliament and a newborn – her second child was born shortly after Labor’s election during a time known as ‘Labor’s baby boom’ given the number of children welcomed by government bench dwellers.

Alicia Payne and husband Ben Phillips are excited to announce that their son Joseph Douglas Phillips was born on Saturday 4 October at 4:50am at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children at the Canberra Hospital, weighing 3.7kg.

Both mother and baby are doing well and older siblings Paul (7) and Elena (5) adore their new brother.

Ms Payne said “We’re delighted and feel very blessed to welcome little Joseph into our family. A huge thank you to all the team at Canberra Hospital for taking such wonderful care of us and the amazing job they do to support mothers and babies each day. I also want to thank Dr Ken Tan and his team for the excellent care and support we received throughout my pregnancy.”

The Prime Minister announced Joseph’s arrival in Parliament saying:

“I can inform the House that Joseph Douglas Phillips arrived over the weekend—the newest ACT constituent. Young Joseph weighed 3.7 kilograms and was 49.5 centimetres long. Mum and young Joseph are going very, very well and are delightful. I have seen some fantastic photos of the very, very happy family. So to Alicia and her partner, Ben—I’m sure on behalf of everyone in this House—congratulations. We look forward to meeting young Joseph.”