Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell pregnant with Labor MP Josh Burns' baby
The political odd couple announced the happy news on Sunday night confirming they were thrilled to be welcoming a daughter early next year.
The couple attended the Midwinter Ball in Canberra last year after weeks of speculation about their unlikely romance.
Ms Purcell is a vegan and pro-Palestine activist, while her partner is a Jewish MP and divorced dad with a 7-year-old daughter, Tia.
'So excited to share with you that we're expecting a baby girl in the very first few days of 2026,'' Mr Burns said.
'Our little baby already has the most excited and loving big sister in Tia. And she'll have a home full of animals, love, and fun.
'Next year, my team and I will keep working hard for the community we love, but I also plan on being a present and involved dad every step of the way.
'I'm over the moon excited and can't wait for this next chapter with my beautiful partner, Georgie, who I love with all my heart.'
Ms Purcell said she was excited about embracing motherhood.
'This is obviously a vegan pregnancy!,'' she said.
'I've been feeling good, which has let me keep pace with sitting weeks, late nights, international travel, community events and the general silliness of this job.
'But this new life stage hasn't been without challenges.
'Some of you will have seen me talk in the past about my auto-immune disease, it means I'm never getting pregnancy and chronic illness, and because of a range of antibodies, I am positive for, I am officially in the high-risk category.
'It's weekly hospital visits for the time being. And I'm so grateful to the incredibly kind and reassuring and supportive medical care I've been receiving.
'Some people might be wondering if I'll still be contesting the state election in 2026?
'Absolutely yes. I'll be working right up until the end of the parliamentary year, and I'll return to sitting weeks as usual in February, with every intention to campaign and contest the 2026 election.
'I know that two members having two different parliaments, having a baby is a bit unique, and there's bound to be interest in it.
'While we are indeed in public life, pregnancy is an incredibly personal experience, so I ask that we're granted respect and privacy, just like anybody else, but I do look forward to sharing the parts of you that we are willing to share.'
A pro-choice advocate for women's reproductive choices, Ms Purcell has previously spoken out about abortion and hospital staff who refuse medical treatment based on their religious beliefs.
Several years ago, she told the Victorian parliament that when she needed her copper IUD, a birth control implant, removed, she had to seek the procedure at a non-religious hospital.
It had lodged itself in her uterine wall and had created a risk of perforating it.
'All over Victoria, there are hospitals conscientiously objecting to all reproductive healthcare services for women and gender diverse people,'' she said.
'Women who were denied contraception after giving birth. Women who had to terminate wanted pregnancies for medical reasons were forced to seek out another hospital to accept them,' she said.
'Women who are hospitalised for emergencies and denied their prescription birth control while in the hospital bed, in the public system where patients can't choose their provider or are literally zoned to them due to location. Hospitals should not be allowed to deny essential, and sometimes life saving healthcare services.'
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