The protest was to make sure that home birth with a private practicing midwife is an option for Australian women in the future.

Recent proposed Federal Government legislation amendments dictate that midwives must have professional indemnity insurance (PPI) in order to register with the national body.

Local private midwife Cindy Turner said privately practicing midwives are unable to obtain PPI and so therefore would not be able to register under the new laws.

Ms Turner said the office of Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced a two year reprieve for privately practicing midwives on the eve of the rally but consumer and midwifery groups saw the measure as “a bandaid that takes Roxon to the end of her term in office”.

“The rally continued despite the minister’s knee jerk reactions and made a loud call for a permanent solution to the problem.

“Some believe the government is offering public funded home birth schemes as the answer to the call for choices in childbirth and is using the legislation changes to eradicate private practice midwives altogether,” Ms Turner said.

She said although publicly funded home births are a great step forward in enabling some women choices, they are only available to a very small section of the urban community and have very strict exclusion criteria.

“From a rural perspective, publicly funded home births are a very, very long way off and do not pose a solution for women trying to choose home birth in the country.”

About 50 people from the Bega Valley attended the rally, including children and babies, marching in the pouring rain from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy (ATE) outside Old Parliament House up to the lawns of new Parliament House.

“Private practicing midwives are the only people in the country who truly recognise indigenous women’s issues around birthing and will actually help them to birth on country in the physical sense.”

Speakers at the rally included representatives from all the community groups involved and members of the opposition.