CANBERRA, Australia - A senior Australian federal lawmaker announced Tuesday that he and his wife had a baby through a surrogate mother under unusual circumstances that would have been illegal in their home state.

Sen. Stephen Conroy, the opposition Labor Party's 43-year-old communications spokesman, and his wife, Paula Benson, 38, could not have a child naturally because she had surgery for ovarian cancer in 2003.

A baby girl, Isabella, was born Monday "to a surrogate mother who is a close friend," Conroy said in a statement.

He said that using invitro fertilization technology, "I fertilized an egg donated by another good friend of ours, which was incubated by the surrogate mother," he said.

Conroy, who lives in the southern city of Melbourne, said the birth occured 960 kilometers (600 miles) away in Sydney because surrogacy in the circumstances is illegal in his home state of Victoria.

"All medical procedures were undertaken in New South Wales (state) where altruistic surrogacy is permissible," he said in the statement.

He declined to name the two women who helped the couple, saying he would respect their privacy.

"Paula and I cannot express strongly enough the gratitude and thanks to both of these women for this amazing gift," he said. "Their generosity of spirit is an inspiration to us."

Paying surrogate mothers to carry children is illegal throughout Australia and laws controlling surrogacy agreements vary from state to state.

Victoria Premier Steven Bracks, also of the center-left Labor Party, said his state's strict surrogacy laws' were under review. They currently only allow infertile women to be treated in a clinic to carry an embryo made from a donated egg and sperm.

"I congratulate Steve and Paula, I wish them well, I hope they have a great opportunity to enjoy family life," Bracks told reporters.

Sen. Natasha Stott-Despoja, of the minor opposition Australian Democrats party, said there was a strong argument for introducing nationally consistent laws on surrogacy.