Helen Mary Haines was born on 21 September 1961 and is an Australian politician who has served as the independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since the 2019 federal election.
15 Facts About Helen Haines
2.
Helen Haines trained as a registered nurse at St Vincent's Hospital and later as a midwife at Mercy Hospital for Women in Melbourne.
3.
Helen Haines completed a bachelor's degree at Deakin University and a master's degree in epidemiology and public health at the University of New South Wales.
4.
Helen Haines completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Karolinska Institute, with her doctoral thesis titled "'No worries': A longitudinal study of fear, attitudes and beliefs about childbirth from a cohort of Australian and Swedish women".
5.
Helen Haines is one of eleven MPs in the 46th Parliament of Australia who possesses a PhD, the others being Katie Allen, Fiona Martin, Anne Aly, Andrew Leigh, Daniel Mulino, Jess Walsh, Adam Bandt, Mehreen Faruqi, Anne Webster and Jim Chalmers.
6.
On 13 January 2019, Helen Haines was endorsed by community organisation Voices 4 Indi as the potential successor to incumbent MP Cathy McGowan for the division of Indi in the 2019 federal election.
7.
On 14 January 2019, McGowan formally announced her pending retirement, stating her confidence in Helen Haines and endorsing her for the election.
Related searches
Steve Martin 8.
Helen Haines was one of seven independent candidates in the election to sign a joint agreement to cooperate on climate action in the new parliament; she voiced her opposition to the proposed Adani coal mine in Queensland.
9.
Helen Haines stressed the need for a national rural health service strategy and greater investment in rural infrastructure.
10.
Helen Haines did not express a preference for either the Coalition or the Labor Party, stating that she would be willing to work with the government in either majority or minority.
11.
Helen Haines promised to hold the government accountable for promises it had made for Indi during the campaign.
12.
Helen Haines defeated Liberal Steve Martin on the sixth count on Labor preferences.
13.
Helen Haines became the first independent in Australian history to succeed another independent in a federal seat.
14.
In November 2021, Helen Haines introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to create a Federal Independent Commission Against Corruption.
15.
At the 2022 federal election, Helen Haines was re-elected with a significantly increased margin.