Helen Haines

Helen Mary Haines (born 21 September 1961) is an Australian politician who has served as the independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since the 2019 federal election.

Early life and education Haines grew up on a dairy farm in Eurack near Colac in southwestern Victoria with four brothers. She attended the local state primary school and then Trinity College in Colac. She trained as a registered nurse at St Vincent's Hospital and later as a midwife at Mercy Hospital for Women in Melbourne. In 1986, she moved to northeastern Victoria and began working as a midwife at Wangaratta Base Hospital before being appointed Director of Nursing at the Chiltern Bush Nursing Hospital.

Haines completed a bachelor's degree at Deakin University and a master's degree in public health at the University of New South Wales. In 2004, she travelled to Sweden to study at Uppsala University, later completing a doctoral degree in medical science there in 2012. Her doctoral thesis is titled "‘No worries’: A longitudinal study of fear, attitudes and beliefs about childbirth from a cohort of Australian and Swedish women". She was subsequently awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the Karolinska Institute Stockholm. Haines has published more than 60 peer reviewed scientific articles in the area of childbirth, maternal health, and rural health. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and held board positions in both statutory and not for profit organisations.

Prior to being elected to the Federal Parliament, she was a senior research fellow and Director of the Rural Health Academic Network, University of Melbourne Department of Rural Health.

Haines was one of eleven MPs elected to the 46th Parliament of Australia who possessed 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.

Political career

On 13 January 2019, 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. McGowan, an independent, had won the seat from the Liberal Party in the 2013 election and retained it in 2016, and had stated that she would retire at the 2019 election if she was confident that an independent successor, chosen by Voices 4 Indi, would be able to retain the seat. On 14 January 2019, McGowan formally announced her pending retirement, stating her confidence in Haines and endorsing her for the election.

In the lead up to the election, Haines advocated for an increase to the Jobseeker Payment and strong action on climate change, including a target of 50% renewable energy by 2030. She was one of seven independent candidates in the election to sign a joint agreement to cooperate on climate action in the new parliament; she also voiced her opposition to the proposed Adani coal mine in Queensland. She stressed the need for a national rural health service strategy and greater investment in rural infrastructure. She 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. She also promised to hold the government accountable for promises it had made for Indi during the campaign. She became the first independent in Australian history to succeed another independent in a federal seat.

In November 2021, Haines introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to create the Australian Federal Independent Commission Against Corruption. The bill had majority support from independents, the Greens, the opposition Labor Party, and even Bridget Archer (the Liberal Party MP for Bass, who crossed the floor to vote in favour of debate). Despite this, the governing Liberal/National Coalition voted down debate on the bill, as they were able to win the vote due to not all MPs being present in the chamber.

At the 2022 federal election, Haines was re-elected with a significantly increased margin 8.9%.

Following the election, the new Labor Government introduced legislation to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission. Haines has been credited as a key player in the establishment of the NACC. Haines was Deputy Chair of the Joint Select Committee on National Anti-Corruption Legislation which recommended multiple amendments to the legislation. The National Anti-Corruption Commission passed the Parliament on the 24th November 2022 and commenced operations on 1 July 2023. Until Parliament was dissolved on the 28th of March 2025, Haines served as Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

After campaigning on the issue in the 2022 Australian Federal Election, Haines twice introduced legislation to reduce the cost of solar home batteries. When introducing the bill the second time, Haines said "Batteries will reduce our power bills, secure our energy supply and reduce our emissions." The Bill was seconded by Zali Steggal in 2022 and Allegra Spender in 2023.

During an address to the National Press Club on 16 May 2023, Haines outlined housing pressure being experienced in rural and regional Australia and the potential solutions. This included a $2 billion Regional Housing Infrastructure Fund to invest in enabling infrastructure support new housing developments. A week after meeting with Haines about this proposal, the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a $500 million Housing support Program. Haines later introduced her Unlocking Regional Housing Bill to Parliament which sought to equitably fund more houses in regional, rural and remote areas.

In October 2024 in Wodonga, Haines handed the Prime Minister a letter asking for Commonwealth help for a new hospital in Albury Wodonga. The letter was compiled by the Border Medical Associated and signed by more than 200 doctors. The Victorian and NSW Governments have proposed a redevelopment of the Albury Base Hospital. Haines has publicly stated she supports a Greenfield, single-site hospital at Albury Wodonga.

In the lead up to the 2025 Australian Federal Election, Haines confirmed that in the event of a hung parliament she would not sign an agreement with either the Coalition or Australian Labor Party.

Personal life

Haines and her husband live on a beef farm outside Wangaratta. They have three children.