Helen Haines

Biography

Helen Mary Haines is an Australian politician who has been serving as the independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since the 2019 federal election. She grew up on a dairy farm in Colac, Victoria, and trained as a registered nurse and midwife before completing a bachelor’s degree at Deakin University and a master’s degree in epidemiology and public health at the University of New South Wales. Haines also completed a doctoral degree in medical science at Uppsala University in Sweden, where she also undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the Karolinska Institute.

In politics, Haines was endorsed by community organization Voices 4 Indi as the potential successor to incumbent MP Cathy McGowan for the division of Indi in the 2019 federal election, which she won. Haines is an advocate for an increase to the Jobseeker Payment and strong action on climate change, as well as greater investment in rural infrastructure and a national rural health service strategy. In November 2021, Haines introduced a bill to create a Federal Independent Commission Against Corruption, which was voted down by the governing Liberal/National Coalition despite having majority support from independents, the Greens, and the opposition Labor Party. Haines and her husband live on a beef farm outside Wangaratta and have three children.