Indi MP Haines has built parliamentary identity on anti-corruption work

Cross-party leaders praise Haines’ integrity after Wangaratta incident

Dr Helen Haines, independent member for the north-eastern Victorian electorate of Indi, has built her parliamentary identity around anti-corruption advocacy — proposing her own federal integrity bill in 2021 and now serving as deputy chair of the parliamentary committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission. She was struck by a car in Wangaratta on Monday in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as an “attack” and a “deliberate act,” according to a Guardian profile that characterised the incident — of a type not seen in Australian public life — as having “sent shockwaves through federal politics.”

Albanese told the ABC’s 7.30 program that there is “a reason why Helen Haines is so loved and admired” because she is “someone of integrity.”

“She’s someone who treats everyone with respect, and she’s someone who is a beacon of light for that community there in northern Victoria,” Albanese said.

Nationals MP Sam Birrell, whose electorate of Nicholls borders Indi, told the ABC the incident had “really has sent some shock waves through, all the MPs I’ve spoken to, and I can tell you the MPs families, too.”

“Helen Haines is not a divisive figure… she’s not a controversial person. She’s highly respected by me and everyone across the political aisle and in her electorate, I know that for a fact,” Birrell said.

Crossbench colleague Allegra Spender, a fellow community independent, called Haines “the best of us.”

“Helen is one of the most outstanding people in parliament. Whether you agree with her or you don’t on issues, you would be proud to see how she approaches issues in the Parliament; with compassion, with rigour, everything that you would want from a politician,” Spender said. “She’s really an inspiration.”

The breadth of the outpouring of shock, grief and devastation on all sides of the political aisle — from prime minister Albanese to One Nation’s Pauline Hanson, from opposition leader Angus Taylor to Greens leader David Shoebridge, from ministers and backbenchers to her fellow members of the independent crossbench — illustrated the regard in which Haines is held.

First elected to federal parliament in 2019, Haines holds a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in medical science. She trained as a nurse and midwife, served as matron of a nursing hospital in Chiltern, and later led midwifery services at Wangaratta Hospital.

“My background in nursing guides my work. As a nurse and a midwife, you’re with people in their most joyous and difficult moments. It’s taught me that life is precious, that everyone deserves dignity and respect, that good policy starts with listening, and – as a health researcher – that facts matter,” Haines wrote on her website.

The Guardian characterised Haines as “a strident voice for integrity and honesty in politics” and “a key figure in the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission,” whose advocacy for rural issues — particularly health, with a doctorate in medical science — “is well-known in Canberra and nationally.”

The member for the broad north-eastern Victorian electorate of Indi, taking in Wodonga, Wangaratta and Benalla, Haines succeeded fellow crossbencher Cathy McGowan, who helped pioneer the community-independent movement. McGowan’s electoral model helped inspire the “teal” wave that later won numerous inner-city Liberal-held seats.

While Haines is not considered a “teal” MP in the same way as Zali Steggall, Spender or Monique Ryan, the community-powered independent model and the “Voices Of” blueprint are common among them, with crossbenchers often collaborating on key issues — from climate and gender equality to the issues Haines is best recognised for, integrity and anti-corruption.

As early as 2021, Haines proposed her own bill for a federal integrity commission, helping lead a major push inside the parliament for a national anti-corruption body which did not then exist. The Coalition government of the day blocked her bill from being debated, but Haines’ motion was seconded by then-Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who crossed the floor to vote against her own party.

A famous photo of the pair walking out of the chamber together, Haines’ arm around Archer’s shoulder, helped crystallise the growing public keenness for a federal body to monitor corruption and integrity at the national level, The Guardian reported.

Haines now serves as deputy chair of the parliamentary committee on the NACC. About an hour before the incident outside her electorate office, she released a statement welcoming the appointment of a new NACC commissioner and deputy, saying it was a needed “reset” of the integrity body.

“The proposed appointments are an opportunity to rebuild public confidence and ensure the Commission can do its job with independence, credibility and integrity… The task now is to ensure the NACC has the leadership, culture, and public trust it needs to investigate corruption effectively and uphold the highest standards of integrity,” Haines said.