Helen Haines: Lawmaker, former nurse and new grandmotherpublished at 08:18 BST
08:18 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Helen Haines is a 65-year-old independent MP for the Indi division in Victoria, south-eastern Australia.
She grew up in the south-west of Victoria on a dairy farm with four brothers before training as a nurse and a midwife.
She became the matron of the Chiltern Bush Nursing Hospital in Victoria when she was 26, before completing a master’s degree and PhD while raising her three children and working, according to her website.
She was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 2019 and was re-elected in 2022 and 2025.
As a lawmaker, she has championed climate action and better working conditions for healthcare professionals.
Fellow independent MP Zali Steggall, who sits next to Haines in federal parliament, described her as “deeply loved and respected”. Haines had recently become a grandmother and would share pictures of her baby grandchildren, Steggall said.
Haines lives with her family on a small cattle farm outside Wangaratta.