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Jo Haylen

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The Honourable
Jo Haylen
MP
Minister for Transport
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 March 2023
PremierChris Minns
Preceded byDavid Elliott
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
for Summer Hill
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 March 2015
Preceded bySeat created
Personal details
Born
Joanna Elizabeth Haylen

1980 or 1981 (age 43–44)[1]
NationalityAustralian
Political partyNSW Labor
SpouseGarth Williams[citation needed]
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
Websitewww.johaylen.com

Joanna Elizabeth Haylen is an Australian politician who was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Summer Hill for the Labor Party at the 2015 New South Wales state election.[2] She has been the state Minister for Transport since March 2023.

Early life

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Haylen grew up on Sydney's North Shore. She attended Artarmon Public and Willoughby Girls High School. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts.[3]

Career

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From 2013 to 2014, Haylen served as youngest-ever female Mayor of Marrickville.[4] She had previously worked as a director of administration in the office of then prime minister Julia Gillard, and as deputy chief of staff for then deputy prime minister, Anthony Albanese.[5]

At the 2013 state redistribution, the seat of the Marrickville was abolished and was replaced with the seats of Newtown and Summer Hill. In November 2013, the sitting member for Marrickville, Carmel Tebbutt, announced she would not be retiring at the 2015 state election. Haylen won pre-selection for Summer Hill.[6] She was successful in the election spent five months as a member of the Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels.[2]

Haylen was re-elected in 2019 with a swing of 11.8 points,[7] and was appointed as Shadow Minister for Active Transport, the Cost of Living, Seniors and Volunteers in the shadow Ministry of Jodi McKay.[2]

In 2021, she became the Shadow Minister for Transport in the shadow Ministry of Chris Minns.[8] At the 2023 New South Wales state election, Haylen retained her seat and was appointed the Minister for Transport on 26 March.[9]

Controversies

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Transport for NSW Secretary Appointment

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In July 2023, Haylen faced criticism and controversy regarding her failure to disclose a perceived conflict of interest in connection with the appointment of Josh Murray as Secretary of Transport for NSW. It came to light that Murray had made financial contributions to Haylen's election campaign for the 2023 New South Wales state election. Additionally, he had previously served as the chief of staff for former Labor Premier Morris Iemma.

During the appointment process, an external recruitment consulting agency involved in the short-listing stage assessed that Murray "had not demonstrated the level of operational complexity required for this role". Despite that assessment, Murray was short-listed for the position, with emails released to a parliamentary inquiry showing a reported intervention from Haylen's office. The appointment of Josh Murray as secretary drew criticism from the Opposition, prompting a parliamentary inquiry into the matter. Haylen maintained her support for the appointment, and received backing from Premier, Chris Minns.[10][11]

Departmental Liaison Officer Scandal

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In October and November 2023, Haylen faced further controversy during budget estimates. It stemmed from allegations that a public service employee, Kieren Ash, who had been seconded to her office as a departmental liaison officer, was involved in political activities. The role of a departmental liaison officer traditionally entails being apolitical and facilitating communication between ministers and public service department staff. Ash faced accusations of organising a barbecue for NSW Labor volunteers following the 2023 state election and compiling a list of political reversals by the outgoing Coalition government. Ash had been the Labor candidate for Pittwater at the 2015 state election.[12][13] Haylen denied knowing about Ash's political work and claimed to have only found out about it the week before the allegations were raised.[14]

During the same period, Haylen's chief of staff, Scott Gartrell, resigned from his position. Haylen stated that Gartrell's departure had been planned for the end of the year.[15]

Haylen consistently maintained that there was no impropriety from her office and continued to receive support from Premier Chris Minns, who rejected calls for her removal from her ministerial position.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Cormack, Lucy; Rabe, Tom (11 June 2021). "Real generational change: Chris Minns reveals new Labor frontbech". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ a b c "Ms (Jo) Joanna Elizabeth HAYLEN, BA MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  3. ^ Christopher Harris (26 March 2023). "Meet the people set to make up the next NSW government". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Labor councillor Jo Haylen has been named as the new mayor of Marrickville". Inner West Courier. Sydney: News Corp Australia. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  5. ^ "NSW Election 2015 – Summer Hill". ABC News. March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  6. ^ Patty, Anna (4 November 2013). "'Politics takes its toll': Tebbutt calls it quits". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  7. ^ Green, Anthony. "Summer Hill Results". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  8. ^ "NSW Shadow Ministry". Parliament of NSW. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. ^ Rabe, Tom (26 March 2023). "'The work starts today': Minns, senior MPs meet to tackle Labor's urgent priorities". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ Rose, Tamsin (11 August 2023). "Appointment of former Labor staffer as NSW transport chief labelled 'breathtaking hypocrisy'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  11. ^ "'Jobs for the boys': Transport minister under fire over controversial $600k hire". ABC News. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  12. ^ Costin, Luke (7 November 2023). "Fresh staffing scandal linked to NSW transport minister Haylen". The Mandarin. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  13. ^ Maddison, Max; Smith, Alexandra (3 November 2023). "Transport Minister Jo Haylen fighting for political survival after chief of staff resigns over scandal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  14. ^ Maddison, Max; Smith, Alexandra (7 November 2023). "Haylen personally sought to limit release of documents about staffers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  15. ^ Wang, Jessica (3 November 2023). "Minister's chief quits after email scandal". PerthNow. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  16. ^ Rose, Tamsin (5 November 2023). "'Absolutely not ': Chris Minns doesn't want transport minister to resign over staffing scandal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
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Civic offices
Preceded by
Victor Macri
 Mayor of Marrickville
2013–2014 		Succeeded by
Mark Gardiner
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New district Member for Summer Hill
2015–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Transport
2023–present 		Incumbent
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