Jo Haylen

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 is currently the state's Minister for Transport since March 2023.

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

1980 or 1981 (age 42–43)[1]
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLabor Party
SpouseGarth Williams
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
Websitewww.johaylen.com

Early life

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

Haylen served as youngest ever female Mayor of Marrickville from 2013 to 2014.[4] She 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 recontesting at the 2015 state election. Haylen later won pre-selection for Summer Hill.[6] She was elected to the seat in 2015 and spent five months as a member of the Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels.[2]

Haylen was re-elected to the seat of Summer Hill 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]

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

Controversies

Transport for NSW Secretary Appointment

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 shortlisting stage assessed that Murray "had not demonstrated the level of operational complexity required for this role." Despite this assessment, Murray was still shortlisted 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 has drawn criticism from the political opposition, prompting a parliamentary inquiry into the matter. Haylen however, has maintained her support for the appointment, and has received backing from Premier Chris Minns.[10][11]

References
  1. Cormack, Lucy; Rabe, Tom (11 June 2021). "Real generational change: Chris Minns reveals new Labor frontbech". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. "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.
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