Australian politician
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.
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]
Departmental Liaison Officer Scandal
In October and November 2023, Haylen faced further controversy during budget estimates. The controversy 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. It is worth noting that Ash had previously been the Labor candidate for Pittwater at the 2015 state election.[12][13] Haylen denied having prior knowledge of Ash's political work and claimed to only found out the week before the allegations came to front.[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 has consistently maintained that there was no impropriety from her office and has received continued support from Premier Chris Minns, who has rejected calls for her removal from her ministerial position.[16]
