Helen Haines
See how we've assessed them for all policy statements included in the Build a Ballot tool. Want to suggest a revision? Send us an email at tool@buildaballot.org.au
Statement
Evidence
Score
Introduce a tax on the excess profits of large corporations (e.g. on banks, gas companies)
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of closing loopholes that enable multinational tax avoidance.
Introduce short-term price caps (e.g. on rent and gas prices)
Type: Voting Record
Summary: Helen Haines voted in favour of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan) Bill 2022 which gave the Minister the power to implement a short-term price cap on gas.
Support a significant reduction of individuals employed by the public service
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being against cutting a significant amount of public service jobs.
Prevent big companies from controlling the market and limiting consumer choice (e.g. supermarkets)
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports reforming regulations to increase corporate competition, stating on her policy platform: “Big business won’t do the right thing for consumers unless there are consequences […] My plan will give the ACCC broad divestiture powers to break up big companies when they are abusing their power, without carve outs.”
Phase out tax concessions for property investors (e.g. negative gearing or capital gains tax discount)
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports reforms to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discounts, stating: “The Government must put everything on the table. We need to consider and engage with discussions about reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts.”
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/the-help-to-buy-bill-is-one-step-in-tackling-the-housing-crisis/
Incentivise state/territory government to increase renter rights and protections
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports changes which give renters more assistance, which we consider aligned with strengthening renters rights and protections via existing legislation.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/issues/regional-housing/
Increase investment in public and community housing
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines is supportive of increasing investment in public and community housing, stating that “housing is a human right and one that this parliament has an obligation to fulfil.”
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/housing-is-a-human-right/
Allow first home-buyers to access their super to help purchase their first home
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being against first-home buyers accessing their superannuation to help purchase their first home.
Incentivise state/territory governments to increase housing supply
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines is supportive of increasing incentives for state and territory governments that increase housing supply, particularly in regional areas, ensuring they are not left behind.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/haines-introduces-fair-share-for-regional-housing-bill/
Help first-home buyers with shared equity programs that would allow participants to co-purchase a home with the government
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines is supportive of the Help-to-Buy scheme, with it forming “one part of the puzzle” to fix the housing crisis.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/the-help-to-buy-bill-is-one-step-in-tackling-the-housing-crisis/
Introduce energy bill rebates
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines has been historically supportive of energy bill rebates, stating in 2024: “I welcome the Government’s decision to provide all households with a $300 rebate on their energy bills and to offer some relief to small businesses as well.” Based on this, we have also scored Haines as being supportive of the Labor Government’s announcement of a 2025 energy bill rebate.
Source: https://www.alpineobserver.com.au/haines-welcomes-budget-cost-relief-payments
Increase financial support for energy efficiency upgrades
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports federal financial incentives for home and business electrification, solar, and battery storage, announcing her support for Labor’s recently announced incentives to make home batteries cheaper.
Increase funding for community batteries that increase access to solar
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines has historically supported the establishment of community batteries, with Yackandandah’s community battery receiving financial assistance from the Victorian state government. As such we consider Haines aligned with supporting federal financial incentives as well for community batteries.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/yackandandahs-big-battery-shows-the-power-of-community-spirit/
Strengthen regulations to prevent price-gouging by energy companies
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines broadly supports increasing powers for the ACCC to prevent price-gouging and anti-competitive behaviours from corporations.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/a-fair-deal-at-the-checkout-and-the-farm-gate/
Make university free
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines does not support wiping all student debt and making university free.
Cut a portion of existing student debt
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of the Government's proposal to wipe 20% of student debt.
Support more fee-free TAFE places
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports increasing funding for state and territories to provide additional fee-free TAFE places.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/leaving-no-stone-unturned-when-easing-cost-of-living-pressures/
Increase funding for public schools
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines has called for the federal government to increase its share of funding towards the Schooling Resource Standard to 25%.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/increasing-funding-for-public-schools/
Increase funding for and access to childcare subsidies
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines is supportive of increasing funding for and access to childcare subsidies, voting in support of the Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee) Bill 2025.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/child-care-is-good-for-kids-and-its-good-for-parents/
Stop fossil fuel project approvals and expansions
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being opposed to new coal and gas approvals.
Accelerate the rollout of renewable energy projects
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of a renewables target of 80-94% by 2030.
Strengthen policies that ensure Australia’s biggest polluters genuinely cut their emissions
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports strengthening existing policies to reduce emissions from Australian polluters, such as the Safeguard Mechanism.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/safeguard-mechanism-crediting-amendment-bill-2022/
Increase investment in preventative health programs
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines, a former nurse and midwife, responded to our survey as supporting a meaningful increases in funding for preventative health programs.
Make GP visits free or more affordable by increasing bulk billing incentives
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports an increase in bulk-billing incentives of $7.9 billion.
Increase funding to train, attract, and retain more healthcare professionals, especially in regional areas
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports increasing funding to train, attract, and retain more healthcare workers, especially in regional areas. Haines is proposing “a $33 million Commonwealth investment for rural universities to train more healthcare workers. The funding would be split between $23 million to train rural doctors, and $10 million for nurses and allied health workers.”
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/helen-haines-plan-for-regional-health/
Increase funding for dental and mental health
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of including both dental and mental health in Medicare. Haines has publicly advocated for including dental in Medicare, including during the second reading of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2024, calling on the Government to include dental care in Medicare.
Expand subsidies to make more prescription medicines cheaper
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines has supported the expansion of PBS subsidies, including welcoming “cheaper medicines by lowering the Pharmaceutical Medicines Scheme general patient co-payment from $31.60 to $25 from 1 January 2026”.
Increase investment in large-scale renewable energy and storage
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines supports increasing public investment in regional micro-grids to secure energy supply and increase resilience to outages. Specifically, Haines supports the tripling of the Regional Australia Micro-grids funding.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/issues/climate-change-and-energy/
Require multinational gas companies to prioritise domestic supply, without supporting the approval of new gas projects
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as supporting a gas reservation mechanism that does not enable new gas projects.
Invest in nuclear power as a future energy source, while extending the life of coal power and increasing gas use in the interim
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines is not supportive of nuclear power, stating: “… this is an attempt by the Coalition to stall necessary progress, to sell nuclear pipedreams and, as a result, to leave Australians without the solutions and to leave Australians divided”.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/we-must-bring-communities-on-the-energy-transition-journey/
Improve access to government-held information about government policies and decisions
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of reforms to the Freedom of Information framework - including statutory timeframes.
Protect the ABC and SBS’s independence and funding
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of funding reforms to the ABC and SBS that ensure planning certainty across funding cycles.
Require all lobbyists that meet with politicians to be publicly disclosed
Type: Website
Summary: Helen Haines is supportive of strengthening the Lobbying Code of Conduct and requiring the publication of ministerial diaries.
Source: https://www.helenhaines.org/media/lobbyists-have-too-much-access-to-our-politicians/
Make public transport more frequent and reliable
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of shared transport enhancements.
Improve bike paths and footpaths to encourage active transport
Type: Statement
Summary: Helen Haines responded to our survey as being supportive of active transport enhancements.
Increase access and affordability of electric and low-emissions vehicles
Type: Voting Record
Summary: Helen Haines historically voted to pass the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, and as such we have scored her 1.5. It is unclear whether she supports strengthening the standard further.
Source: https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/divisions/representatives/2024-05-16/7
Have a question or concern?
Send us an email to tool@buildaballot.org.au. We'll look into it then get back to you as soon as possible.
Back to all assessments