When fear and loathing tip the scales
The Sydney Morning Herald · Jordan Baker ·
Australia could do with more politicians like Helen Haines. But after Monday’s attack, many women would be forgiven for deciding the cost of entering public life is too high.
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Most Australian MPs’ paths to parliament are via well-honed political structures. From youth branch to staffer to elected office, perhaps via a union or a private firm run by party powerbrokers. This has, rightly, prompted community concerns that MPs are too deeply entrenched in their political bubble to have much experience of life outside it.
Helen Haines is not that kind of politician. She grew up on a dairy farm in Victoria, and became a nurse and midwife. Few professions are more exposed to the challenges faced by ordinary families than frontline health workers. One can only imagine the joys and agonies Helen saw daily while working with women and babies, and the empathy and patience she needed to guide them through.
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