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| Jo Haylen quits as NSW transport minister after 446km chauffeur trip for winery lunch | Jo Haylen quits as NSW transport minister after 446km chauffeur trip for winery lunch |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Labor MP resigns portfolio after revelations into her use of taxpayer-funded ministerial car for private purposes and criticism from premier Chris Minns | Labor MP resigns portfolio after revelations into her use of taxpayer-funded ministerial car for private purposes and criticism from premier Chris Minns |
| Jo Haylen has quit as the New South Wales transport minister following revelations about her use of a ministerial car for private purposes. | Jo Haylen has quit as the New South Wales transport minister following revelations about her use of a ministerial car for private purposes. |
| It emerged on the weekend that Haylen had asked her chauffeur to take her and some friends to a winery lunch on the Australia Day weekend. It involved a 13-hour 446km round-trip for the driver, from Sydney to Haylen’s holiday house at Caves Beach, and then to a Hunter Valley winery and back. | It emerged on the weekend that Haylen had asked her chauffeur to take her and some friends to a winery lunch on the Australia Day weekend. It involved a 13-hour 446km round-trip for the driver, from Sydney to Haylen’s holiday house at Caves Beach, and then to a Hunter Valley winery and back. |
| “I have made mistakes; people aren’t perfect,” Haylen said on Tuesday as she read out her resignation statement. She did not take questions. | “I have made mistakes; people aren’t perfect,” Haylen said on Tuesday as she read out her resignation statement. She did not take questions. |
| “I did not break the rules, but I acknowledge that’s not the only test here. I’ve let the public down and I’m very sorry for that. We were elected to be better than the last government.” | “I did not break the rules, but I acknowledge that’s not the only test here. I’ve let the public down and I’m very sorry for that. We were elected to be better than the last government.” |
| It was reported on Monday that Haylen had also used a taxpayer-funded driver to ferry herself and her children from Caves Beach – about 100km north of Sydney – to the city for weekend sporting events. | It was reported on Monday that Haylen had also used a taxpayer-funded driver to ferry herself and her children from Caves Beach – about 100km north of Sydney – to the city for weekend sporting events. |
| Ministerial cars and drivers can be used for private purposes under the current rules in NSW. But Haylen admitted on the weekend the Hunter Valley winery lunch failed the “pub test”. | Ministerial cars and drivers can be used for private purposes under the current rules in NSW. But Haylen admitted on the weekend the Hunter Valley winery lunch failed the “pub test”. |
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| The premier, Chris Minns, earlier on Tuesday was asked about potential further revelations. News Corp Australia reported the transport minister allegedly used a ministerial car to take her family west of the Blue Mountains for a lunch. | |
| The outgoing minister admitted at her snap press conference she had also taken another trip to the Hunter Valley with her husband using a ministerial car in 2024. | The outgoing minister admitted at her snap press conference she had also taken another trip to the Hunter Valley with her husband using a ministerial car in 2024. |
| “I was working on that day, but I acknowledge that the use of my personal driver was an error of judgment by me,” Haylen said. | “I was working on that day, but I acknowledge that the use of my personal driver was an error of judgment by me,” Haylen said. |
| “My mistakes are now causing my government damage. Politics is tough. Expectations are very high. I know that.” | |
| Minns earlier on Tuesday said that ministers were often tasked with weekend work and Haylen had said she was dropping off her children at sporting events en route to work in Sydney. | |
| “[The driver] drove her from Caves Beach to Sydney to go to work and, on the way to work, the child was dropped [off] at sport,” the premier said, adding ministers sometimes worked up to 70 hours a week. | “[The driver] drove her from Caves Beach to Sydney to go to work and, on the way to work, the child was dropped [off] at sport,” the premier said, adding ministers sometimes worked up to 70 hours a week. |
| “In other words, the trip wasn’t so the kids could go to the sport on the weekends; the trip was so that she’d get to work.” | “In other words, the trip wasn’t so the kids could go to the sport on the weekends; the trip was so that she’d get to work.” |
| Minns said he asked Haylen about the Blue Mountains trip and “Jo insisted that was work-related, that was her chief-of-staff’s house, and she was working on the weekend”. | Minns said he asked Haylen about the Blue Mountains trip and “Jo insisted that was work-related, that was her chief-of-staff’s house, and she was working on the weekend”. |
| The Labor leader said he understood Haylen took her children “but if you do work six or seven days a week oftentimes ministers will say ‘I’ve got to take the kids with me to give my partner a break’”. | |
| But the premier also noted: “I can’t defend the indefensible – particularly for the Australia Day [weekend] event. You have got to treat taxpayer money as if it’s your own.” | But the premier also noted: “I can’t defend the indefensible – particularly for the Australia Day [weekend] event. You have got to treat taxpayer money as if it’s your own.” |
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| Haylen on Tuesday spoke about the demands of being a minister and a mother. | Haylen on Tuesday spoke about the demands of being a minister and a mother. |
| “You don’t switch on and off from being a minister. You don’t switch off [from] being a mum either. Combining the two can be difficult but I’m far from alone when it comes to that daily challenge. | “You don’t switch on and off from being a minister. You don’t switch off [from] being a mum either. Combining the two can be difficult but I’m far from alone when it comes to that daily challenge. |
| “I’ve always prided myself on trusting in people and in the goodwill of the public I’m lucky to serve. Treating people with respect and acting with integrity. And that I am loyal and always will be. It kills me right now that people might think otherwise.” | “I’ve always prided myself on trusting in people and in the goodwill of the public I’m lucky to serve. Treating people with respect and acting with integrity. And that I am loyal and always will be. It kills me right now that people might think otherwise.” |
| Minns vowed to tighten the rules governing ministerial drivers to ban the types of journeys that Haylen took. | |
| The policy in the minister’s office handbook would be updated to ban the use of ministerial drivers “for exclusively private purposes”, the premier said. | |
| Drivers would only be used “for official business purposes” or “for private purposes if the use is incidental to the discharge of the minister’s official duties”. | |
| The change would take effect immediately, Minns said. The premier announced the roads minister, John Graham, would take on the transport portfolio “on an interim basis”. | |
| Haylen had been battling a long-running industrial dispute with railway workers that repeatedly threatened to shut down the state’s train network. | Haylen had been battling a long-running industrial dispute with railway workers that repeatedly threatened to shut down the state’s train network. |
| She previously came under fire for hiring former Labor staffer Josh Murray to lead the transport department and the apparent use of a public servant in her office for political work. | She previously came under fire for hiring former Labor staffer Josh Murray to lead the transport department and the apparent use of a public servant in her office for political work. |
| Haylen on Sunday promised to pay back the $750 cost of the trip to Brokenwood Wines in Pokolbin on 25 January. | Haylen on Sunday promised to pay back the $750 cost of the trip to Brokenwood Wines in Pokolbin on 25 January. |