Helen Dalton
Australian politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Helen Jennifer Dalton is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since March 2019, representing the electoral district of Murray, first as a member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and since 2022 as an independent.[1][2][3][4][5]
affiliations
Country (2015–2016)
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (2017–2022)
Helen Dalton | |
|---|---|
Dalton in 2019 | |
| Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Murray | |
| Assumed office 23 March 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Austin Evans |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Independent (2016–2017, 2022–present) |
Other political affiliations | Nationals (2014) Country (2015–2016) Shooters, Fishers and Farmers (2017–2022) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | https://helendalton.com.au/ |
Since her election Dalton has been a vocal critic of NSW government corruption, water mismanagement, and the under-funding of rural hospitals, mental health services, and infrastructure.[6]
Dalton has campaigned for the establishment of a public register listing all water owners in NSW.[7] She has reported a number of matters to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, including a land sale by Murray River Council[8] and the NSW Government's failure to release a report on re-opening the Narrandera to Tocumwal rail line.[9]
Early life and career
Dalton was born in 1959 and raised on a sheep and wheat farm north of Rankins Springs in the Melbergen District.[10]
Dalton studied education and worked as a primary school teacher from 1981 to 1987. She owns a family farming business that produces maize, rice, cereals, cotton, beef cattle, wool and fat lambs.[10] In 2007, she was awarded a Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarship.[11]
Political career
Dalton ran for parliament unsuccessfully in 2015 and 2017 as an independent with the support of the Country Party of Australia[12] and for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, respectively. In March 2019, Dalton won the seat of Murray by a 26.2-point swing, breaking 35 years of National Party incumbency.[5] Bookmakers had her as a 9 to 1 outsider just two months before the election.
In her campaign Dalton presented a plan to address water mismanagement and corruption,[13] argued for a royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan, and pushed for better rural health and hospital services.[14]
She has continued to raise these themes as a state MP. Her maiden speech in NSW parliament highlighted the rapid decline in service provision and living standards across rural NSW.[15]
Dalton has written a bill to improve transparency on who owns water in NSW[16] The Bill would have forced all state MPs to declare their water interests, and provided for a public water register allowing the public to search for the names of companies and individuals who own water.[17] The legislation passed the NSW Upper House, but was opposed by the NSW Government, who voted it down in the lower house.[18]
She has frequently clashed with government MPs in state parliament, notably former Health Minister Brad Hazzard[19] and Water Minister Melinda Pavey, who has labelled Dalton a "disgrace".[20] Former Deputy Premier John Barilaro called her a "disgusting human" on Twitter.[21]
A parliamentary speech Dalton gave on the destruction of family farms across Australia has been viewed more than 330,000 times.[22] She has also criticised excessive foreign ownership of Australian water and farmland,[23] and campaigned for mental health services in the bush.[24]
On 3 March 2022, Dalton resigned from the Shooters Fishers and Farmers after disagreeing with the party's Legislative Council members' failure to show up to vote against a bill regarding water usage that she believed would "disadvantage communities and irrigators in the lower Darling and Murray river system".[25]
In February 2026, Dalton was viewed as a potential candidate for the 2026 Farrer by-election, with Dalton claiming that her mobile phone "has been burning up" since the resignation of Sussan Ley.[26]
Personal life
Dalton married in 1984 and has four adult children and three grandchildren.[11]