James Hayward
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for South West
In office
22 May 2021 – 28 August 2023
Succeeded byLouise Kingston
Personal details
Born1969 or 1970 (age 53–54)[1]
Derby, Western Australia
Political partyIndependent (2021–2023)
National (2012–2021)
OccupationTelevision producer

James Hayward is an Australian former politician. Elected as a Nationals member of the Western Australian Legislative Council at the 2021 Western Australian state election, he resigned from the party on 3 December 2021 after being charged with child sex offences, and was ultimately disqualified on 28 August 2023 after being convicted.[2] He was the first person since John Marquis Hopkins in 1910 to be removed in this way.[3]

From 19 April until 3 December 2021, he served as Shadow Minister for Local Government, Water and Regional Cities. In 2022, he served on a committee inquiring into cannabis and hemp.[4]

On 28 August 2023, Hayward was found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl. His conviction for a crime with a maximum sentence of at least five years in jail meant he was automatically disqualified from parliament.[1] On 16 October 2023, Hayward was sentenced to two years and nine months jail, and must serve half of that before becoming eligible for parole.[5]

Personal life

Hayward was born in Derby, Western Australia. He attended Riverton Primary School and Willetton Senior High School in Perth.[6]

He married in October 2002. He has three sons and three daughters.[6]

Career

Television producer

He worked as a television journalist in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for GWN7, and for Channel 7 Perth.

In 2008 he established his own television production company, Fiery Productions, in the south west town of Bunbury, which went into liquidation in 2021 over an alleged $440,000 tax debt.[7]

Member of Bunbury City Council (2013–2021)

He joined the National Party of Australia (WA) in 2012.[8] In 2013, he was elected to Bunbury City Council, serving until 2021.[6] He served as state president of the National Party from 2015 to 2019,[9] and as the federal vice president of the National Party of Australia.[10]

Member of Western Australian Legislative Council (2021–Present)

At the 2021 Western Australian state election, Hayward was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council as a member for South West.[11]

He was the shadow minister for Local Government, Water, and Regional Cities.[6]

On 2 December 2021, Western Australia Police charged Hayward with alleged child sexual abuse of an eight-year-old girl earlier in 2021. He was charged with three counts of indecent dealings with a child under 13 years, one count of procuring a child under 13 years to do an indecent act and one count of persistent sexual conduct.[12][13][8] Later the same day, he was suspended by the National Party of Australia (WA). The following day, he resigned from the party.[14] In February 2022, Hayward revealed he will not resign from parliament, saying that if he resigned, "it would send a message that any person in public office can be removed by simply making an untested allegation."[15][16] In June 2022, prosecutors dropped the charge of persistent sexual conduct.[17] He pleaded not guilty to the four remaining charges. However, on the 28th of August 2023, a jury found him guilty of directing an eight-year-old girl to indecently touch him on two occasions.[18] As the offence has a maximum sentence over five years, he was automatically disqualified from being a member of parliament upon his conviction. This was the first use of the law since 1910.[19]

Criminal investigation and subsequent trial

A jury has convicted Hayward, a former MP, of two counts of indecently dealing with a young girl over a period of two years. The girl was aged between six and eight when the offences occurred between 2019 and 2021. The prosecution said the girl's family discovered her browsing pornography on her device in November 2021, which led to her disclosing the abuse by Hayward, 53. The court heard that Hayward sent an email to his wife in which he appeared to confess to the allegations and threatened to kill himself, but he later retracted his statement and denied any wrongdoing. He also denied showing the girl how to access pornography on her iPad. The defence argued that the girl's testimony was unreliable and inconsistent, and that there was no physical evidence to support her claims. Hayward pleaded not guilty to all four charges against him, but the jury found him guilty of two after more than four hours of deliberation. On 16 October 2023, he was sentenced to two years and nine months jail, and must serve half of that before becoming eligible for parole.[18][20][5]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Associated Press (21 February 2022). "Western Australian MP James Hayward to fight charges relating to alleged sexual abuse of girl, 8, court told". Guardian Australia.
  2. ↑ https://www.elections.wa.gov.au/about-us/media/whats-new/2290
  3. ↑ "Not since 1910 has WA's parliament seen anything like the James Hayward scandal". ABC News. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Member List". www.parliament.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Former WA Upper House MP James Hayward jailed for child sex offences". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Hon James Hayward". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "South West Nationals MP on child sex abuse charges". PerthNow. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  8. 1 2 Shine, Rhiannon. "WA Nationals MP and former Bunbury councillor James Hayward charged with child sex offences". ABC News. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "James Hayward". National Party of Australia (WA).
  10. ↑ "Hon James Hayward". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "South West Region Results - Western Australia Election 2021 guide | WA Votes". ABC News. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Hastie, Hamish (2 December 2021). "Nationals MP James Hayward charged over alleged child sex abuse". WAtoday. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  13. ↑ Moulton, Emily; Law, Peter (2 December 2021). "Nationals MP James Hayward to front court on child sex offences". The West Australian. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  14. ↑ O'Keefe, Samia (3 December 2021). "James Hayward resigns from WA Nationals amid child sex charges, faces calls to leave parliament". ABC News. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  15. ↑ Law, Peter (13 February 2022). "James Hayward: Child sex-accused MP speaks out on why he will keep his $320k taxpayer-funded job". The West Australian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  16. ↑ de Kruijff, Peter (14 February 2022). "Child sex abuse accused MP James Hayward to stay on in WA Parliament". WAtoday. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  17. ↑ Menagh, Joanna (1 June 2022). "Former Nationals WA MP James Hayward committed for trial accused of child sex abuse". ABC News. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  18. 1 2 Bunch, Aaron (28 August 2023). "WA MP found guilty of indecently dealing with a child". PerthNow. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  19. ↑ "Not since 1910 has WA's parliament seen anything like the James Hayward scandal". ABC News. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  20. ↑ Menagh, Joanna (28 August 2023). "WA MP James Hayward found guilty of child sex abuse, disqualified from parliament". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
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