Kathryn Hay

{{Short description|Australian politician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}

{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Kathryn Hay

|honorific-suffix =

|image =

|alt =

|caption =

|constituency_AM = Bass

|assembly = Tasmanian House of

|term_start = 20 July 2002

|term_end = 18 March 2006

|prior_term =

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1975|11|24}}

|birth_place = Launceston, Tasmania, Australia

|death_date =

|death_place =

|restingplace =

|restingplacecoordinates =

|birthname = Kathryn Isobel Hay

|nationality = Australian

|party = Labor Party

}}

Kathryn Isobel Hay (born 24 November 1975 in Launceston) is an Australian Labor politician and former member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly in the electorate of Bass.{{cite Tas Parliament |id=hayk728 |title=Kathryn Isobel Hay |access-date=24 July 2022}} She was first elected in the 2002 election.

Hay was the first woman of Aboriginal descent to be elected in Tasmania (in her maiden speech she points out that her Aboriginal ancestors are Western Australian, not Tasmanian). She was chosen as Miss Tasmania (1999) and Miss Australia (1999).

Hay did not re-contest her seat at the 2006 election. Her term ended when parliament was dissolved on 17 March 2006.

In February 2009, Hay announced she would stand for the Legislative Council division of Windermere,[https://web.archive.org/web/20101027062753/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/01/2479393.htm Kathryn Hay to run for Windermere seat], ABC News, 1 February 2009 but was defeated by the incumbent, Ivan Dean, at the May 2009 election.

In 2023 Kathryn Isobel Hay was charged with emotional abuse or intimidation of her husband.{{Cite web |last=Treacy |first=Alex |date=2023-03-02 |title=Kathryn Hay: Ex-Labor MP charged with emotional abuse/intimidation |url=https://www.themercury.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TMWEB_WRE170_a_TCA&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themercury.com.au%2Ftruecrimeaustralia%2Fpolice-courts-tasmania%2Fkathryn-hay-exlabor-mp-charged-with-emotional-abuseintimidation%2Fnews-story%2F83900b170034fb53fcaaa9e03a211594&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&offerset=tm_truecrime_premium |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=The Mercury}} In March 2025 she was found guilty of the charges, with the court finding that between January 2014 and November 2022 she had been emotionally abusive and controlling of him.[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-05/former-labor-mp-kathryn-hay-guilty-emotional-abuse/105013472 Kathryn Isobel Hay found guilty of emotional abuse and intimidation of former husband], ABC News, 5 March 2025 Hay denies the allegations, alleging instead that she was the victim of abuse.[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-05/former-labor-mp-kathryn-hay-guilty-emotional-abuse/105013472 Kathryn Isobel Hay found guilty of emotional abuse and intimidation of former husband], ABC News, 5 March 2025