Kathryn Hay accused of assaults, control as part of emotional abuse

An ex-Tasmanian state politician and Miss Australia winner is alleged by her husband to have assaulted him repeatedly, accused him of infidelity, and stopped him from seeing his parents. DETAILS >>

Kathryn Hay crowned Miss Australia on 29 Jan 1999. First Aboriginal winner of the quest. Picture: File

An ex-Tasmanian state politician and Miss Australia beauty queen is alleged by Tasmania Police to have repeatedly assaulted her husband, prevented him from seeing his parents, told him to kill himself and made communications on his behalf.

Swan Bay woman Kathryn Isobel Hay, 47, Miss Tasmania and Miss Australia in 1999 and Labor MP representing the state division of Bass between 2002–06, appeared in Launceston Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with a count of emotional abuse or intimidation.

Her alleged victim is Troy Shane Richardson, her husband. The pair’s current relationship status is unknown.

Documents filed with the court’s registry have revealed the allegations police have made against her.

The alleged offending, which is claimed to have occurred between October 22, 2011 – February 13, 2022, contains 46 particulars, relating to alleged physical violence, manipulation and control.

They include allegations Ms Hay assaulted Mr Richardson on multiple occasions, including by pushing him, throwing a bowl of cereal at him, punching him in the face, pinning him to the ground and punching him in the face and torso, slapping him in the face.

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There are further allegations of verbal abuse and denigration, namely that Ms Hay called Mr Richardson that he was “worthless and useless... had a chip on his shoulder, (was) inferior, lazy, hateful, a piece of sh-t, compulsive liar, dumb, conniving and pathetic, (and that) he was not fit to be a husband or a father”.

Tasmania Police allege the behaviour extended to controlling actions too. It alleges Ms Hay prevented Mr Richardson from reasonably seeing his parents, discouraged him from seeking counselling, calling him excessively, corresponding on his behalf, and arranging doctor’s appointments for him without his consent.

Swan Bay woman Kathryn Isobel Hay, 47. Picture: File

Police also allege various miscellaneous particulars of the alleged offence, such as that Ms Hay made a throat-slitting motion towards Mr Richardson, that she told him she “would have been much happier with (her) late husband,” that she blamed him for not receiving a life insurance payout and for putting her in “jail,” and accusing him of bugging the house, tampering with her car, and being unfaithful.

Ms Hay will reappear in court on May 29.

Ms Hay was prominent in Tasmanian life in the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s.

In 1999, she was declared Miss Tasmania and went on to win the Miss Australia crown later that year.

Ms Hay stood for and was elected to the state division of Bass at the 2002 election, alongside Jim Cox, the pair replacing retiring Labor Bass MPs Gill James and Peter Patmore.

She did not seek re-election at the 2006 state election, retiring due to “personal reasons,” according to her biography on the Parliament of Tasmania website.

She was the first woman of Aboriginal descent to be elected in Tasmania.

Ms Hay made prospective runs for re-election in 2009 and 2012, but on both occasions withdrew prior to the ballot.

The ABC previously reported that Ms Hay lives with illness caused by a muscular condition.