Introduction and Mackenzie When Haz is introduced into the series, he lives on Ramsay Street at
Number 32. Producers included him in a house share concept alongside the established characters
Mackenzie Hargreaves (
Georgie Stone) and
Byron Stone (Xavier Molyneux). When the show resumed broadcasting, the housemates are depicted as having been living together for only three months. Haz relocates from
Geelong to run the business, Palekar told Sarah Ellis from
Inside Soap that Haz arrived looking for a house share. He added that the cast were unsure how Haz, Mackenzie and Byron originally became friends. Molyneux added that the three characters lead "very different work lives" and Stone concluded that "they're all getting along really well." To aid Haz's introduction as the new owner of Harold's Café, he is featured in scenes previous owner Harold Bishop. Haz Palekar told Chloe Timms (
Inside Soap) that Haz is portrayed as a "coffee snob" who tries to "force people into their coffee order." He added that Haz makes exceptions for those he likes. Set designers introduced new décor to the café and writers addressed this in scenes featuring Harold approving of Haz's changes. Palekar revealed that Harold is "excited about the new look" and that Haz and Harold get acquainted over the history of the coffee shop. He concluded that "the scenes with Haz and Harold are beautiful." Stone told Asyia Iftikhar from
PinkNews that "the budding relationship between Mackenzie and Haz, that is gonna be really cool." She added that some of her "favourite moments" occurred whilst filming with Palekar. In one scene, Haz and Mackenzie get to know each other around their swimming pool at night. Palekar described it as "a beautiful night time scene" where they "discuss all the big questions" in life and begin "connecting". Palekar described it as one of his favourite scenes and a "beautiful moment". In the backstage video series
Ramsay Street Revelations, Stone revealed that it was an "incredibly big deal" for Mackenzie to be exploring romance again. Writers also temporarily side-lined Mackenzie as Haz's love interest, by creating a romance between Haz and
Billie Alessio (Georgia Walters). This relationship is short because Haz favours his pet dog, Trevor (Bodhi) over Billie.
Love triangle Writers further complicated the scenario by introducing Haz and Mackenzie's friend,
Holly Hoyland (
Lucinda Armstrong Hall) into the story. Holly and Mackenzie both have been hurt emotionally by Eden and seek out Haz's comfort. A
Neighbours publicist told ''Inside Soap's
Sarah Ellis that Mackenzie had romantic feelings for Haz for month, but only Sadie Rodwell (Emerald Chan) is privy to this. They added that both Mackenzie and Holly conclude that Haz is their ideal partner following turmoil with Eden. Mackenzie makes Haz a scarf and Holly is jealous when she witnesses their "deep connection" when exchanging gifts. A publicist told Chloe Simms from Inside Soap'' that Haz and Mackenzie "have been dancing around their feelings for months, but poor Holly might end up a casualty of their mixed signals." Haz manages to save her. Writers portrayed another twist in the love triangle with Haz feeling guilty about Holly's accident and reconciles with her. Holly refuses to forgive Mackenzie and tells Haz and Mackenzie that one of them need to move out of the share house. In January 2024,
Neighbours confirmed its plans to unite Haz and Mackenzie and explore their romance. Haz eventually breaks-up with Holly and then faces losing his dog, Trevor. The storyline leads into Mackenzie supporting Haz through the ordeal and beginning a relationship.
Cyber crime and accident In 2024, writers explored issues arising from
cyber crime via Haz, specifically
hacking,
AI attacks and
deepfakes.
Neighbours broadcast a mystery storyline beginning in March 2024, in which Harold's Café is robbed and vandalised. Digital Spy's Kilkelly described it as the show's "big March storyline" and included spoiler photographs that "confirmed a difficult time ahead" for Haz. Haz later receives a video showing himself vandalising the café. The storyline offered viewers no explanation and left them wondering if Haz was the perpetrator or possibly an identical twin. The show also included a reference in the scripts that alluded to Haz having an identical brother, to further confuse viewers. This is followed by more strange occurrences happening to people who Haz knows.
Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) receives a telephone call from his dead husband,
David Tanaka (
Takaya Honda). A fake video of
Jane Harris (
Annie Jones) is then circulated online. They soon realise that the incidents are deep fakes being created by a mystery criminal. Writers created mystery surrounding Haz's behaviour which remained unexplained. Producers also cast Stephen Phillips as Wade Fernsby, a character connected to Haz's. Spoiler photographs revealed that Mackenzie would meet with Wade and investigate Haz's behaviour. Police officer
Andrew Rodwell (Lloyd Will) begins to investigate the crimes and discovers that the incidents are all linked. He discovers they were executed via a malware application that has been installed on various residents smart phone devices. Mackenzie is shocked when the software is discovered on her phone. Haz feels responsible and attempts to return the money back to Holly anonymously, but she and Mackenzie catch him. Additional promotional photographs showed Wade and Haz in scenes filmed on location, using their laptops. Wade threatens to destroy Mackenzie's career and Palekar explained that Haz cannot allow this because "he's kept enough from her and now he's hoping to make things right." In the wake of the plot, Haz and Mackenzie's is strengthened. In a backstage video, Stone revealed ""after all of the AI stuff it made her aware of how much she cared about Haz."
Neighbours writer Shane Isheev revealed that the "AI saga" was one of his favourite Haz stories and described Palekar's performance as "brilliant". Isheeve added "he didn't shy away from the material and embraced the fun of subverting the audience's expectations."
Family Another relationship that writers created stories for was between Haz and his pet dog, Trevor. Producers introduced the dog alongside Haz. The inclusion of a pet was a long-standing tradition featured in
Neighbours, which Trevor continues. Trevor is a cross breed between a
Golden Retriever and a
Poodle, better known as a
Groodle. Despite being owned by Haz on-screen, Bodie is supplied to
Neighbours from the animal talent agency, "Paws on Film" and was trained by Luke Hura. Hura previously trained numerous animals featured in
Neighbours. Hura revealed that Bodie could become easily distracted during filming, despite being a "very intelligent dog". Alyssa meets Byron walking Trevor in the park and immediately recognises her lost dog, whose name is actually Bodie. Daniel Kilkelly from
Digital Spy reported that Alyssa would seek contact with Haz to reconnect with her former pet. Haz is upset at the prospect of losing Trevor and seeks legal advice. A
Neighbours publicist told Sarah Ellis from
Inside Soap that Alyssa would continue to seek out Haz. They explained that "the idea of losing Trevor is so painful to Haz." The publicist added that "Alyssa really tugs on Haz's heartstrings" as she explains what Trevor meant to her family. Alyssa reveals that the dog was a gift from her dead mother to her son,
Max Gavalas (Jethro Cassar). Haz reconsiders and makes a "heartbreaking decision" to give Trevor back to the Gavalas family. In December 2023, it was announced that writers would explore Haz's family with the introduction of his older sister,
Amira Devkar (
Maria Thattil). A
10Play reporter described Amira as being "sometimes bossy" towards Haz. They revealed that Amira and Haz would have "an emotional reunion" and described a history of "challenges with their strict parents" in their backstories. The reporter added that Amira has her brother's "best interest at heart" but her arrival would not be welcomed by everyone. Thattil told Lucy Croke from
TV Week that "Amira and her parents were devastated by Haz's criminal past" and disowned him. Now that Haz has been injured "she feels guilty and wonders" if she has been too drastic by distancing herself from Haz. Thattil added that Amira feels "internal shame" about how she has treated Haz. Amira constantly comes in-between Haz and Mackenzie relationship and Haz is portrayed as a "peacemaker" between the two. When Amira prevents Mackenzie helping with Haz's legal battle, Mackenzie retaliates by telling Amira negative things Haz has said about her. Amira announces that she is leaving, which causes "tension" between Haz and Mackenzie.
Outback week On 4 July 2024, it was announced that Haz would feature in a special week of episodes titled "Death in the Outback". The episode explore several characters in a remote part of the Australian outback. It was revealed that one character would be killed off during the week but producers did not publicise the character's identity in advance. Armstrong Hall and Cowden teased that the week featured "spectacular scenes" and dramatic stories. They also likened it to filming an independent feature film. Palekar described filming the "Outback week" as "an absolute highlight" of his time on
Neighbours. He revealed that he travelled to remote South Australia for filming. Palekar and Stone filmed scenes in a small aircraft that actually took flight for a location shoot. Other scenes included Haz and Holly watching Heath being killed by a crocodile and Mackenzie being shot by a stray bullet. In the aftermath of the week's episodes, Mackenzie was taken to hospital and begins to recover. However, she becomes ill and passes out in Haz's arms.
Wedding and departure On 5 September 2023, it was announced that both Palekar and Stone had left
Neighbours and their characters would depart that month. Of his departure, Palekar stated "I'll miss everything - the wonderful cast, the incredible crew, the great storylines." He added that he would miss working with the "share-house gang" because they had become close friends during filming their scenes. He concluded that it "hurt" to say good-bye to them and playing Haz had been "a wonderful experience". Palekar believed that Haz's story showed that people are "deserving of a second chance". Haz learnt Palekar that "the pursuit of goodness and redemption is not an easy road, but it's possible." He concluded that Haz "wears his heart on his sleeve" always and remained "true to himself despite it all". Writers decided to give the couple a happy ending with a wedding storyline. Stone had asked producers to give Mackenzie a happy ending to her story. She described the wedding as "a classic
Neighbours happy ending". After Wade's reintroduction,
Felix Rodwell (James Beaufort) overhears Wade's conversation and realises he is planning revenge. Wade pays someone to tamper with Haz's car brakes. Felix later witnesses a criminal near Haz's car and begins to investigate. Palekar's final appearance as Haz was broadcast on 17 September 2024. Of Haz and Mackenzie's Parisian future, Palekar concluded "I think a wonderful life awaits them - they're going to love living in Paris. Mack is definitely going to pull big moves at the UN and Haz will no doubt have a great run in cybersecurity, it's mighty lucrative for an ex-hacker!" ==Reception==