Brendan Nugent charged as AFP, ASIO brief federal MPs
Independent federal MP Helen Haines, 65, remained in stable condition at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital on Wednesday, two days after an alleged targeted vehicle strike near her electorate office in Wangaratta, in north-east Victoria, on Monday afternoon. Haines represents the Victorian electorate of Indi. Haines had been in a critical but stable condition after the strike, and surgeons were trying to save her right leg on Tuesday before determining that both legs had to be amputated due to the seriousness of her injuries. Police allege the attack was targeted.
Phil Haines, her husband, provided an update on her condition at a press conference at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital late on Wednesday afternoon. Composed and clear, he said his wife had survived a “horrendous incident” and faced a long road to recovery.
“The good news in all this is Helen is alive and she’s stable,” he said. “That is the most important thing for our family. And I think when we reflect and talk about and think about Helen, the two most important parts of Helen for us as a family are her heart and her mind.”
Police allege Monday’s attack was targeted and have charged Brendan Nugent with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. Nugent faced Wangaratta magistrates court earlier on Wednesday.
The incident has sparked calls for changes to politicians’ safety, with security services including the Australian federal police and Asio briefing MPs on the current landscape on Wednesday.
“Her heart is huge,” Phil Haines said. “She is a very compassionate, caring, loving person. Incredibly supportive of all around her – her family, her community, anybody she comes across. And her mind. She has the sharpest intellect.”
Phil Haines described his wife, 65, as a fighter. The couple have been married for nearly 40 years and have three children and two grandchildren. He became emotional for a moment at the end of the statement, reflecting on his wife’s strength.
“She is a determined person who will do her best with our support and love to recover, and that is what we hope for,” he said. “We are grateful at this stage that both her heart and her mind are in good shape.”
Phil Haines asked for donations to Save the Children as his wife recovers, and the charity launched a special appeal.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn joined Phil Haines at the hospital press conference. Mostyn said she had relayed news of the incident to King Charles and praised Helen Haines’s work as a local representative, including her commitment to improving the standards of public discourse in Australia.
“This violent attack on a much loved and respected sitting member of our federal parliament must be a moment for us to pause and to choose to be better,” Mostyn said. “We’ve got to hope that that beautiful heart, that beautiful mind will be strengthened every day by our support and our commitment to be more like Helen as part of this great democracy.”
The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and politicians from across federal parliament had expressed shock and anger at the alleged attack on Haines.
At a vigil in Wodonga on Wednesday evening, Cathy McGowan, who held the seat of Indi before Haines, paid tribute to her friend.
“There is another level of grief, different and deeper from the actual violence, from the sorrow, the shame and the hurt,” McGowan said. “It’s about Helen in her role as our elected representative. In attacking her, we intuit that this is an attack on our political system, on our democracy, and especially so for all the supporters who did the democracy work getting Helen elected.”
McGowan called for the upcoming Victorian state election campaign to be conducted in a positive and constructive way, with voters going to the polls next month. The community could not let violence win, McGowan implored, urging those present to ensure the legacy of the incident would be “a stronger, more vibrant and effective democracy” and that, from a personal perspective, “all candidates and especially women” know they can run for office and be safe.
MSI previously reported that Helen Haines was struck by a car outside her Wangaratta electorate office and admitted to the Alfred hospital in critical condition on October 19, and that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned of a rise in temperature in Australian politics the same day. Wednesday’s update is the medical and legal continuation of that same incident: both legs amputated, charges laid against Brendan Nugent and a security briefing for federal MPs.