Australian MP Helen Haines Critically Injured in Suspected Targeted Car Attack in Wangaratta

**Updated 12:13 UTC: Developing story.**

Helen Haines has improved from critical to serious but stable, The Alfred hospital in Melbourne said on Saturday. A hospital spokesman gave the update five days after the alleged car attack outside her electorate office in Wangaratta on Monday, AAP reported. It is the first improvement in her condition since she was airlifted to Melbourne, where surgeons amputated both her legs. Haines, 65, remains at The Alfred receiving care. A post on her social media accounts on Friday said her staff were working to reopen her electorate offices next Thursday, and that more than 730,000 dollars had been raised for Save the Children in her honour after her husband Phil directed well-wishers to the appeal, The Guardian reported. Police say a motive for the alleged attack has not yet been established. Brendan Nugent, 43, remains in custody on charges including dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.

**Updated 13:23 UTC: Developing story.**

Court filings in the case also list additional charges against Brendan Nugent of cultivating and possessing cannabis, Reuters and AFP reported from the court documents made public on Wednesday. Those charges sit alongside the three charges over the attack itself: dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. Nugent did not apply for bail at the Wednesday hearing and remains in custody until Feb 4.

**Updated 08:40 UTC: Developing story.**

Helen Haines has now lost both legs. Her husband Phil told a press conference at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne on Wednesday that her left leg was amputated on Monday, and that surgeons had to remove her right leg as well. "Helen's left leg was amputated on Monday. We had been hoping that her right leg would be saved, but the surgeons had to also remove her right leg," he said. "But the good news in all this is Helen is alive and she's stable. That is the most important thing for our family." He added that both her heart and her mind are in good shape. The Times reported that he asked wellwishers to donate to Save the Children, a charity his wife supports, instead of sending flowers.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn spoke at the same press conference. CNN reported that she said she was keeping King Charles III updated on developments. In Canberra, members of parliament received detailed security briefings on Wednesday as federal police pointed to rising reports of harassment and threats against politicians. Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police had no intelligence on Haines's alleged attacker that pointed to an imminent risk before Monday. Police say the motive is still under investigation. Brendan Nugent, 43, faced court in Wangaratta earlier on Wednesday, in the hearing covered in the update below. He did not apply for bail and will stay in custody until Feb 4.

**Updated 01:46 UTC: Developing story.**

Brendan Nugent sat silent and showed no emotion as he appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Oct 21, for the first time since he was charged over the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines. The BBC reported that Nugent, 43, sat in the dock in a grey-blue sweater with two custody officers beside him, in a hearing that lasted only minutes. He stood only when the magistrate spoke to him about a committal hearing in February, nodded once and said nothing, the BBC reported.

Nugent did not apply for bail and will stay in custody. ABC News reported that the case will return to the Wangaratta court on Feb 4 for a committal mention hearing.

His lawyer, Chirag Patel, told Magistrate Allison Vaughan that Nugent suffers from a concussion and idiopathic transverse myelitis, a rare condition that inflames the spinal cord. ABC News reported that Patel also raised mental health concerns, said it was Nugent's first time in custody, said Nugent was not currently medicated and said it was unclear whether he had seen a doctor since his arrest.

Police have not ruled out further charges. The Times reported that police said nothing was off the table in the investigation, including attempted murder and terrorism charges. No motive has been given. Haines, 65, remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital in Melbourne and has lost one leg.

**Updated 09:32 UTC: Developing story.**

Police have charged the driver arrested after the attack and named him as Brendan Nugent, 43, from Tarrawingee. Victoria Police said late on Tuesday that Nugent faces charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. He is due to face Wangaratta Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, Oct 21. Police said they will allege the incident was targeted.

Nugent's father, Rod Nugent, and Rod's partner, Christine Cunningham, said Haines had been their friend for more than 20 years. "What happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable," they said in a statement. "Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community." They thanked the local community and police who came to her aid and said they would assist Victoria Police in any way they can.

AAP reported that Nugent is a long term forestry and environmental campaigner in the north east of Victoria. Police searched a property on Great Alpine Road in Tarrawingee on Tuesday. Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason said there was no recent evidence Nugent was on authorities' radar before the alleged attack. A nearby highway patrol unit was on the scene within eight seconds of the call coming through, police said.

Haines remains in a critical but stable condition at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where one of her legs could not be saved. Her husband Phil, daughter Georgia and sons Nick and Will were seen at the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. In Wangaratta, locals crowded into Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral for a vigil in her support.

**Updated 06:40 UTC: Developing story.**

Helen Haines underwent surgery overnight at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne and remains in a critical condition. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that she was in a critical but stable condition. Reuters reported that media and officials said she had lost one leg, and that doctors were working to save the other.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the alleged attack appeared to be an isolated incident, and that there were no known further threats linked to it. Federal and state police are working to identify potential charges, including the offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The 43-year-old suspect remains in custody and was expected to be interviewed on Tuesday morning. Police have not given a motive.

Albanese told ABC News on Tuesday that the car performed a U-turn before hitting Haines as she was loading or unloading things from the trunk of her car. "It's clear that there was a deliberate act here. This wasn't an accident, someone just skidding off the road," he said. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that witnesses said the alleged attacker reversed the vehicle and struck Haines a second time before a bystander intervened.

Barber Ricky Jefferies, whose shop is next to Haines's electorate office, told reporters on Tuesday how he ran out after hearing a loud bang, took a knife from the alleged attacker's pocket, pulled him from the car and held him down until police arrived. "It was crazy, I just ran out the front to see what was happening," Jefferies said. "He did have a knife. He didn't pull it out." Albanese praised Jefferies and called him a hero.

**Updated 12:06 UTC: Developing story.**

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC's 7.30 program that the crash was not an accident. "This wasn't an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear," he said. "There's no place for political violence in a democracy." Albanese said he was not aware of any personal threats against Haines, and said the temperature of political discourse had risen in recent times and needed to be turned down.

Haines was airlifted to Melbourne, where ABC reported she was undergoing emergency surgery for severe lower body injuries. Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason said there was no further threat to the public, and thanked the community members who rushed to help her and detained the driver until police arrived.

Independent MP Helen Haines is in a critical condition in hospital after a car hit her outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, in north-east Victoria, on Monday afternoon. Police are treating the collision as a suspected targeted attack. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Haines had been attacked, and said a suspect was in custody.

Haines, 65, was taking items out of the boot of a car in a parking bay on Murphy Street when a Toyota LandCruiser hit her at about 3.30pm local time, police said. Witnesses said the driver passed her in the car park, turned back and drove at her. She was left with severe lower body injuries and was taken to hospital. Reports said she was to be flown to Melbourne for further treatment.

Police said a knife was found and seized from inside the Toyota. A 43-year-old man from Tarrawingee was arrested at the scene and was due to be questioned at Wangaratta Police Station. Police said it was not yet known whether the two knew each other.

Counter-terrorism team activated

Albanese said the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO, the domestic intelligence agency, were working together on the case. "There is a major police investigation underway, and I can confirm that a suspect is in custody," he said. "The Joint Counter Terrorism Team has been activated, but the motive is not known."

A local barber told 7News he pulled the driver from the car and wrestled him to the ground, and said he found a flick knife in the man's pocket. That account has not been confirmed by police, who have given few details while the investigation runs.

Albanese described Haines as fiercely intelligent and a thoroughly decent person, respected across the Parliament. Nationals frontbencher Michael McCormack, whose electorate sits next to hers, sent her his love and best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Family asks for privacy

Haines's family said she was receiving medical care and thanked the bystanders, health workers and police who responded. "Our family, and Helen's staff, will be making no further comment at this time, and ask that their privacy be respected by the public and media," the family said. "Please keep Helen in your thoughts."

The MP for Indi since 2019

Haines has represented Indi, a large rural seat in north-east Victoria, since 2019, when she succeeded fellow independent Cathy McGowan. Voters returned her at the 2022 and 2025 elections. She has lived in north-east Victoria for almost 40 years and runs a small farm with her husband. Before politics she worked as a nurse, a midwife and a health researcher. She is a mother of three.

Police have not named a motive, and no charges had been announced when Albanese spoke on Monday night local time. The investigation continues, and her office has not said when she might return to work.