Helen Haines attack: Indi MP loses leg after being rammed twice by car, suspect identified as Brendan Nugent

The town of Wangaratta have come together to host a vigil for Helen Haines.

At the Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral, attendees could be seen embracing each other as more details about the MP’s condition are revealed after Monday afternoon’s attack.

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The 65-year-old suffered devastating injuries after being pinned between two vehicles, with AAP reporting she has already lost one leg.

According to the ABC, medical teams are now working to save her other leg.

Dr Haines was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne following the incident and underwent surgery overnight.

A 43-year-old man from the nearby town of Tarrawingee was arrested at the scene and could be charged with causing harm to a commonwealth public official, according to the Australian Federal Police.

If found guilty, he could face a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Floral tributes have been laid outside Independent MP Helen Haines’ electorate office in Wangaratta and the devastated community has held a prayer vigil for her recovery.

The Federal member for the regional Victorian seat of Indi was critically injured in a suspected targeted attack by 43-year-old driver Brendan Nugent on Monday afternoon while she was loading the back of her car.

Among the tributes laid include messages of support, a card from a child and a painting of a dandelion.

Wangaratta locals also held a lunchtime prayer vigil at the Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral to “offer prayers for the full recovery of Dr Helen Haines”.

Anglican Diocese of Wangaratta’s Clarence Bester was expected to lead the prayers.

In a social media post, the Diocese described it as “an opportunity for the community to come together to reflect, to have silence, and to pray for Helen, her family, and her close friends”.

“Our time together is an important act of solidarity with Helen and a sign of peace and goodwill for all people.”

Teal MPs have expressed their support for fellow independent MP Helen Haines who is fighting for life after she was allegedly rammed twice by a man in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon.

Independent MPs Monique Ryan and Sophie Scamps described her commitment to her Indi community and how respected across the Federal Parliament.

“She’s incredibly respectful of colleagues, people across the spectrum in parliament love her and respect her. Helen is the best of us,” Ryan told ABC RN on Tuesday.

“She’s a person of the utmost personal integrity.”

Independent MP David Pocock said the attack marked a “new reality” for political discourse in Australia.

“As elected representatives, as Australians, we have to do more to remind ourselves how much we have in common and how unacceptable this is here in this country,” Senator Pocock told News24.

“And to build something much better than what we’ve seen over the last day.”

Allegra Spender, who has since formed the Community Strong political party with Zali Steggall, described Dr Haines as a trailblazer of independent MP after her election win in 2019.

The member for Wentworth told News24 that Australia had “seen something change” in the environment as threats rose significantly post-COVID.

“Threats reported to the AFP on politicians have risen significantly. I think rising from around 280 in sort of 2020, to now over 1000,” she said.

“Politicians need to do better because the behaviour, the standards, the way that we speak to each other, including particularly in the chamber… is not acceptable and does not help.”

Ms Steggall said she was “shocked and devastated” by the alleged attack.

“I have worked with Helen since 2019 and sit alongside her in Parliament,” she said.

“She is a wonderful, caring, smart and wise friend and amazing representative for her community. I am thinking of her and her wonderful family.”

A string of posts made on Elon Musk’s platform X show the alleged Helen Haines attacker Brendan Nugent had responded to several politicians.

It included in the comment section of a post made by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in November 2023 where she stated there “is no place for violence, no place for antisemitism and no place for Islamophobia in Australia”.

Mr Nugent had responded: “Pine gap helps Israeli intelligence bomb children in Gaza, Australia is not peaceful”.

Another Senator Wong posted in March 2024 about a ceasefire in the Middle East attracted a comment from Mr Nugent.

“You have not been clear on anything other than giving Israel impunity to kill thousands of children”.

In a response to a X post by Dr Haines in October 2019 about the now-axed ABC Q&A TV program, Mr Nugent appeared to be praising her for taking “climate change seriously”.

“Would’ve been nice to include a politician who takes climate change seriously, such as yourself,” he wrote.

The man accused of mowing down independent MP Helen Haines once praised her commitment to climate change, promoted her election campaign and shared appeals for donations.

But Brendan Nugent’s social media history reveals a former environmental campaigner who later became an outspoken critic of Israel and Australia’s response to the war in Gaza, circulating material defending Hamas and the Houthis while directing angry messages at senior ministers.

The 43-year-old from Tarrawingee, near Wangaratta, remains in police custody after allegedly using his Toyota LandCruiser to repeatedly ram Dr Haines outside her electorate office on Monday afternoon.

The 65-year-old mother-of-three suffered catastrophic lower-body injuries and was airlifted to Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery and has reportedly lost a leg.

Nugent’s public X account, operating under the handle @NotLaoTzu, contains almost 11,000 posts dating back to August 2014, revealing years of environmental activism, political arguments and increasingly confrontational commentary about the Middle East.

Read the full story here.

Nationals MP Tim McCurdy, who represents the Victorian state electorate of Ovens Valley, revealed Brendan Nugent had contacted his office on multiple occasions.

Mr McCurdy said the interactions had not involved threats.

“Not down that path, but he’s known to our office as well. So I don’t know whether he’s frequented Helen’s office or not. I’m not clear about that, but he’s been in touch with our office over the journey. So he’s known to us,” he told 3AW.

Mr McCurdy said he had no plans to introduce additional security measures following the alleged attack on Dr Haines, who remains in a Melbourne hospital after losing a leg.

“You can’t help, I suppose, think about these circumstances. And, you know, being a bloke walking around a rural town, I don’t feel threatened at all. But I know there are women colleagues in this role who sometimes can feel threatened. And I hear what they’re saying, and we understand that. And we have to address how we can help them to feel safer and be safer by just doing their job.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with senior police officials on Tuesday morning for a briefing following the horrific attack on independent MP Helen Haines.

Mr Albanese was joined by AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll and Police Minister Paul Edbrooke as investigations into the incident continue.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor has been questioned about his Liberal frontbenchers language in parliament after Angie Bell said a Minister should be “shamed and stoned”.

Ms Bell had raised the comments about Small Business Minister Anne Aly in a debate over a tax office decision on credit card payments before swiftly withdrawing them.

When asked at a press conference in Sydney in the wake of Helen Haines alleged attack about the responsibility of parliamentarians to lower the temperature, Mr Taylor said Ms Bell’s withdrawal was “appropriate”.

“Those particular comments were withdrawn, and it was appropriate that they were,” the Liberal leader said.

“But can I say more generally, we have achieved, as a country, extraordinary things with our democracy.

“We have, like so few other countries in the world, avoided political violence.

“And we’ve done that by having vigorous and rigorous debate and choice at the ballot box.

“This is what’s worked for us. We need to make sure it stays there.

“It doesn’t cross the line, and what clearly happened yesterday was right across the line and it was completely unacceptable.”

After Ms Bell’s comments Dr Aly, who is the MP for the WA seat of Cowan, had spoken about 19 death threats she had received in just that week alone via social media.

“I don’t usually comment about these sorts of things, but I feel like I have to. This past week alone, I’ve had 19 death threats on my social media,” she said.

“And in the past I’ve had death threats that are couched in that exact same language ‘stone her’.”

WA Nationals MP Lachlan Hunter has shared his experience receiving death threats and expressed concern the State government wasn’t taking politician safety seriously.

Mr Hunter said he had noticed increased threats and revealed he’d previously written to WA Premier Roger Cook to call for him to act on recommendations in the Morton Review.

“I’m worried. I’ve written to the premier on two occasions now, yet to receive a response about what the government is doing to implement the Morton review,” he told reporters outside WA Parliament on Tuesday.

“But to also ensure that there are safety measures in place for members of parliament, no matter what side of politics they’re on.

“’I’ve received a number of threats being elected only in March last year.

“I received a number of threats when I was a candidate running for public office.

“There needs to be stronger mechanisms in place to ensure that there are protections, not only for members of parliament, but classically for their staff and also for their families.”

The Independent Review of the Employment Arrangements of Electorate Officers was led by former Federal Minister Ben Morton amid a rising tide of public hostility.

Mr Hunter said he had an electorate office which didn’t have security cameras and several sites which were only staffed by a solo woman.

“I would like to see the Premier actually do a security review and audit of not only this building behind me, at Parliament House, but also all electorate offices as well,” he said.

“Because it’s not just the threat of the member of parliament, but it’s also their staff.”