Politics live updates: Albanese warns of ‘rising tide of rage’ in Australia after attack on MP Helen Haines

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has thanked political staffers in the wake of Helen Haines allegedly targeted attack outside her Wangaratta electorate office last Monday afternoon.

During her tribute to Helen Haines in the House, the Labor frontbencher shared how her staff had shielded her from abuse, death and rape threats during her time as the Hotham MP.

She labelled staffers as “the best and most loyal servants of our democracy”.

“The things that my staff — the things they have to do to protect me,” Ms O’Neil said.

“The abusive phone calls. They need to deal with the people who trawl through my social media. Trying to find the the difference between a vitriolic message and something that’s got a death threat or a rape threat that needs to be reported.

“I say to every staffer — if you’re a ministerial staffer, a shadow ministerial staffer, working on the front line of an electorate office — we thank you.

“We acknowledge the deep difficulty of the work that you are having to do.”

A donation page in the name of independent MP Helen Haines after she was allegedly mowed down in a deliberate attack last Monday has raised almost $1.3 million.

Dr Haines’ husband Phil had last week thanked the community for their flowers, gifts and cards left at her Wangaratta electorate office but urged people who wanted to offer support to donate to Save the Children.

As of Monday morning, the fundraising page in her name had received $1,291,267 in donations and hundreds of messages of support.

While Dr Haines recovers in hospital after the amputation of her two legs, the flowers placed outside her office will be dried and the cards collected so she can view them when she’s recovered.

“The appreciation you showed to those helping you in such a terrifying time, shows the beauty within you,” one person wrote.

Another penned “Though I have not followed Helen’s political career closely, she has always seemed to me to be looking for ways to make our society, our laws and our country better”.

“Helen always came across as a woman with positive, interesting and creative ideas to solve problems which are missing from so much of our political discussion.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek on Monday urged people asking what they could do to help, to continue to donate to the charity.

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has urged fellow federal MPS to leave the “nasty personal politics of MAGA” in the United States while paying tribute to Independent MP Helen Haines.

The former SAS soldier has recently revealed his children have been the subject of death threats and has warned online abuse could inspire violence against politicians.

Addressing parliament on Monday, the Canning MP declared last week’s attack on Dr Haines outside her electorate office must bring change.

“It’s a time for us to pause and ask: How can we do better? For me? How can I do better? I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve overreached in my language during my 11 years in this house, and we’ve all erred in this way at some time”.

The Member for Canning says there can be no place for the “targeted destruction of character” or the “relentless demonisation of personality”.

“It only takes one person with a twisted mind or a perverted sense of reality to strike out, to weaponise a car, a kitchen knife or a firearm, and to feel justified in doing so,” Mr Hastie says.

“What we say here or online shapes the political culture. We can all do better and we should strive to do better. So let’s play the ball, not the person, and leave the nasty personal politics of MAGA in the United States.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek says she had had sleepless nights worrying about the “ugly, dangerous” new era Australia is facing in the wake of Helen Haines attack.

The Labor frontbencher said she was concerned that last Monday’s attack could prompt parliamentarians not to engage more directly with their communities, which has been a long held and admired trait of Australian politics.

“It does keep me up at night thinking that we might be entering a political era in which representatives feel afraid to be fully and properly available to the communities that they serve,” Ms Plibersek told Parliament.

“Violence is the antithesis of democracy. It’s an ugly, dangerous dead end.”

Ms Plibersek also sent her best wishes to the family of the member for Indi, who is still in a serious but stable condition in a Melbourne hospital after both of her legs were amputated.

“She’s one of the most respected and loved leaders in this Parliament,” the Minister told the House.

“She’s been a selfless public servant. She champions integrity, kindness and honesty.

“It is unfathomable that anyone would want to hurt Helen.”

Nationals leader Matt Canavan says he would find a direct contest against One Nation leader Pauline Hanson in Capricornia as “exciting” but won’t confirm whether he’d run for the seat.

The central Queensland seat is proving to be hot real estate ahead of the next expected election in 2028 which speculation the two Senators would try to use to get to the lower house. Both lead their minor parties from the Senate.

Nationals MP Michelle Landry held the seat but last week formally announced her retirement.

While Senator Canavan had indicated he would consider moving to the lower house, he has refused to confirm whether he’d seek preselection for Ms Landry gig.

Earlier this month he had conceded that the next election could be his “last” given the political challenge ahead with surging One Nation support and “if it is required” he’d run for the seat.

When asked about a, so far, hypothetical contest with the One Nation leader in Capricornia on Monday, Senator Canavan admitted it would be “exciting”.

“I genuinely always encourage people to run. I love the contest,” he said.

“That would be exciting. I like life to be exciting. It’s the whole reason I did this.

“The whole reason I got into politics… look, I didn’t want to be boring. And it hasn’t been boring.

“So look, what it’ll be... it’ll be.”

Senator Canavan says he’s relaxed to be judged by people at the ballot box.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan has remained tight-lipped on whether he will use Capricornia MP Michelle Landry’s retirement to make a tilt for the lower house.

The Queensland Senator had appeared alongside Ms Landry when she announced at a press conference last week that she wouldn’t recontest her seat.

However, he refused to confirm whether he would throw his hat in the ring for it.

It leaves the door open for the LNP to preselect a new candidate for the Central Queensland seat but also a chance for Pauline Hanson, who is openly eying it, to try to gain it in 2028.

Speaking on News24 on Monday morning, Senator Canavan continued to be coy.

He likened repeated questions from journalists to his children on Christmas morning.

“I’m not going to tell you. You’re worse than my kids on Christmas morning waiting for a present. Just wait,” he said.

“I’ll make you this promise - all will be revealed before Christmas.

“You won’t have to wait as long for this as you will for Santa.”

Crossbench MPs have choked back tears while paying tribute in Parliament to their independent colleague Helen Haines as she continues to recover from last week’s attack in Wangaratta.

The member for Indi has lost both her legs after she allegedly rammed by a car multiple times outside her electorate office.

Fellow Victorian Independent MP Monique Ryan has given an emotional tribute to her close friend, telling Parliament: “God gives his hardest battles to the strongest soldiers.”

“While we await her return, we can improve mental health services in the regions, we can put government funding where the need is highest.”

Fellow Independent MP Zali Steggall said she looked forward to seeing her friend return and “getting on with the job”.

“Let light win over darkness,” the New South Wales Teal MP told the House of Representatives.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles has reflected on the integrity of independent MP Helen Haines after her alleged attack last Monday afternoon.

He told the House of Representatives as it returned to Canberra on Monday morning that the incident which has left her as a double leg amputee as “shocking” and left so many questions.

Mr Marles described the Indi MP as a “beacon of decency”, who he said was “thoughtful, curious and respectful of the opinions of others”.

“Helne Haines is completely incapable of being nasty to anyone,” he added before telling the House about how she was too sweet to even tease him about his beloved Geelong Cats losing an AFL final.

While Mr Marles warned against speculation on the motive of the attack, he told parliamentarians and Australians they had a “collective responsibility” to turn down the inflamed language in public debate.

Leaning into the football reference, Mr Marles urged people not to “play the person” and debate respectfully and “prosecute those views robustly”.

“It must be possible for us to do all of that while maintaining a fundamental respect for each other,” Mr Marles told the Parliament.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is refusing to apologise for a cartoon depicting independent Senator Lidia Thorpe being run over by a bus, a week after fellow crossbencher Helen Haines was attacked outside her electorate office.

Senator Hanson and colleague Barnaby Joyce have previously apologised for other cartoons released by the party including one that labelled former soldier Andrew Hastie a “traitor”, and another that ridiculed Senator Jacqui Lambie for her battle with vaginal prolapse.

On Monday, the One Nation leader stood by the “Please Explain” cartoon released in 2023 mocking Senator Thorpe.

“Look, this woman’s on the floor of parliament … You should see the hatred coming out of her mouth,” Senator Hanson told Radio 2GB.

“So don’t tell me about my cartoons because they’re satirical … and besides, that last episode happened years ago in the cartoon,” she said, referring to the 2023 episode, titled Under the Bus, that depicted Hanson driving a bus over Thorpe.

Over the AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett criticised the rhetoric in the One Nation cartoons saying they risked inciting violence.

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Anthony Albanese has urged fellow politicians and Australians to consider its language and behaviour in the wake of the attack on Helen Haiines in her electorate on Monday.

The Prime Minister said rage had been grown in Australia and reiterated repeated pleas from both ASIO boss Mike Burgess and AFP commissioner Krissy Barret to disagree civility

“We are seeing rage and aggression increasing, not just in politics, but towards workers in hospitality and retail, in schools and in hospitals, towards police, paramedics and other officials,” the PM told Parliament on Monday, saying the country could no longer shrug it off.

“We are seeing a normalisation of the language of grievance and violence.

“We must not conflate the robustness of Australian democracy with this rising tide of rage.

“We’ve always had disagreements in Australia.

“It’s part of our story, as is an unbroken democracy and our continuous system of government that shines as a beacon to the world.

“But we cannot allow disagreement to become a full stop.”

Mr Albanese also warned against rushing to conclusions in relation to the alleged attacker Brendan Nugent, 43, as the case progresses through the courts.