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

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.

Read more.

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.

Federal politicians are wearing sprigs of gypsophila, commonly known as baby’s breath, as the Parliament pays tribute to colleague Helen Haines as she continues to recover from last week’s horrific attack.

Senators have joined MPs in the House of Representatives, while fellow crossbenchers have honoured their friend by placing an orangecockatoo sign on her seat the chamber.

Some parliamentarians have also worn orange to pay tribute to the independent MP who represents the regional Victorian seat of Indi.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor has delivered a touching speech in Federal Parliament for Helen Haines after she was allegedly mowed down by Brendan Nugent, 43, last Monday.

The Liberal leader told the parliament he and colleagues were praying for the Indi MP’s swift recovery after a “horrendous attack” which he labelled a “national tragedy”.

“While last Monday’s horrendous attack was a national tragedy, it is first and foremost a family’s tragedy,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’re thinking of course of Helen’s beloved husband Phil and their three cherished kids, Will, Nick and Georgia.”

Mr Taylor credited her “intelligence, compassion and commitment”.

“Dr Helen Haines epitomises civility. And that’s why the violent attack on her seems so unfathomable,” he said.

Mr Taylor said her return would be a “resounding moment” for Australia’s democracy, and would send a message to those who seek to tear it down .

“A moment when our nation says with one voice to those who seek to undermine our way of life, through intimidation and violence ‘ you will not break us, you will not silence us, you will ‘not change us’,” he said.

“The attack on Helen Haines was an attack on a member of parliament… an attack on our democracy. Today is a day to reflect on our democracy.”

Mr Taylor then pivoted his speech to unlink vicious debate and the violence, saying that he believed parliament debate was important for democracy.

“The antidote to violence is not to compromise our system of robust debate but to cherish, champion and strengthen that system,” he added.

Senators have joined the House of Representatives this morning for a special joint sitting in the wake of the alleged targeted attack on Helen Haines.

Marking a week on since she was allegedly mowed down in front of her Wangaratta electorate office, politicians wore Baby’s Breath flowers on their lapels and her campaign colour of orange.

Opening the tributes, Anthony Albanese said the parliament had been shocked by the incident as it had left “stones in our hearts”.

“The shock from what happened last Monday is like a stone in our hearts,” he said.

“What brings it home today is being back in this chamber in what should have been any ordinary sitting day, looking over at the members for Indi’s seat over there and hoping. And “Looking forward to the day in which she’s back here representing the community that she loves.”

The PM said Dr Haines’ husband had met with members in Canberra before their tribute.

Anthony Albanese will lead tributes to Helen Haines in Federal Parliament when it returns in Canberra on Monday as Australians dig deep to fundraise in honour of the Indi MP who has been left as a double leg amputee from an allegedly deliberate attack.

The Prime Minister will lead well-wishes in the House of Representatives from 10am — a week on from the incident — followed by statements from members and senators from across the political spectrum.

It comes as a fundraiser set up in the Indi MP’s name had reached more than $1.1 million on Sunday, with hundreds of messages of support for her recovery and calls for responsibly leadership.

The 65-year-old Independent MP remained in a serious but stable condition on Sunday after multiple surgeries at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital where she had both legs amputated.

Read more.