Helen Haines attack updates: Indi MP in stable condition, tragically loses second leg after alleged attack

Governor-General Sam Mostyn has called for a moment for Australia to “pause and choose to be better” in the wake of Monday’s horrific alleged attack on Member for Indi Helen Haines.

“It is bittersweet and quite difficult to talk about that I was discussing this very topic with Helen just two weeks ago in Euroa when we were both visiting a recovery hub dealing with the bushfire recovery, and we talked about the need for greater civility and engagement across our civic and public life,” Mostyn said.

“As ever, Helen was actively thinking of ways in which the Australian community could come together and be encouraged to be both more engaged in our great democracy, and participate with the kind of engagement she has always done: kindness and care and respect.”

Australia should “encourage kindness and care again” in honour of Dr Haines, Mostyn said, and to “celebrate our strong and stable” democracy which allows for free and safe political debate.

“(We should) remind ourselves, as Helen says all the time, that Australians have good hearts, great hearts, and checking each of ourselves to ensure that we are in fact disagreeing well, not fighting with one another, not descending into violence and chaos and division,” she said.

“Our democracy, the great Australian democracy, has always relied on passionate and robust debate. It’s a healthy and vital part of a modern and successful nation, and Helen plays a huge role in that, in representing her community.

“We don’t have to all agree, but we can wrestle the issue, not the person, just as Helen has done throughout her time in Parliament, representing the issues of her community and fighting for the very best.

“It’s important to remember, words matter, whether spoken, or in written form, or increasingly in the virtual world.”

Australia’s Governor-General Sam Mostyn has spoken alongside the husband of Federal member for Indi Helen Haines on Wednesday.

Dr Haines’ husband Phil spoke in front of media at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, where his wife is being treated, and invited the Governor-General to speak.

“Australia is still reeling with the shock and distress of this terrible attack on our much loved member for Indi, Helen Haines,” Mostyn said.

“I know that here in Victoria, in particular, people are simply dumbfounded and finding it very hard to fathom the scale of this tragedy.

“I know that in Wangaratta there have been vigils. I know that those vigils have continued across the country.”

Mostyn paid tribute to the “extraordinary bystanders” who “selflessly” rushed to help Dr Haines after the alleged attack, including barber Ricky Jefferies.

“I’ve been lucky enough to speak to Ricky, and his humility and his absolute rejection of the title hero reflects the Australian character we so often talk about and see everywhere: decency, care, and a simple concern for others.

“I join Phil in acknowledging that many people were there in those opening moments: the paramedics, the Victorian police, the people at the North East Health in Wangaratta, the transport to get Helen safely here and stabilized, all of the medical, surgical, nursing, administrative team that have taken such beautiful care of Helen in these last two days.

“We know that that has meant a great deal to the family, and it means that she’s in a stable condition, and we have great hope for the days ahead.”

The husband of Indi MP Helen Haines, who was run down by a car in a horrific alleged attack on Monday, has urged well-wishes to donate to Save the Children on Dr Haines’ behalf.

“She loves flowers, but it’s a bit difficult to look after many bunches of flowers, so we will ask people if they would like to support Helen financially to make a donation to Save the Children Fund,” Phil Haines said on Wednesday.

“Only just last week in Canberra, her last official appointment was to speak at a legacy lecture in the evening for Save the Children. . .you can find that link to that on Helen’s website.

“We have been actually overwhelmed by some of the support we’ve received from many countries, and we we thank that feedback and those comments and that support, and I ask on behalf of our broader family to continue that support.

“We will need that over the next few days and beyond.

“One thing I’ve learnt last two days, reinforced by many people, is to take things day by day. I know it’s a cliche, but it’s a cliche for very good reason.”

You can donate to Dr Haines’ Save the Children campaign here.

Phil Haines has paid tribute to the medical staff who are treating his wife, Dr Helen Haines, following a “horrendous” attack on the member for Indi.

“If I can start with Helen’s office staff in Canberra, Wodonga, Wangaratta, who were first on the scene, of course, to some people next door, to the first responders, Victorian police, paramedics, fire brigade were all there within minutes to support Helen,” he said.

“She then went to North East Health to the hospital, where they did incredible work to try and stabilise her before she was flown to Melbourne in the good hands of our fantastic paramedics.

“Now here in the Alfred Hospital, she has received the most incredible treatment and care from her medical and surgical staff, from the nursing staff across ICU, and from everybody she’s come across in the last two days.

“I cannot speak highly enough of what has been contributed by this hospital.”

Mr Haines also paid tribute to the “hundreds and thousands” of messages of love and support the family has received since Monday’s incident.

“Helen’s road to recovery will be long and difficult, but we know she is a fighter. 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.

Member for Indi Helen Haines’ husband has made an emotional speech outside the hospital where his wife is receiving treatment for a horrific attack on Monday.

At a press conference outside the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Phil Haines revealed Dr Haines had her right leg amputated due to severe injuries from the attack, following the removal of her left leg.

“We had been hoping that her right leg would be saved, but as of this afternoon and this morning, 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.”

Mr Haines, who spoke on behalf of the couple’s family including their three children, said he is “grateful” that her “heart and mind are in good shape” following the incident.

“The two most important parts of Helen for us as a family (are) her heart and her mind. Her heart is huge,” he said.

“She is a very compassionate, caring, loving person, incredibly supportive of all around her, her family, her community, anybody she comes across.

“She has the sharpest intellect. She has always had the most intense desire to learn, to read, to synthesise, and to understand what’s going on.”

Indi MP Helen Haines’ husband Phil is speaking outside of the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

Mr Haines has confirmed that Dr Haines is in a stable condition following the alleged attack on her on Monday, but has tragically lost her second leg.

“Helen’s road to recovery will be long and difficult, but we know she is a fighter,” Mr Haines said.

Instead of flowers, Mr Haines has urged supporters to donate to Save the Children in honour of Dr Haines.

Locals who rushed in to help critically injured Helen Haines when she was struck by a four-wheel drive have hailed the MP’s incredible bravery in the moments after the alleged targeted attack.

The independent federal MP remains in a critical but stable condition at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne after being run down outside her electorate office in the regional Victorian town of Wangaratta on Monday afternoon.

Brendan Nugent, from nearby Tarrawingee, has been charged with three offences related to what police have described as a targeted attack.

Jacob Evans and Jacklyn Black, who were visiting the area from south-west of Melbourne, rushed to assist Dr Haines in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

“Jacob had a tourniquet as well … which we quickly applied to her leg to help get some of her injuries under control,” Ms Black told reporters outside Wangaratta courthouse on Wednesday.

The couple said they didn’t know Dr Haines “from a bar of soap” before the incident, but they were awed by the former nurse and midwife’s warmth as she conversed with them until further help arrived.

Read the full story HERE.

— with AAP

Liberal MP Angie Bell has apologised for comments she made about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and small business minister Anne Aly, where she said the two should be “stoned in the square” over the ATO’s ban on credit card payments.

Ms Bell, who represents the Queensland division of Moncrieff, was ordered to withdraw her comments which she made during Question Time on October 13, during the opposition’s campaign against the ban on credit card usage on tax bills.

Following Monday’s alleged attack on Helen Haines, Ms Bell released an apology statement on Wednesday, saying her thoughts were “first and foremost with my friend Helen Haines and her family”.

“This is a shocking attack on an outstanding MP who works diligently for her community,” she said.

“My regrettable comment last week was a poor choice of words in the context of the challenges facing small businesses. It was not helpful or planned, which is why I immediately withdrew it and attempted to rectify this with Dr Aly.

“While the motive for this horrific attack on Helen is not yet clear, there is absolutely no place for political violence in Australia. Australians must be free to disagree passionately, but there is no justification for threats or violence.

“The growing threats against MPs, both online and in person, are deeply concerning. No Australian should face violence simply for doing their job.”

Late on Monday afternoon as the horrific details of the attack on Helen Haines were filtering through, Federal politicians from all sides of Parliament were exchanging messages of shock and despair in private chat groups.

Their overwhelming feelings of dismay quickly turned to discussion about what could possibly have prompted such a violent act against one of their most beloved fellow MPs who was respected by all who worked with her.

Senior figures from the Government and opposition moved to assure their more junior colleagues that support would be available as they struggled to come to terms with the devastating attack against their fellow parliamentarian and fears for their own safety.

For many MPs the horrific incident outside the Member for Indi’s electorate office in the Victorian town of Wangaratta was an inevitable moment they had been dreading for years.

Ever since the tough and prolonged lockdowns experienced during the COVID pandemic, Federal politicians have publicly and privately expressed concerns over a darkening mood in sections of the electorate and the growing dangers faced in their job.

Read the full analysis here.

The former teacher of Brendan Nugent, the man accused of attacking Indi MP Helen Haines with his car, has described him as a “good kid” who had suffered with long-term mental health issues.

The woman, known only as Jacquie, said she had attended Mr Nugent’s appearance in a Wangaratta court in support of her former pupil.

“I just wanted to make contact as a human towards another human who’s possibly been marginalised for a very long time because of his mental health issues,” she said.

“(He is) someone who’s been reaching out for help for a long time.”

Jacquie said she had previously campaigned for Ms Haines, and described the situation as “disastrous”.

“I felt sick to the core for both people involved and all their families,” she said.

The teacher revealed she had previously “tried to support” Mr Nugent during his “mental health journey” after the two reconnected.

“It was supporting him to be normal. . To be able to go out and interact in the normal world,” she said.

“He was quite confused about being in an institution here and needed support and I felt that I could do that.”