{"id":2207958,"date":"2026-10-19T11:59:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2207958"},"modified":"2026-10-19T11:59:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T08:59:26","slug":"what-we-know-about-apparent-attack-on-australian-mp-hit-by-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2207958","title":{"rendered":"What we know about apparent attack on Australian MP hit by car"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/3997\/live\/05ab1e70-cbac-11f1-a64c-550be9e3c66b.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Shock and disbelief: How the attack on an Australian MP unfolded in a small rural town<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Australian independent MP Helen Haines is in hospital in a critical condition after she was struck by a car outside her electorate office in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said appears to have been “a deliberate act”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The incident in Wangaratta, north-east of Melbourne, happened on Monday afternoon local time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Albanese said counter-terrorism police are involved in the investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What happened? <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Haines was struck by a White Toyota Landcruiser outside her electorate office on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The driver allegedly reversed to run into her a second time, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“What witnesses have described is the driver doing a U-turn to get into the car park and to ram Helen against a vehicle, then to reverse and do it a second time,” Burke told national broadcaster ABC on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A local barber Ricky Jefferies said he heard a loud commotion and ran towards the car, telling reporters on Tuesday that took a knife off the driver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He said that multiple people “got involved immediately” to stop the alleged attacker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Haines was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital where she underwent surgery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She has lost one of her legs, according to local media. National broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation report that surgeons are working to save her other leg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Who is the suspect?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Victoria Police arrested the driver of the car, a 43-year-old man from the nearby town of Tarrawingee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Local media reports have named the suspect as Brendan Nugent. Police have not confirmed the name of the man arrested.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Few details have been shared about Nugent, although he reportedly campaigned widely on environmental issues, including advocating against logging.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He was was detained at the scene by a passer-by before being taken into custody by officers, police said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A knife was also seized, according to officers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Victoria Police said it was unknown whether the suspect and Haines knew each other and its investigation remains ongoing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On Tuesday morning Albanese said the suspect drove past Haines and did a U-turn “in order to get back” to where she was before hitting her with the car.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s clear this was a deliberate act,” he told the ABC, adding it was not an “accident”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The motive for the attack is not clear, he said, and police are continuing their investigations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Who is Helen Haines?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Haines is a 65-year-old Independent MP for the Indi division in Victoria, south-eastern Australia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She grew up in the south west of Victoria on a dairy farm with four brothers before training as a nurse and a midwife.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She became the matron of the Chiltern Bush Nursing Hospital in Victoria when she was 26, before later completing a master’s degree in public health and a PhD in Medical Science while raising her three children and working, according to her website. She lives with her family on a small cattle farm outside Wangaratta.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The MP was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 2019 and was re-elected in 2022 and 2025.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where did the incident happen?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Map<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Haines’s family said the incident happened outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, a city of about 30,000 people, a few hours north-east of Melbourne in the state of Victoria.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Police said she was hit outside an office on Murphy Street at about 15:35 local time (05:35 BST).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What level of threat is there to Australia’s politicians?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Albanese appeared close to tears during a live television interview on ABC’s 7.30 programme when he was asked if Australian politicians talk among themselves about the threats and risks they face.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Yes,” he replied, adding: “My concern at this point in time is for one of my colleagues.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He later described how there had been a “rise in temperature” and “too much shouting, not enough discourse” in Australia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Speaking in a news conference, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said there had been an increase in reports of harassing and threatening behaviour towards lawmakers in the 2025-26 financial year, compared with 951 for the previous year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What has the reaction been?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Paying tribute to Haines during a news conference, Albanese described her as “incredibly hard-working”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“She is fiercely intelligent but most importantly she is just a thoroughly decent human being full of integrity and respected right across the Parliament and from everyone who comes into contact with her”, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He said the attack will come as an “incredible shock” to her community.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the incident as a “shocking and deeply disturbing attack”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Premier of Victoria Ben Carroll said he was “deeply appalled” by the “violent attack”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, Australia’s opposition leader Angus Taylor said he was “deeply saddened and distressed” by the attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is a shocking day for our nation,” he said. “No-one should be targeted in this way.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But MPs from a range of political backgrounds have also described feeling deeply concerned about their safety in recent times: wearing disguises in public, locking their office doors, and scanning every crowd for potential threats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cm5ynk1g88kwo”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/3997\/live\/05ab1e70-cbac-11f1-a64c-550be9e3c66b.jpg”] Shock and disbelief: How the attack on an Australian MP unfolded in a small rural town Australian independent MP Helen Haines is in hospital in a critical condition after she was struck by a car outside her electorate office in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said appears to have been “a deliberate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2207958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2207958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2207958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2207958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2207958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2207958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}