Australian independent MP Helen Haines is in a critical condition in\nhospital after being brutally struck by a car outside her electorate\noffice. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes the shocking incident\nwas deliberate.<\/p>\n
The incident, which is being investigated with the involvement of\ncounter-terrorism police, took place in Wangaratta, north-east of\nMelbourne, on Monday afternoon local time, the BBC reported on Tuesday\n(20 October 2026.<\/p>\n
At 3.35pm local time, Haines was hit by a white Toyota Land Cruiser\ndirectly outside her office on Murphy Street, in a town of around 30,000\npeople. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the driver was suspected\nof reversing the vehicle and hitting her a second time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat witnesses have described is the driver turning around to pull\ninto a parking space and hitting Helen into a vehicle, then reversing\nand doing it a second time,\u201d Burke said.<\/p>\n
Local barber Ricky Jefferies said he heard a major commotion and ran\ntowards the car. Along with local residents who intervened to stop the\nsuspect, he managed to take a knife from the driver.<\/p>\n
Haines was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital for emergency surgery.\nLocal media reported that the politician had lost one of her legs, while\nsurgeons were still fighting to save the other.<\/p>\n
Victoria Police arrested the driver, a 43-year-old man from nearby\nTarrawingee. Local media identified the suspect as Brendan Nugent, who\nis known for campaigning on environmental issues and speaking out\nagainst illegal logging.<\/p>\n
He was detained by passers-by at the scene before officers took him\ninto custody, along with a knife as evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, this was a deliberate act,\u201d Albanese said. \u201cThis was not an\naccident.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police are continuing to investigate the motive and establish whether\nthe suspect and Haines knew one another.<\/p>\n
Helen Haines is a 65-year-old independent politician representing the\nDivision of Indi in south-east Victoria. Raised on a dairy farm with\nfour brothers, she spent most of her life working as a nurse and\nmidwife. She became head of Chiltern Bush Nursing Hospital at the age of\n26, before earning a master\u2019s degree in public health and a PhD in\nmedical science.<\/p>\n
Now living on a small cattle farm, Haines was first elected to\nAustralia\u2019s House of Representatives in 2019. She retained her seat at\nthe 2022 and 2025 elections.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mp-critically-injured-after-attack-deliberately-hit-twice-1792507828", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }