New Delhi, Oct 19: Australian independent MP Helen Haines has suffered critical injuries after being hit by a car near her regional office in Wangaratta, Victoria, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as a possible “deliberate act”, the BBC reported. Police said Haines was taken to hospital with critical injuries and an investigation was underway to establish whether the incident was intentional.
A 43-year-old man from nearby Tarrawingee was arrested at the scene after being detained by a passer-by. He was driving a white Toyota Land Cruiser, and a knife was reportedly found inside the vehicle. The motive behind the incident remains unclear.
Albanese said counter-terrorism police would examine the suspect’s background to establish the motive. “This wasn’t an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), expressing hope for positive news about Haines’s condition. “There is no place for violence in a democracy,” the Prime Minister said, urging people to lower the temperature of political discourse.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said reports of threatening or harassing behaviour towards Australian politicians had risen from 951 to 1,067 over the past year. Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the incident as a “shocking and deeply disturbing attack” and expressed support for Haines, her family and her colleagues, BBC reported
Haines, 65, represents the Indi constituency in Victoria and was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives in 2019. A former nurse, midwife and public health researcher, she was re-elected in 2022 and 2025.
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