Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed independent MP Helen Haines is continuing to fight for her life following an alleged attack out the front of her electoral office in Wangaratta.
Haines was critically injured after being struck by a Toyota Landcruiser on Murphy St in Wangaratta, 250km northeast of Melbourne, about 3.30pm on Monday.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Albanese calls for civility after alleged attack on MP
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The MP was pinned between the car and her own vehicle, sustaining serious leg and lower body injuries.
She was taken to the Wangaratta District Base Hospital where she was airlifted to Melbourne.
The alleged driver, a 43-year-old male from a nearby town, was detained by hero local barber Ricky Jefferies and later arrested by police.
Albanese told Sunrise on Tuesday Haines remains in a critical condition after undergoing surgery overnight.
“All of Australians’ thoughts are with the family, with her many friends, with her community,” he said.
“Helen Haines is someone of integrity. She’s greatly admired right across the political spectrum. She’s someone who’s characterised by her kindness, her diligence, her intelligence; someone who is so proud of representing that beautiful part of Victoria.
“This is a tragic situation and our thoughts are with her this morning and today, and we hope for a full recovery.”
‘Wasn’t an accident’
Albanese has confirmed the suspect is in custody with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and Victorian Police investigating.
The Joint Counter-Terrorism Team has also been activated to probe the “serious incident”.
“We’ll allow the police to do their investigation. It’s important here that people allow that process to take place, that we deal with facts rather than speculation,” he said.
“At this stage, it’s not clear what the motivation of this attack was.”
Albanese noted that while the motivation of the attack may not be clear it is “clear this was not an accident”.
“This was an attempt to harm Helen Haines in Wangaratta, outside of her electorate office. Helen was getting things from the boot of her car when this incident occurred,” he said.
“The police will, no doubt, continue to interview the suspect in this case and will come to a determination.
“We have made as much public as possible in a very short period of time.
“But at this stage, of course, our thoughts are not so much with the suspect. Our thoughts are with Helen Haines this morning.”
A ‘beautiful person’
Former Wangaratta Mayor Dean Rees told Sunrise Haines is a “great lady” and has been a great support to her community since she won her seat in 2019.
“Her publicity has grown over that time because of a great personable nature,” he explained.
Rees, who is a close friend of Haines described her as a “beautiful person”.
“This is a tragic incident that’s happened to one of our locals and could change the face of politics around Australia,” he said.
“But we’re more interested to make sure that she’s okay and her family’s looked after at this time.”
Victorian independent MP Helen Haines is in critical condition after being struck multiple times by a Toyota Land Cruiser outside her electorate office in Wangaratta.
Rees said the region is not overly heated in a political sense, describing Haines as a “great calmer” of people.
“Her personality just made the whole environment calmer. She was approachable. You could talk to her. I had her on speed dial on the phone,” he said.
“She’d always return my call whether I’m in the political game or not. She’s just that type of person.
“She’s a local here to Wangaratta. She only lives around the corner from her office. So she just made things a calmer place to be he.”
A community in shock
Rees said the Indi electorate, which covers 29,188sqkm, was in shock when news of the incident broke.
“You have to bear in mind the Indi electorate is a massive electorate, going up to Wodonga and Myrtleford Bright, all those areas around across to Yarrawonga,” he said.
“The whole community, the amount of messages and things you’re seeing on Facebook, is just a great show of how respected she was amongst her hundred-odd thousand constituents.
“With an election in another couple of years, if she stays on, she’s certainly the person to win it because she’s so highly respected here.”
Albanese calls for ‘respectful’ political debate
Albanese has called on politicians, the media and the public to lower the temperature of political discourse, saying disagreements must not come at the expense of respect.
“We start by having respectful debate. And all of us are responsible for that, whether we’re politicians, whether we’re the media, whether we’re citizens, in just being able to discuss things in a civil way,” he said.
“We can have disagreements in a democracy, but you can have disagreements without questioning people’s motives or their patriotism.”
“I think that we all love this country, Australia, and we have a great democracy and we have a great deal of pride as well that, unlike in some parts of the world, the truth is that members and senators can get about their community, can go to big events without any security and do so.
“I find that even as prime minister going to the shops and getting food for the dog or what have you, supplies, enables you to just talk with people, whether it’s there or at the footy or out and about at community events.
“It’s really important that we don’t lose that. That’s a cherished part of our democracy. It’s the way in which people can engage as citizens with their representatives.
“Helen Haines was one of the best at that. She’s someone who is deeply embedded in her community there in the northern part of Victoria. And she’s someone who was widely respected in that community, which is why she received such strong support at the ballot box.”
“Helen Haines is very much loved and respected. And this will be a community that are hurting this morning and that are shocked and that are praying for a speedy recovery for Helen.”
The PM said all Australians had a responsibility to engage in civil debate, warning against allowing threatening behaviour to become normalised.
“We need to not normalise this activity,” he said.
“What we need to do is to make sure that the normal interaction that occurs is one that is respectful.
“As I say, agreeing to disagree is a part of a democracy. And we don’t want people to not engage in political discourse because politics affects people’s lives.
“We want to encourage people to participate and to have their say and to do so in a way, though, that doesn’t create tension and in a way that is respectful.”
His comments come amid reports of 1067 instances of threatening and harassing behaviour against federal MPs and senior office holders.
Albanese said the government continued to act on advice from security agencies, including the AFP, but stressed the importance of preserving the ability of elected representatives to interact with their communities.
“I never want to lose the opportunity for people to mix with their representatives,” he said.
“That’s a really important part of our democracy.”
Albanese said politics affected people’s lives and Australians should be encouraged to participate in political debate, provided it was conducted respectfully.
