Australian MP Helen Haines now serious but stable after alleged car attack, hospital says

Independent Australian MP Helen Haines is in a serious but stable condition at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital, improving from critical five days after she was struck by a car outside her electorate office, ABC News reported (ABC News).

“The patient is in a serious but stable condition at The Alfred on Saturday morning,” a hospital spokesperson said, according to ABC News and SBS. Haines, 65, who represents the rural Victorian seat of Indi, was struck by a white Toyota LandCruiser outside her office on Murphy Street in Wangaratta on Monday, 19 October; Victoria Police allege the collision was targeted.

Her husband, Phil Haines, said on Wednesday that surgeons had amputated both her legs, but that “both her heart and her mind are in good shape”. Brendan Nugent, 43, of nearby Tarrawingee, has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official, and appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday without entering a plea or applying for bail; a committal mention is scheduled for 4 February 2027 (EconoTimes).

Prime minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday it was clear the incident was aimed at causing harm to Haines. Police have said they believe the alleged attack was an isolated incident, and the motive remains unknown.

Sources

• ABC News, via Scoop: https://scoopfeeds.com/article/57336350-77fd-5754-bf82-df8db8d1c954
• EconoTimes: https://econotimes.com/Australian-MP-Helen-Haines-Improves-to-Serious-but-Stable-Condition-1762235
• Newswav: https://newswav.com/article/australian-mp-helen-haines-no-longer-in-critical-condition-after-alleged-at-A2610_4C4XIo