Australian MP has leg amputated after alleged attack outside electoral office

An Australian MP who was allegedly attacked outside her electoral office has had her leg amputated and remains in a critical but stable condition.

Helen Haines, an independent lawmaker for the Victorian seat of Indi, was hit by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV while she was getting things out of the boot of her car in Wangaratta, Victoria, around 3.30pm on Monday.

A man, 43, was detained at the scene and remains in custody, with Australian Federal Police, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and Victorian Police investigating. No charges have been laid.

He has been named locally as Brendan Nugent, from nearby Tarrawingee, ITV News’ Australian partner 7NEWS reports. Police searched his property on Tuesday, the news service said.

Nugent’s father Rod Nugent described Haines as a “deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community” and said he and his partner were assisting Victoria Police in any way they could.

A woman delivers flowers outside Haines’ electoral office / Credit: AP

“Helen has been our friend for more than 20 years and what happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable. All of our love and all of our thoughts are with Helen and her family and friends,” they said in a statement.

“We would like to sincerely thank members of the local community and police who came to Helen’s aid yesterday after the shocking and horrific (alleged) crime. We will be assisting Victoria Police in any way we can.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday the incident “wasn’t an accident” and had been “a deliberate act”.

He said he had phoned a barber who ran from his store to help Haines and detain the suspect following the alleged attack.

Ricky Jefferies, a father-of-three who owns the barber shop next door to Haines’ electorate office, told reporters he had searched the driver’s pockets and removed a knife.

“I don’t think that I’m a hero; I think that I just was a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish sort of way,” he told the Channel 7 breakfast show, Sunrise.

“My family are everything, and my community is second to that and I was just trying to not get injured and not let anyone else be injured.”

He said Haines was a “genuine member of the community” who “shops here, gets a coffee here, pops her head in” in Wangaratta.

Albanese said Jefferies’ actions were a reminder that “at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character”.

Haines’s family also released a statement expressing thanks for the “swift assistance of bystanders” as well as health workers and police.

The incident has shocked Australians, as political violence is rare in the country and politicians are largely accessible to the public.

But recent data has shown that threats of political violence have grown, and the head of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation spy agency said on Tuesday politically motivated violence was a top security concern.

Police reported in 2025 that threats against parliamentarians had doubled over the past three years, with official data showing more than 1,000 such incidents against politicians in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the incident appeared to be isolated. Possible charges in the case could include harming a federal official, which carries a maximum of 10 years in prison, she said.