Who is Helen Haines? Australian MP in critical condition after car attack
Por James C. Reynolds and Alasdair Pal — – World RSS Feed
Who is Helen Haines? Australian MP in critical condition after car attack
Police said a 43-year-old suspect had been arrested following the incident in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne
James C. Reynolds & Alasdair Pal Monday 19 October 2026 15:22 BST
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Australian lawmaker Helen Haines was left in a critical condition on Monday after being deliberately struck by a car outside her office, with police arresting a 43-year-old male suspect at the scene.
The Independent MP for Indi, a rural electorate north of Melbourne, was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a 4×4 vehicle.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese told a news conference it was too early to determine the motive for the attack, but later pointed to how social media had raised the temperature of politics in a country where such violence is extremely rare.
Dr Haines, a 65-year-old former nurse and midwife, has served as an MP since 2019, when she became the first independent to succeed another independent in the same seat in Australia’s parliament. She was re-elected in 2022 and again in 2025.
open image in galleryWhat happened to Helen Haines?
Dr Haines was struck by a white Toyota Land Cruiser as it drove along Murphy Street in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon, according to Victoria Police.
The mother-of-three was said to have been unloading the boot of her car in a parking bay when she was hit, according to 7News. She was then airlifted to hospital and remained in a critical condition, police said.
A 43-year-old suspect from Tarrawingee, a town in northeastern Victoria, was arrested at the scene by a passer-by. A knife was found inside the Toyota 4×4, police said, adding that there was no further threat to the public.
Police said they were treating the incident as a targeted attack, though a motive has not been established.
Dr Haines’ family posted on her Facebook page, saying: “We thank the swift assistance of bystanders and the dedicated health workers who assisted her, and police for their response.”
open image in galleryWho is Helen Haines?
Dr Haines worked in nursing and midwifery and as an academic before being elected to parliament as an independent in 2019 in the seat of Indi.
Her website says she has opposed proposals including making political donations to the major parties more secretive, banning mobile phones in immigration detention and spending billions on fossil fuel subsidies.
She grew up with four brothers on a dairy farm near Colac in Victoria’s South-West, according to a biography on her website, and now lives with her husband on a small working farm.
Dr Haines spent three decades working in rural healthcare, completing a doctoral thesis at Sweden’s Uppsala University on childbirth.
In her first speech to parliament, she spoke of the “privilege” to have been able to care for people “as they take their first breath of life and as they take their last”.
open image in gallery“Midwives are the hand that guides the hand that rocks the cradle that rules the world,” she said, laying out the challenges in access to healthcare for many Australians, and the constraints especially squeezing those in rural areas.
She turned to politics in 2019 as part of a community movement in Indi, traditionally a conservative stronghold, called “Voices for Indi”. Three years later, she held her seat with a significantly larger margin of 8.9 per cent.
In parliament, she has championed causes including climate change, regional housing and worked with the ruling Labor government to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission.
“As an Independent I work in partnership with the community, councils, small business and local industry – to figure out what we need and how to make it happen,” she wrote on her website.
“Together, we’ve achieved a lot; a record number of mobile phone towers, funding for major projects, recovery from natural disasters, and more housing infrastructure.
open image in gallery“We’ve pushed to improve integrity, for better support for regional Australia and against funding cuts to essential services.”
“She’s someone who is very passionate about her community,” Albanese told public broadcaster ABC. “She’s someone who’s not shy about coming forward about what she thinks that community needs, but she’s also someone who plays a role in the parliament.”
“She’s just a thoroughly decent, respectful human being who is a delight to work with, and her presence in the Parliament adds to it.”
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MelbourneAnthony AlbaneseVictoriaAustralia
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