Independent MP for Indi Helen Haines lost both legs after the Helen Haines attack near her electorate office in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon. She was in a stable condition two days later, after surgeons tried on Tuesday to save her right leg.
Phil Haines said his wife survived a “horrendous incident” and faces a long recovery. Speaking at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital on Wednesday, he said, “The good news in all this is Helen is alive and she’s stable.”
Phil Haines at Alfred hospital
He said the family was focused on what comes after the surgery and the amputations. “That is the most important thing for our family. And I think when we reflect and talk about and think about Helen, the two most important parts of Helen for us as a family are her heart and her mind,” he said.
Haines described her as a “determined person” and said, “Her heart is huge. She is a very compassionate, caring, loving person. Incredibly supportive of all around her, her family, her community, anybody she comes across. And her mind. She has the sharpest intellect.” He also said, “We are grateful at this stage that both her heart and her mind are in good shape.”
Brendan Nugent in court
Police allege Monday’s attack was targeted, but they have not explained the alleged motive. Brendan Nugent was charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official, and he faced Wangaratta magistrates court on Wednesday.
Sam Mostyn praised Haines’s work as a local representative and said, “Now this violent attack on a much loved and respected sitting member of our federal parliament must be a moment for us to pause and to choose to be better.” Haines asked for donations to Save the Children as a sign of support during her recovery, while Phil Haines said he and his wife have been married for nearly 40 years and have three children and two grandchildren.
The case now moves through the court process with the charge sheet already set, and the unanswered question is the one police have not filled in: what drove the alleged attack on Haines.
