Family friend charged after MP struck twice by car in Victoria

A 43-year-old man has been charged after the Australian MP Helen Haines was hit by a car in Victoria on Monday, an attack police will allege was targeted.

The suspect is due to appear in court on Wednesday, facing charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the federal offence of causing harm to a public official. Local media had earlier named the alleged attacker as Brendan Nugent, an environmental activist. His father and his partner said they had been friends with Haines "for more than 20 years", and thanked residents and officers who helped her after what they called a "shocking and horrific crime".

Haines, 65, the independent member for Indi, remains in a critical but stable condition after surgery at a Melbourne hospital. She is reported to have lost one of her legs. "Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community," Rod Nugent and his partner Christine Cunningham said in a statement. "All of our love and all of our thoughts are with Helen and her family and friends." They promised to assist Victoria Police in any way they could.

Bystanders rushed to help after the suspect allegedly struck her twice outside her office in Wangaratta. According to the home affairs minister, speaking to the national broadcaster ABC, the driver did a U-turn to get into position before hitting her, then reversed and struck her again. She was pinned between two cars and later lost a leg; the ABC reports that doctors are fighting to save the other.

A local barber described pulling the suspect from his car and taking a knife from him. "I just wasn't comfortable with his movements so I took it out of his pocket and threw it away," Ricky Jefferies told reporters. "I don't think I'm a hero. I think that I was just a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish way." Others who helped, he said, "didn't even check for danger". He added: "The car was still on and they sat in front of a rolling car, that's not an exaggeration."

Victoria Police said a highway patrol unit was nearby when the incident occurred and was on scene within eight seconds of the call. As officers announced the charges, they confirmed they had searched a property in Tarrawingee, around 12km from Wangaratta. "At this stage it appears this is an isolated incident, and there are currently no other known threats connected to this matter," they said, adding that officers would maintain a presence in the town.

Haines won Indi as an independent in 2019 and has since become a prominent member of the crossbench, building rapport across Australia's increasingly divided political spectrum. The community, and the country, remain in shock. At a vigil on Tuesday, locals queued patiently in the aisle of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, waiting for their turn to light a candle. Priests hugged some of those who came to pay their respects. Wangaratta's main street, where Haines's office is located, had reopened to traffic, with cars slowly filing past the growing number of bouquets left for her on the pavement. One card read: "May you recover quickly and continue to be a light in this world."