Driver charged after Australian politician struck by car outside office

Police have charged a driver with intentionally causing serious injury to an Australian federal lawmaker who is in a critical condition after being struck by a car in an apparent escalation in political violence that has shocked the nation.

Helen Haines, a 65-year-old independent politician, is in hospital in a critical but stable condition after being struck by a car outside her office in the city of Wangaratta, in Victoria state, on Monday in what police alleged was a “targeted” incident.

Brendan Nugent, from nearby Tarrawingee, was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury and causing harm to a federal official, police said in a statement on Tuesday.

Nugent has been in police custody since shortly after Ms Haines was injured and a crowd of bystanders subdued him. He will appear in a Wangaratta court on Wednesday, when he could potentially be released on bail.

His father, Rod Nugent, released a statement on Tuesday describing Ms Haines as a “deeply-respected, valued and much-loved member of our local community”.

“Helen has been our friend for more than 20 years and what happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable,” the father said, adding that he would co-operate with police.

The incident shocked Australians as political violence is rare and politicians have always been accessible to the public.

Most lawmakers are not accompanied by security officers and go about their work and personal lives on their own.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he phoned local barber Ricky Jefferies, who had run from his store to help members of the public detain the suspect, to thank him on Tuesday for intervening.

“It’s a reminder that at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character,” Mr Albanese said in Melbourne.

Mr Jefferies earlier told reporters that he searched the driver’s pockets and removed a knife. Police confirmed a knife had been found. Mr Jefferies also said he did not consider himself a hero.

“It was crazy,” he said. “A lot of people got involved immediately and they didn’t even check for danger. They just ran to help.”

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

Ms Haines, who was first elected to Parliament in 2019 and had been re-elected twice since, was initially taken to a hospital in Wangaratta, a city of 30,000 people.

She was airlifted later on Monday to a hospital in the state capital Melbourne, 147 miles away.

The Alfred Hospital did not respond on Tuesday to a request for comment on media reports that Haines had had a leg amputated.

Mike Burgess, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation spy agency, on Tuesday reiterated an earlier warning that politically-motivated violence was a top security concern, along with espionage and foreign interference.

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

Mother-of-three Ms Haines was a nurse, midwife and academic before entering politics, and advocated for rural health matters.

She was initially elected in 2019 with a campaign focused on health equity, rural prosperity and climate action.

Mr Albanese said eyewitnesses had reported the suspect passed Ms Haines in his SUV as she stood by the trunk of her parked car.

The SUV then turned and came back before the driver allegedly drove into the politician, the prime minister said.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp that the driver allegedly reversed and struck Ms Haines a second time, pinning her against her car, after initially hitting her.

One of the bystanders who came to Ms Haines’s assistance, Cody Lepoidevin, told reporters he thought he was witnessing a hit-and-run when the SUV backed away after she was first struck.

But instead of fleeing the scene, Mr Lepoidevin said the driver “then reversed and drove back into her”.