WANGARATTA, Australia — Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines was in critical condition on Monday after being struck by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a deliberate act, CBC News, NPR and Al Jazeera reported.
“This wasn’t an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear. We don’t know what the motivation is,” Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Haines, 65, was airlifted to hospital, he said.
Police said a Toyota Land Cruiser struck Haines outside her office in the regional city, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of Melbourne. Bystanders detained the 43-year-old driver and handed him over to police, who found a knife in the vehicle, Victoria Police acting Superintendent Ashley Mason said, as Al Jazeera reported. Police said there was no further threat to the public.
Albanese said the motive was not yet known and that the national counterterrorism team, which brings together police and intelligence agencies, was investigating, NPR reported.
Haines has represented the rural Victorian seat of Indi since 2019, after three decades in rural health care as a nurse, midwife and academic. In Parliament she has championed climate action and regional housing and worked with the Labor government to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission, CBC News reported. Albanese called her “a thoroughly decent, respectful human being.”
Her family thanked “the swift assistance of bystanders and the dedicated health workers who assisted her, and police for their response” in a statement posted on her Facebook page.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called it a “shocking day” for Australia. “Our nation cannot become a place where violent attacks are normalized,” he said. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said police recorded more than 1,000 threats against politicians in the 2025-26 financial year, and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said in 2025 that threats against parliamentarians had doubled over three years.
Albanese said there had been “too much shouting, not enough discourse,” adding that there was “no question” social media played a part.
Sources: CBC News, NPR, Al Jazeera
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