Victoria Police charged a 43-year-old man Tuesday after a vehicle struck independent Australian lawmaker Helen Haines outside her office in Victoria, in a collision police allege was targeted.
Police said Haines, 65, remained in critical but stable condition on Oct. 20. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that she had lost one leg and that surgeons were trying to save the other.
The man faces charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation identified him as Brendan Nugent.
Police said a white Toyota Landcruiser struck Haines on Murphy Street in Wangaratta at 12:35 a.m. ET (3:35 p.m. AEDT) on Oct. 19. A bystander restrained the driver, and officers found a knife inside the vehicle.
Haines has represented the electorate of Indi in Australia’s federal Parliament as an independent since 2019. She won re-election in 2022 and 2025. Before entering politics, she worked as a nurse, midwife and rural health researcher.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said a joint counterterrorism team had been activated, but the motive was unknown. He said the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation were working together.
The man is scheduled to appear in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Oct. 21.
