Story perspectives

Man charged after vehicle attack on MP Helen Haines

By Drooid · Oct 22, 2026, 4:02 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Helen Haines Struck

Independent MP Helen Haines was struck by a vehicle outside her Wangaratta office, losing a leg.
Police arrested 43-year-old Brendan Nugent.
He is charged with harming a Commonwealth official and with dangerous driving.
The incident is the most serious political violence in Australia since MP John Newman's 1994 murder.
Threat reports against parliamentarians rose fourfold since 2020, reaching 1,067 in 2025-26.

Summary

Brendan Nugent Detained

Brendan Nugent will remain in custody for at least 100 days pending a committal hearing on 4 February.
Police added cannabis cultivation and possession charges to Nugent’s dangerous-driving and assault offences.
The magistrate denied Nugent bail, despite his lawyer citing a concussion and idiopathic transverse myelitis.
More than $300,000 was raised for Save the Children after Phil Haines urged donors to forgo flowers.

History

Historical Context

The 1994 shooting of NSW MP John Newman—who had campaigned against Asian organised crime and was killed on 5 September—triggered a police task force that later secured the conviction of businessman Phuong Ngo. A 2025-26 rise to 1,067 threat reports, highlighted by a vehicle attack on independent MP Helen Haines, echoes the vulnerability exposed by Newman’s murder and fuels calls for stronger parliamentary security.

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Helen Haines Struck

Independent MP Helen Haines was struck by a vehicle outside her Wangaratta office, losing a leg.
Police arrested 43-year-old Brendan Nugent.
He is charged with harming a Commonwealth official and with dangerous driving.
The incident is the most serious political violence in Australia since MP John Newman's 1994 murder.
Threat reports against parliamentarians rose fourfold since 2020, reaching 1,067 in 2025-26.

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