Australiaupdated 1h ago3 min read
Brendan Nugent Charged With Targeted Ramming Attack On Helen Haines In Wangaratta
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Brendan Nugent, 43, charged with offences in targeted vehicle attack on Helen Haines. Haines critically injured; leg amputated, hospitalised after vehicle attack.
Haines rammed in Wangaratta
Brendan Nugent, a 43-year-old man from nearby Tarrawingee, was charged over an alleged “targeted” ramming attack that left independent federal MP Helen Haines fighting for her life after she was rammed by a car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria’s northeast. Victoria Police said Haines, 65, was struck by a Toyota LandCruiser while standing at the rear of a parked car on Murphy St in Wangaratta just after 3.30pm on Monday, and police said a highway patrol unit was on-scene within eight seconds of the call. The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne treated Haines after she was flown from Wangaratta with serious leg and lower body injuries, and 7NEWS said health officials reported she had lost a leg and remained critical.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “this wasn’t an accident” and added that “we’ll allow the police to do their investigation,” as Australian Federal Police, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and Victorian Police investigated and the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team was activated. ABC News reported that surgeons at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital were fighting to save the other leg after Haines was hit by a vehicle outside her constituency office in Wangaratta.
U-turn, knife, and custody
Tony Burke told ABC on Tuesday that witnesses described the driver doing a U-turn to ram Helen against a vehicle, then to reverse and do it a second time, after which a bystander intervened. Victoria Police said a knife was found in the car, and ABC News reported that a 43-year-old man, Brendan Nugent, was charged after being detained at the scene by a bystander. Ricky Jefferies, a local barber who rushed to the scene, told reporters he searched the driver’s pockets and removed a knife, and Jefferies said, “It was crazy.”
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said authorities believed the incident was “isolated” and that there were no other known threats connected to the matter, while ABC News said Haines was in Melbourne’s The Alfred hospital with critical lower body injuries. Albanese said “there is no place for violence in a democracy,” and he also urged Australians to allow the police process to proceed rather than speculate on motive.
Court date and wider stakes
Brendan Nugent was detained and remained in custody ahead of Wednesday’s court appearance in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court, where he was set to face charges including dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a public official. Victoria Police said at this stage it appears the incident was isolated, and the investigation involved Victoria Police leading a joint effort with federal police and Australia’s spy agency, ASIO. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said 1,067 reports of harassing or threatening behaviour against high office holders were reported in the last financial year, an increase from 951 the year before, as leaders called for a calming of political rhetoric.
Mike Burgess said “elevated levels of grievance, intolerance and polarization continue to create a permissive environment of violence,” and the Guardian reported that Albanese had urged Australians to turn down the temperature. The attack left Haines’s electorate and family in shock, and the sources said Haines’s family thanked bystanders, health workers and police for their response as the investigation remained ongoing.