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Victoria Police reported that Helen Haines, the independent member for Indi, was struck by a white Toyota Landcruiser outside her office on Murphy Street in Wangaratta at approximately 3:35pm local time on Monday. A 43-year-old man from the nearby town of Tarrawingee was arrested at the scene after a passer-by detained him as he exited the vehicle, according to acting superintendent Ashley Mason. Officers seized a knife from inside the Toyota during their initial response, with the force stating it was investigating whether the collision was an intentional act and whether the parties knew each other. Haines, aged 65, was airlifted to a Melbourne hospital where she remains in critical condition.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters that counter-terrorism police had joined the investigation, characterising the event as a deliberate act. “This wasn’t an accident – there was a deliberate act, it would appear,” Albanese said, while stressing there is no place for violence in a democracy. The prime minister added that the incident occurred against a backdrop in which the temperature of political discourse had increased in recent times. Opposition figures joined Albanese in condemning the attack, describing it as a shocking development for the nation.
Haines was first elected to federal parliament in 2019 as an independent representing the rural Victorian seat of Indi and was re-elected in both 2022 and 2025. She previously worked as a nurse and midwife before entering politics and has been prominent in anti-corruption advocacy. Her family issued a statement thanking bystanders, medical staff and police for their rapid response to the incident. Police have not yet determined a motive or confirmed any prior connection between Haines and the arrested man.
Warning signs over threats to Australian politicians were rising before MP hit by car, with Australian Federal Police figures reported by ABC News showing 951 referrals of threatening, harassing and offensive communications to parliamentarians in the 2024-25 financial year. That total represented a 63 per cent increase over the preceding four years, according to AFP acting assistant commissioner Matthew Gale. A separate 2025 survey of federal politicians and their staff found that 85 per cent had dealt with constituents behaving in a violent, threatening or volatile manner. The Guardian reported that such threats had almost doubled between 2021-22 and 2024-25.
The Sydney Morning Herald detailed how the surge has included charges against individuals linked to neo-Nazi groups, including cases involving independent senator Lidia Thorpe and MP Allegra Spender in late 2025. AFP data cited by the Brisbane Times placed the number of threats during the May 2025 federal election 17 per cent higher than in 2022, with many involving personal or social media messages. The Mandarin reported that referrals climbed further to 1,067 in the most recent period, a 12 per cent rise on the prior year. These statistics have prompted repeated calls for enhanced protection resources for elected officials and their staff.
A University of Melbourne study from 2021, referenced in ABC reporting, found that two in three Victorian MPs had experienced harassment and threats, with most altering their routines as a result. The Australian Signals Directorate’s annual cyber threat report for 2024-25 highlighted how state-sponsored actors and online extremists increasingly target political figures through digital means. AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw told Senate estimates earlier in 2025 that female politicians in particular faced troubling patterns of sexual violence in the threats received. Authorities continue to assess individual reports while emphasising that any threat of harm to a parliamentarian constitutes a criminal offence.
