Australia: MP victim of attack loses both legs

Australian MP Helen Haines had both legs amputated after being deliberately struck by a vehicle, her husband announced Wednesday, adding that he was "truly overwhelmed by the support" received since the attack.

The 65-year-old independent MP was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser on Monday near her office in the town of Wangaratta, just over 200 kilometers northeast of Victoria's capital.

"But the good news is that Helen is alive and in stable condition," Mr. Haines said at the Melbourne hospital. "What matters most to us, her family, is Helen's heart and mind."

"She has a huge heart. She is a very compassionate, caring and loving person. The road to recovery will be long and difficult for Helen, but we know she is strong," he added.

Known for her anti-corruption stances and her fight for the climate, Helen Haines was standing near the trunk of her car at the time of the impact.

The driver of the vehicle, 43-year-old Brendan Nugent, was known to police. He was charged with dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm, as well as the federal felony of assaulting a public official, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Also charged with possession and cultivation of cannabis, he appeared Wednesday before the Wangaratta court, according to an AFP journalist present at the scene.

He did not speak in court and did not request bail. His next court hearing is scheduled for February 4.

His motive remains unknown and the authorities have refused to speculate while the investigation continues.

However, police indicated on Wednesday that they were exploring all avenues, including the possibility that Nugent may have held radical views hostile to the government.

"We are examining his social media relationships and interviewing witnesses, friends and colleagues," Victoria State Police Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters.

This attack has triggered a wave of support for the MP. "We have been truly overwhelmed by the support we have received" in Australia and abroad, said Phil Haines.

- "Extremist positions" -

This attack has prompted a reckoning in a country where political violence is rare, but where the police have noted a steady increase in threats and violence targeting elected officials in recent years.

"Australians yearn for kindness and solidarity, and they are asking us why we have lost our essential ability to express our disagreements properly and respectfully," Governor-General Sam Mostyn, King Charles's representative in Australia, said on Wednesday, alongside Phil Haines.

"Unfortunately, what we are seeing is, I would say, an increasing level of extremist positions, particularly in the online space," said Krissy Barrett, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

"The current criminal threat situation is feverish and, with regard to federal parliamentarians, AFP continues to record an increasing volume of online abuse, threatening rhetoric and intimidation," she added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has become one of the leaders of the campaign to support the MP, who entered Parliament in 2019 after a career as a nurse and midwife.

"It's a reminder that the world is a more dangerous and divided place than a generation ago," he told ABC Melbourne radio on Wednesday.

"I think Australians want their politicians to be able to go about their business, to be able to get something out of the trunk of their car, damn it," the leader said.

Intelligence chief Mike Burgess, for his part, expressed concern that "high levels of resentment, intolerance and polarization continue to create a climate conducive to violence."