MP Helen Haines remains critical and could lose a leg after Landcruiser ran her over in deliberate attack – as Anthony Albanese confirms counterterrorism probe to unfold in Victoria’s anti-authority heartland where Dezi Freeman shot two cops

Independent MP Helen Haines is fighting for life after being deliberately run down outside her electorate office in a horrific targeted attack. 

The 65-year-old mother of three was rushed to hospital with ‘critical injuries’ after she was hit by a white 1997 model Toyota Landcruiser about 3.30pm in the northern Victorian regional city of Wangaratta.

She was retrieving belongings from the boot of her car – which had been stopped in a parking bay on Murphy St as she prepared for a remote television interview – when she was struck after witnesses said the driver did a U-turn and appeared to aim the vehicle at her.

She was pinned by the four-wheel-drive, suffered ‘severe’ lower body injuries, and was treated at a local hospital before later being airlifted 250km southeast to Melbourne, where there are fears the injuries could cause her to lose one of her legs.

A local barber who witnessed the crash ran over and pulled the driver from the car before wrestling him to the ground in a citizen’s arrest, with a knife allegedly seized from the vehicle.

Police confirmed a 43-year-old man from Tarrawingee, just outside Wangaratta, was arrested at the scene and later questioned, but no charges had been laid as of late Monday night.

The area in Victoria’s High Country is just half an hour from Porepunkah, a small  community which made national headlines in August last year when local man Dezi Freeman shot and killed two police officers before going on the run for months.

While there is no confirmation as to the motive of Monday’s attack, the area is known to be popular with those pursuing off-the-grid and ‘sovereign citizen’ lifestyles.

Freeman, who had railed against what he saw as police corruption, shot two officers who were trying to serve him with a warrant and went on the run in the region for 216 days before the manhunt caught up with him and he was killed in a shootout.

A visibly shaken Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed to the media just after 7pm on Monday night that counterterrorism units and ASIO were investigating the attack but stressed the motive was as yet ‘unknown’.

Albanese later told the ABC’s 7.30: ‘This wasn’t an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear. 

‘We certainly hope for good news about Helen’s condition over the next 24 hours.’

It has been reported the arrested man had been ‘on the radar’ of authorities. 

Acting Victoria Police Superintendent Ashley Mason confirmed that Haines had sustained ‘critical’ injuries to her lower body, but that police believed there was no further threat to the community. 

Messages of support have poured in for Haines from across the political spectrum, including messages of support from Greens leader David Shoebridge, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll, and state Liberal leader Jess Wilson.

Hanson took to social media to decry ‘violence against any elected representative, whoever they are and whatever they stand for’.

‘I am horrified and saddened that Helen Haines has been seriously injured in an attack outside her electorate office in Wangaratta today,’ Hanson wrote.

‘My thoughts are with Helen, her family and her staff. I wish her a full and speedy recovery, and I know Australians everywhere are wishing the same.’

Federal Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he was praying for Haines 

The Prime Minister reiterated his earlier calls to ‘turn the temperature down’ in political discourse, but said he wasn’t aware of any threats made toward Haines in the lead-up to the incident. 

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that in 2024 there had been 951 reports of harassing and threatening behaviour against politicians, but that this number rose to 1,067 in the last year.

‘Our thoughts are all with Helen, her family, her community and her friends,’ he said.

Fellow independent MP Allegra Spender said there had been a growing fear of ‘some sort of violent incident’ against politicians in Australia due to the widening political divide in the country.

‘We’ve seen an increase in violent language. Also some of the actions, jostling and other kinds of actions against politicians,’ she said.

‘Many people have feared there would be some sort of violent incident against Australian politicians and this is of huge concern because we take pride in the fact that in Australia, politicians are just like everyone else.

‘You treat them just like anybody else, but they (the interactions) have got to be acceptable and that’s really important.’

Haines’ family released a statement in the wake of the incident, thanking first responders for their swift actions and asking for privacy amid the ongoing investigation.

‘This afternoon, our beloved Helen was involved in an incident outside her Wangaratta Electorate Office, and is receiving medical care,’ the statement reads.

‘Our family, and Helen’s staff, will be making no further comment at this time, and ask that their privacy be respected by the public and media.

‘Please keep Helen in your thoughts.’