By Hilary Whiteman, CNN
Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — An Australian lawmaker remains in hospital after being hit by a car in what appeared to be a targeted attack outside her electorate office in northern Victoria on Monday, alarming the country’s political ranks and raising concerns about their safety.
Helen Haines, 65, who represents the federal seat of Indi, was struck by a Toyota Landcruiser in the rural city of Wangaratta, about 3:30 p.m. local time on Monday, according to Victoria Police.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the vehicle drove down the main street before turning around and ramming the popular independent politician, who has represented her constituents for seven years. At the time she was standing at the rear of her car, taking items out of the trunk.
Witnesses rushed to her aid and detained the vehicle’s 43-year-old driver until police arrived, according to Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason.
Barber Ricky Jefferies told the national broadcaster, the ABC, he ran out of his shop, grabbed a knife from the driver’s pocket and pulled him from the car, before attempting to calm him down.
“I had no choice but to take him out of the car because it was the right and safest thing to do,” Jeffries said. “They didn’t even check the danger, they just ran to help,” he said of other bystanders.
Political violence is rare in Australia, but reports of harassing and threatening behavior against politicians have been rising in the past year, according to Australian Federal Police (AFP) statistics cited by the government.
While police are yet to question the suspect, Albanese was quick to inform the nation Monday that it was a “deliberate act.”
He said he wasn’t aware of any individual threats against Haines, but said the “temperature” of political discourse had “increased in recent times” and urged it to be turned down.
“There’s no place for political violence in a democracy,” he told the ABC.
Haines was airlifted to Melbourne where she underwent surgery at The Alfred hospital on Monday night for wounds to her lower body. Her condition remains critical. In a statement posted to social media, her family thanked bystanders for their “swift assistance.”
A multi-tiered investigation is underway involving the AFP, Victoria Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team.
Haines was elected to federal parliament in 2019 as an independent candidate who fought for better healthcare services in rural areas. She has focused her time on integrity in politics, and called for gambling reform, better mental health treatment and an end to the war in Gaza.
Before entering politics, she worked as a midwife, establishing one of the country’s longest running rural midwifery services, according to her website.
“Helen Haines is incredibly hardworking,” Albanese said at a press conference on Monday. “She is fiercely intelligent, but most importantly, she’s just a thoroughly decent human being, full of integrity, and respected right across the Parliament, and from everyone who comes into contact with her.”
As he spoke, police officers were at the scene of the incident, working within a cordoned area near Haines’ electorate office on the main road in Wangaratta, a rural city home to around 30,000 people.
Police haven’t named the suspect but say he was from Tarrawingee, a town about 12 kilometers (seven miles) east of Wangaratta. It’s not clear if he was known to Haines, police said.
Politicians from all sides of politics expressed their shock into the evening on Monday. Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor said it was a “shocking day for the nation.”
“Australians will be angry and appalled by the attack on Helen outside her electorate office in Wangaratta,” he posted to X. ” Our nation cannot become a place where violent attacks are normalised.”
Pauline Hanson, leader of the right wing One Nation party that’s risen in popularity in recent months, also said there was no place for violence against any elected representative.
“Members of parliament and their staff must be able to serve their communities without fearing for their safety,” she said on X.
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