MELBOURNE – Australian federal lawmaker Helen Haines remained in critical but stable condition in hospital on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, while praising a barber who helped restrain the driver accused of deliberately striking the politician twice.
Haines, a 65-year-old independent politician, was hit by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV on Monday outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria. The 43-year-old driver was still in police custody on Tuesday.
The attack stunned Australia, where political violence is uncommon and elected representatives have traditionally remained accessible to the public. Most lawmakers do not have security details and typically move through their professional and personal lives without official protection.
The suspect’s father issued a statement on Tuesday describing Haines as a “deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community.”
“Helen has been our friend for more than 20 years and what happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable,” he said.
The prime minister thanks a bystander for intervening
Albanese said he called local barber Ricky Jefferies on Tuesday to thank him for rushing from his shop and helping members of the public detain the suspect.
“It’s a reminder that at the worst of times, we see the best of the Australian character,” Albanese said in Melbourne.
Jefferies previously told reporters that he searched the driver’s pockets and removed a knife. Police confirmed that a knife had been recovered. Despite his actions, Jefferies said he did not see himself as a hero.
“It was crazy,” he said. “A lot of people got involved immediately and they didn’t even check for danger. They just ran to help.”
The lawmaker’s family says it’s grateful for the ‘swift assistance of bystanders’
Haines’s family thanked the “swift assistance of bystanders,” along with the health workers and police who responded after the incident.
Haines was first elected to Parliament in 2019 and has since won two more terms. She was initially taken to a hospital in Wangaratta, a city of about 30,000 people, before being airlifted on Monday to a hospital in Melbourne, the state capital, 236 kilometers (147 miles) away.
The Alfred Hospital did not respond on Tuesday to a request for comment on media reports that Haines had undergone a leg amputation.
Recent figures indicate that threats of political violence are increasing in Australia. Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, reiterated on Tuesday that politically motivated violence was a major security concern, alongside espionage and foreign interference.
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Police reported in 2025 that threats against members of Parliament had doubled over the previous three years. Official figures recorded more than 1,000 threats against politicians during the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
Politicians from across the political spectrum, along with Albanese, spoke to media outlets on Tuesday and urged lawmakers, journalists and the public to ease the increasingly hostile tone of political debate. Many also said they hoped Australia’s tradition of approachable, unguarded politicians would endure.
The injured lawmaker was not considered controversial or polarizing
Haines was not known for divisive views. The daughter of dairy farmers and a mother of three, she worked as a nurse, midwife and academic before entering politics. Her advocacy focused on rural health, and her 2019 campaign centered on health equity, rural prosperity and climate action.
Albanese said eyewitnesses reported that the suspect first drove past Haines as she stood near the trunk of her parked car. The SUV then turned around and returned before the man allegedly drove into the politician, the prime minister said.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Australian Broadcasting Corp., citing witness accounts, that the driver allegedly reversed and struck Haines a second time, pinning her against her car, after initially hitting her.
Australia has a low rate of political violence
Elsewhere in the world, authorities have warned of growing threats to lawmakers. The United States has seen a rise in political violence over the past decade.
That includes the 2022 hammer assault on the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, in California; the 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally during his presidential campaign as well as another on the president at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April; and the assassinations in 2025 of a Democratic Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband, and of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in Utah.
In Britain, killings of politicians have also prompted bolstered security. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, while Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the militant Islamic State group.
In July, the former British politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe was found beaten to death with a hammer at her home. A man has been charged with murder and terrorism-related offenses.
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Graham-McLay reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
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