A 43-year-old man has been charged over what police describe as a targeted, life-threatening vehicle attack on independent MP Helen Haines outside her electorate office.
Brendan Nugent was charged late Tuesday with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.
The offences carry maximum prison sentences of five years, 20 years and 10 years respectively.
Nugent is due to face Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Victoria Police said officers would allege that the incident was deliberately targeted.
Dr Haines was struck by a Toyota LandCruiser outside her Wangaratta office in northern Victoria on Monday afternoon.
The 65-year-old underwent emergency surgery at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital, where doctors were unable to save one of her legs. She remains in a critical but stable condition.
Police said a nearby highway patrol vehicle reached the scene within eight seconds of the emergency call.
Dr Haines, pictured above, underwent emergency surgery at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where one of her legs could not be saved
Police charged Tarrawingee man Brendan Nugent, pictured above, late Tuesday in connection with the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines
On Tuesday, officers searched a property on Great Alpine Road in Tarrawingee, near Wangaratta.
Police said they currently believed the incident was isolated and that no other known threats were linked to the case.
Nugent’s father, Rod Nugent, and Rod’s partner, Christine Cunningham, said in a statement that Dr Haines had been a friend of theirs for more than two decades.
“What happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable,” they said.
They thanked local residents and police who came to Dr Haines’ aid following what they called a shocking and horrific crime, adding that they would cooperate fully with Victoria Police.
“Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community,” they said.
According to accounts from witnesses relayed by government ministers, Dr Haines was standing at the rear of her vehicle when the four-wheel drive allegedly made a U-turn, struck her, reversed and hit her a second time.
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A local barber reportedly tackled the alleged driver and held him on the ground. The Triple 0 call stated that a knife had allegedly been found inside the vehicle and that Dr Haines’ leg had been “severed” in the collision.
Dr Haines was struck by a Toyota LandCruiser outside her Wangaratta electorate office, pictured on Tuesday, on Monday afternoon
Victoria Police, pictured at the scene, alleged that the incident was a targeted attack
Dr Haines’ husband Phil, daughter Georgia and sons Nick and Will were seen briefly emerging from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon, where they have been at her bedside.
Nugent had reportedly been apprehended behind the wheel of the LandCruiser by local barber Ricky Jefferies, who says the driver had a knife, before police arrived to detain him.
Back in town, locals crowded a church for a vigil in support of Dr Haines.
In the neighbouring federal electorate of Nicholls, Nationals MP Sam Birrell said he had tried to stick to business as usual.
‘I still went to the two country towns to speak to the grade 6’s at the primary school. I walked down the street to catch up with some businesses,’ he said.
‘(I) was probably more aware of my surroundings, a little bit more than I had been.’
Counter-terrorism authorities are investigating the incident.
There was no recent evidence Nugent was on authorities’ radar before the alleged attack, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason said on Tuesday.
The white Land Cruiser believed to have been used in the attack
It appeared to be a standalone incident with no enduring danger, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
Federal and Victorian police have briefed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, along with Victorian Premier Ben Carroll.
The AFP is gearing up to deliver more security briefings to federal MPs after reporting a rise in threats against parliamentarians, high office-holders and electorate officers in recent years.
A task force to disrupt high-impact, politically motivated violence and similar potential crimes has already charged 41 people for threatening politicians and higher-ups since being established in October 2025, according to the agency.
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