Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after alleged attack; suspect appears in court

Australian member of Parliament Helen Haines’ husband shared an update on her condition following an alleged attack outside her office in Wangaratta, Victoria, earlier this week.

The incident had left the MP with serious injuries.

On Wednesday morning, her suspected attacker, Brendan Nugent, appeared in court for the first time where he was formally charged.

Sharing the update, her husband, Phil Haines, said his wife has had to have both legs amputated but that the “good news” is that she is “alive and stable.”

Doctors had hoped to save her right leg, but surgeons ultimately couldn't prevent a double amputation, her husband said.

“But the good news in all this is that Helen is alive and she’s stable. That is the most important thing for our family,” Phil Haines said on Wednesday morning.

Haines, an independent MP who holds the seat for the Indi constituency in the Australian parliament, was hit by a four-wheel driver in front of her office in Wangaratta, located in the north-east of Melbourne, on Monday, October 19, 2026.