Helen Haines attack live updates: Indi MP loses both legs, husband confirms; vigil held in Wodonga; more details emerge about alleged attacker Brendan Nugent’s past

What you need to know today

By Emily Kaine

Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage after the attack on member for Indi Helen Haines outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. Here’s what you need to know about this evolving story today.

• Haines has lost both her legs but is in a stable condition, her husband Phil Haines said yesterday, as he addressed the nation alongside Governor-General Sam Mostyn. Mostyn said the attack “must be a moment for us to pause and choose to be better”.
• Hundreds of Haines supporters gathered for a vigil in support of the MP in Wodonga last night. Former independent MP for Indi Cathy McGowan told the crowd the attack on Haines struck at the heart of Australian democracy, and that women across the electorate fear for their safety and question whether they can enter public life without facing violence.
• Authorities told anxious parliamentarians yesterday that the attack was probably an opportunistic strike rather than a premeditated plot as MPs from across the political spectrum say they hold serious concerns about their safety.
• And deleted social media posts of Brendan Nugent, the man accused of attacking Haines, reveal a prolonged period of serious psychological struggle. Police did not rule out laying further serious charges against the 43-year-old as the investigation into the attack continues.

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Hundreds gather at Wodonga vigil for Helen Haines

By Rob Harris

Hundreds of Haines supporters, dressed in splashes of orange and holding orange cockatoos, gathered in Wodonga last night for a vigil in support of the MP.

Former independent MP Cathy McGowan warned that the attack on Haines struck at the heart of Australian democracy, revealing that women across the electorate fear for their safety and question whether they can enter public life without facing violence.

“In attacking her, there’s a sense that there’s an attack on our political system, on our democracy,” McGowan told the crowd.

Pinned post from 6.08am

What you need to know today

By Emily Kaine

Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage after the attack on member for Indi Helen Haines outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. Here’s what you need to know about this evolving story today.

• Haines has lost both her legs but is in a stable condition, her husband Phil Haines said yesterday, as he addressed the nation alongside Governor-General Sam Mostyn. Mostyn said the attack “must be a moment for us to pause and choose to be better”.
• Hundreds of Haines supporters gathered for a vigil in support of the MP in Wodonga last night. Former independent MP for Indi Cathy McGowan told the crowd the attack on Haines struck at the heart of Australian democracy, and that women across the electorate fear for their safety and question whether they can enter public life without facing violence.
• Authorities told anxious parliamentarians yesterday that the attack was probably an opportunistic strike rather than a premeditated plot as MPs from across the political spectrum say they hold serious concerns about their safety.
• And deleted social media posts of Brendan Nugent, the man accused of attacking Haines, reveal a prolonged period of serious psychological struggle. Police did not rule out laying further serious charges against the 43-year-old as the investigation into the attack continues.

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