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Australians have donated more than $600,000 to a fundraiser in Helen Haines's honour after she was attacked on Monday afternoon. 

Follow all the updates in our live blog. 

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Fri 23 Oct 2026 at 7:06amFri 23 Oct 2026 at 7:06am

Haines lobbied Albanese on $9b rural health gap days before critical attack

By Olivia Caisley

Independent MP Helen Haines privately lobbied the prime minister for urgent rural health funding just five days before she is alleged to have been mowed down outside her electorate office by a man whose lawyer says is suffering from mental and chronic health conditions.

ABC News understands Haines handed Anthony Albanese an annotated copy of the Forgotten Health Spend: A Report on the Expenditure Deficit in Rural Australia 2026 in a special crossbench catch-up with the prime minister last Wednesday to highlight a growing $2.7 billion expenditure gap between metropolitan and regional areas.

Sources with knowledge of the meeting who spoke with the ABC on the condition of anonymity said the health funding disparity between the cities and bush had been raised.

They said Albanese listened to the array of concerns raised by crossbenchers during the meeting and noted that "a lot of people ask for money".

A spokesperson for Albanese said the prime minister often met with independent members of the crossbench and had done since 2022.

"Members are free to raise any issues and we follow up," they said.

Read more of this exclusive report at the link below.

Fri 23 Oct 2026 at 7:02amFri 23 Oct 2026 at 7:02am

More than $600k donated to Save the Children in Haines' honour

By Courtney Gould

A Save the Children fundraiser in honour of independent MP Helen Haines has surpassed more than $600,000.

The Indi MP remains in a critical condition after an attack outside her electorate office on Monday afternoon.

Yesterday, Save the Children chief Mat Tinkler said the money would be used to help vulnerable children living in the regions.

Fri 23 Oct 2026 at 7:02amFri 23 Oct 2026 at 7:02am

Good morning 👋

By Courtney Gould

 Hello friends. Welcome to our politics live blog.

I'm Courtney Gould from the ABC's Parliament House team, here to guide you through the day.

Australians have donated more than $600k towards a fundraiser in Helen Haines' honour after she was attacked on Monday afternoon. She remains in a critical condition hospital after having both her legs amputated.

We're also expecting Nationals MP Michelle Landry to announce she's won't re-contest the next election, paving the way for Matt Canavan to make the switch to the lower house.

Let's get blogging!