Helen Haines condition improves after losing both legs in alleged attack

Independent MP Helen Haines’s condition has been downgraded from critical but stable to serious but stable after she lost both legs following an alleged attack near her electorate office in Wangaratta, north-east Victoria, on Monday afternoon.

At The Alfred hospital in Melbourne on Saturday morning, surgeons amputated both of her legs after failing to save her right leg due to the severity of her injuries. Police charged Brendan Nugent, 43, with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a commonwealth public official. Nugent appeared at Wangaratta magistrates court on Wednesday and did not apply for bail.

Haines’s husband, Phil Haines, provided an update at the hospital on Wednesday, stating that both her heart and her mind are in good shape. He praised her as a compassionate, caring, and loving person with the sharpest intellect. Her staff revealed they were working to reopen her electorate offices next Thursday, noting the community had shown extraordinary generosity, raising over $730,000 for Save the Children in her honour. A community vigil was held in Wodonga on Wednesday evening.

The alleged attack has reverberated through Australian politics, prompting discussions about the temperature of political debate, security risks for MPs, and mental health services in regional Victoria. Days after the attack, WA Police charged a 56-year-old man after he allegedly threatened staff and wielded nunchucks at the electoral office of Hannah Beazley, the state’s local government minister. Haines’s predecessor, Cathy McGowan, said the community is grappling with "mixed emotions."

Source: The Guardian World.