Helen Haines was struck by a white Toyota Land Cruiser in Wangaratta, around three hours northeast of Melbourne, on Monday in an incident being investigated by counter-terrorism police.
Officials confirmed on Tuesday she had lost a leg and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that he believed the incident was intentional.
Albanese told ABC News: “It’s clear that there was a deliberate act here. This wasn’t an accident, someone just skidding off the road.”
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He added that early investigations suggest the car hit Haines as she was loading or unloading things from the boot of her car. Albanese added: “This is something that is very clear was aimed at causing harm to Helen Haines.”
Media reports in Australia suggest that surgeons were working to save the MP’s other leg.
A man, 43, was arrested following the attack and counter-terrorism authorities are among the multiple agencies involved in the investigation.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said: “At this stage it appears this is an isolated incident.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that witnesses had seen the alleged attacker reverse the vehicle and strike Haines a second time before a bystander intervened.
Ricky Jeffries, who ran from his barber shop and restrained the alleged attacker, said: “I heard a loud bang with no brakes. It was crazy, I just ran out to the front to see what’s happening.
“I didn’t realise the seriousness of the situation initially, and once it became relevant I just did what I could and what others were already trying to do.”
Haines worked in nursing and midwifery and as an academic before she was elected to parliament as an independent in 2019 in the seat of Indi, which she retained in 2022 and 2025.
Albanese said he noticed a “significant increase” in threats against politicians in recent years.
