Australian MP loses both legs in vehicle attack as suspect appears in court

Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines has had both of her legs amputated after being rammed by a car outside her electoral office, her husband said, as the suspected attacker appeared in court.

Doctors amputated the MP’s left leg after an attacker hit her twice with his car in Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne, on Monday, Phil Haines said. They tried to save her right leg but failed to do so, he told a news conference on Wednesday.

“The good news in all this is Helen is alive, and she’s stable,” he told reporters. “That is the most important thing for our family.”

The suspect in the attack, revealed to be a 43-year-old man called Brendan Nugent, made a brief court appearance on Wednesday.

He has been charged with three crimes: dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing injury and causing harm to a public official.

He was also charged with the cultivation and possession of cannabis, according to court filings.

The suspect’s lawyer said he has a rare neurological condition called idiopathic transverse myelitis and is also recovering from a concussion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

Police are still investigating the motive for the attack. Australia’s federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said there was no intelligence suggesting any threat to Haines.

“What I can ⁠say is we didn’t have any specific intelligence that would have indicated something as atrocious as happened on Monday afternoon,” she told reporters.

Haines had worked in nursing, midwifery and academia ‌before being elected to parliament in 2019 for the rural seat of Indi, which she retained in 2022 and 2025.

Attacks on politicians are rare in Australia, but concerns have been growing in recent years as online abuse and threats against elected officials have risen.