Australian independent MP Helen Haines was struck by a vehicle outside an office on Murphy Street in Wangaratta, north-east Victoria, at about 3.35pm on Monday 19 October 2026. Victoria Police say it will be alleged a white Toyota LandCruiser hit the 65-year-old, who holds the federal seat of Indi.
New Zealand’s political leaders were asked about it within a day. The attack came less than three weeks before our general election on 7 November.
What happened
A passer-by restrained the driver, a 43-year-old Tarrawingee man, and police took him into custody at about 3.40pm, according to Victoria Police. A highway patrol unit was on the scene within eight seconds of the call, police said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the attack as deliberate and called for the political temperature to be lowered.
On the evening of Tuesday 20 October, Victoria Police’s Security Investigation Unit charged the man with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. Victoria Police is led by Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, who was New Zealand’s Police Commissioner until 2020.
The man appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on 21 October, and the case was adjourned to 4 February 2027 for a committal mention, the ABC reported. Police say the motive is still under investigation.
Haines is being treated at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne. Her husband, Phil Haines, said her left leg was amputated on the Monday and surgeons removed her right leg on the Wednesday.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the AFP’s national security teams were charging almost one person every week for targeting federal parliamentarians or high office holders. She said the AFP was recording growing online abuse, rising political polarisation, and lone actors driven by a mix of grievance, mental health vulnerabilities and ideology.
The New Zealand response
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand was shocked by the attack and that “violence has absolutely no place in politics”, the NZ Herald reported. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he had spoken to Albanese, and that the attack didn’t change New Zealand’s threat or security level at that stage. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said violence against people in elected office was a real concern.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee told RNZ that threats against MPs had risen sharply over the past three years and had forced closer work with police. He called the current arrangement the strongest protocol Parliament has ever had with NZ Police.
Figures obtained by RNZ show Parliament’s Security Information, Risk and Advisory Service handled 216 requests for advice or support between 28 September and 18 October 2026, and was deployed 81 times. Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said the team supported MPs at public events, while travelling, during protests and when they faced threatening behaviour.
Our own campaign had already seen trouble. In September, police stepped in when anti-vaccine activists confronted Labour MP Ayesha Verrall at a Wellington debate, and Hipkins said a member of the public had threatened to kill him.
Open doors or closed ones
Luxon said New Zealand has found a balance between politicians being highly accessible and managing security threats, and that the Government is open to more support if it’s needed. Opposition leaders get permanent security only during an election campaign.
Brownlee warned that ongoing intimidation could see politicians become anonymous from the communities they represent. He blamed public frustration, financial pressure and global instability for some of the hostility, and accused the media of reducing politics to soundbites. Asked whether politicians contribute, he defended robust debate in the House, saying attacking a policy isn’t the same as attacking a person.
The Parliamentary Service told a select committee earlier in 2026 that threats against MPs were rising but that MPs’ engagement with its security offerings was poor. It also said MPs set a high bar before reporting abuse.
Groups hosting candidates’ meetings are already adjusting. Grey Power North Shore and Hibiscus Coast president Trish Deans said Parliamentary Security officials advised her to add security for a candidates’ meeting, and her organisation hired three guards for $1,500. Superintendent Kelly Ryan, police’s national commander for the 2026 election, has said every reported threat will be taken seriously and followed up with police action if required.
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