By Renju Jose
SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The car that struck an independent Australian lawmaker outside her office had performed a U-turn before hitting her, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday, describing the incident as clearly intentional.
Helen Haines underwent surgery overnight and remained in critical condition after she was struck by a white Toyota Land Cruiser in Wangaratta, around three hours' drive northeast of Melbourne, on Monday.
"It's clear that there was a deliberate act here.
This wasn't an accident, someone just skidding off the road," Albanese told ABC News.
Early investigations suggested the car hit Haines as she was loading or unloading things from the trunk of her car, he said.
A 43-year-old man was arrested following the attack, with counter-terrorism authorities among the multiple agencies involved in the investigation. Authorities indicated the alleged attacker was expected to be interviewed on Tuesday morning.
Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police are considering potential charges, including causing harm to a public official, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.
"At this stage it appears this is an isolated incident," Barrett said in a statement.
STRUCK TWO TIMES
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that witnesses said the alleged attacker reversed the vehicle and struck Haines a second time before a bystander intervened.
Ricky Jefferies ran from his barber shop and restrained the attacker and removed a knife from him after initially believing the incident was a car accident, Australian media reported.
"I heard a loud bang with no brakes. It was crazy, I just ran out to the front to see what's happening," Jefferies told reporters outside his shop.
"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."
'TURN TEMPERATURE DOWN'
Violent attacks on politicians are extremely rare in Australia, where federal lawmakers, state leaders and even prime ministers are regularly seen in supermarkets and coffee shops, attending community events and chatting with voters with minimal security.
Haines worked in nursing and midwifery and as an academic before being elected to parliament as an independent in 2019 in the seat of Indi. She retained the seat in 2022 and 2025.
While Albanese said it was too early to determine a motive, he urged Australians to engage more respectfully with one another, expressing concern about growing division in the country. He also noted a "significant increase" in threats against politicians in recent years.
Politicians worldwide are facing rising levels of violence, threats and harassment, with 71% of respondents to a February survey by the Inter-Parliamentary Union reporting experiencing violence from the public, particularly online.
Incidents of threatening or harassing behaviour towards lawmakers in Australia had risen to 1,067 in the past year, from 951 the previous year.
"We all have a responsibility to turn the temperature down," Albanese said.
"I really don't want to see the character of Australia change," he said. "But this is a challenge for us as a nation to make sure that we retain that sense of identity, that sense of belonging, that sense of unity as a country that is so important for us."
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Lincoln Feast.)
