7.09am BST
Summary of today's coverage, Tuesday 20 October We’re wrapping up our live coverage of the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines .
Here’s how the day unfolded:
Helen Haines was critically injured in an alleged attack outside her Wangaratta electorate office in regional Victoria on Monday afternoon.
Haines remains in a critical condition at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital, where she underwent surgery overnight. The independent MP has lost one of her legs , with surgeons on Tuesday working to save her other leg.
Politicians from across the political spectrum have expressed their support for Haines, her family and local community. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese , described her as “kind, compassionate, a person of integrity”.
State and local representatives across the Indi electorate released a statement calling Haines “the best of public service”.
Many have also expressed their concern about the rise of online hate, and violent and threatening rhetoric. New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon , described the incident as a “terrible set of circumstances” and “a concerning development in Australia, for sure”.
The alleged attacker, now in custody, has been named as 43-year-old Brendan Nugent , a long-term forestry campaigner in the state’s north east. Environment campaigners who worked with Nugent several years ago have expressed shock at his arrest.
A major investigation is under way , with Victoria police and the Australian federal police working to identify potential charges.
Updated at 9.59am BST
6.29am BST
Katy Gallagher condemns ‘devastating’ alleged attack Speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program, the federal finance minister said:
The idea that [an] MP had been hurt outside their electorate office doing their work, [and] that it was Helen Haynes, was just horrific.
Devastating, I think is the word I would use, and I think that’s being felt right across the political spectrum and across her electorate and across Australia .
It’s hard to get your head around, that life can change like that in a moment, for Helen. And to be critically injured and to be going through what she and her family are going through today as a consequence of her work, and her job standing up for her electorate, is just absolutely devastating.
Updated at 7.03am BST
5.59am BST
Surgeons working to save Haines’ other leg
The man accused of attacking Helen Haines allegedly made a U-turn before ramming the independent MP twice in an alleged targeted attack near her electorate office, causing her to lose one of her legs.
The member for Indi was airlifted from Wangaratta in northern Victoria to Melbourne’s Alfred hospital for emergency surgery on Monday night.
Surgeons were on Tuesday fighting to save Haines’ other leg, as the 65-year-old remained in a critical condition.
Read more:
Related: Helen Haines loses leg after car allegedly did U-turn and struck her twice in Wangaratta
Updated at 6.07am BST
5.53am BST
How the events allegedly unfolded yesterday The alleged attack on Helen Haines on Monday took place outside her Wangaratta electorate office.
The incident happened about 3.35pm and involved a four-wheel drive, which allegedly U-turned before striking Haines. The independent federal MP is in a critical but stable condition at Melbourne’s Alfred hospital and has lost one of her legs.
A 43-year-old man has been taken to Wangaratta police station for questioning.
This map shows how the events allegedly unfolded.
Interactive A map showing how the incident unfolded outside Helen Haines’ electorate office Updated at 7.30am BST
5.10am BST
‘Violence has no place,’ says human rights commission The Australian Human Rights Commission has expressed shock and sadness at the attack on Helen Haines. In a post to social media, the commission said:
Everyone should be safe at work and in life. Violence has no place in our society.
Everyone should be treated with respect, irrespective of their political opinions, gender, faith, race or background.
Parliamentarians must be able to carry out their duties safely. This attack happened against a backdrop of increasing polarisation and threats against politicians. We must address intimidation, hatred, threats and violence that undermine our democracy and democratic institutions.
Updated at 7.02am BST
5.00am BST
Zoe Daniel: ‘It was obvious … someone would get physically hurt’
The three-time ABC foreign correspondent and former independent member for Goldstein, has written a comment piece after the alleged attack.
It was obvious to those of us who work in and around politics, that eventually, someone would get physically hurt.
The fact that it’s Helen Haines , arguably the best of all of us, not just as a politician but a person, is unbearable.
Some of us community indies have T-shirts that say, “What would Helen do?”
They were a gift from the member for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan, a few years ago.
And while it was a bit funny at the time, it’s not a joke.
Helen is the one you go to when you’re grappling with the moral quandaries that arise frequently as an MP, in a job when a binary yes/no vote sometimes feels impossible. With intelligence, warmth and deeply held ethics, she represents the very backbone of the parliament.
Read more:
Related: I knew one of us could get hurt eventually. I never thought it would be my friend Helen | Zoe Daniel
Updated at 5.15am BST
4.29am BST
‘Don’t send that nasty comment’: Hastie joins calls to turn the temperature down
Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie said he’s shocked and saddened by the alleged attack on Helen Haines , and also had concerns about his own safety and of others in Parliament.
“It’s always in the back of my mind”, he said, “which is why I stay fit and I take precautions”. Hastie was recently given extra security by the government due to threats on himself and his family, and says more broadly that the temperature needs to be turned down, particularly on social media.
Speaking to ABC radio this morning, Hastie said:
Be a better steward of Australian democracy. The worst thing we can do right now is point fingers at our political opponents and say, see, it was something that they posted or something that they said. How can we each be better? Maybe don’t like that nasty post or don’t send that nasty comment or don’t trash someone when you don’t even know who they are.
Despite their political differences, he said he held Haines in “very high regard” and called her one of the gentlest and friendliest MPs. It echoed the tributes from other politicians across federal and state parliaments who described her as “the best of us”.
Updated at 5.43am BST
4.16am BST
Albanese praises Haines, as MP remains in critical condition
Anthony Albanese is speaking at an event organised by The Age in Melbourne. He says Helen Haines is still in a critical condition in the Alfred Hospital.
Albanese said:
Helen Haines represents the best of our political representatives.
Kind, compassionate, a person of integrity, totally committed, strongly representing the people of that beautiful part of Victoria.
I was asked earlier today when someone suggested ‘could we do a vigil somewhere? What can we do to show our support and solidarity between fellows at this difficult time?’
My response to them, when I thought about it, was just ‘be like Helen: kindness, compassion, caring.’
4.07am BST
Light will win over darkness: PM reiterates praise for barber who rushed to help
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is speaking in Melbourne and has again praised Rick Jefferies, the local barber who stepped in during the alleged attack against MP Helen Haines.
He says Jefferies’ actions represented the best of the Australian character.
“This is just a bloke,” Albanese said.
He said it was just the right thing to do, but he did run into danger, not knowing what the consequences could potentially be for him.
Just running to help someone else. A great example of the Australian spirit and the best of the Australian character.
So I think that even in dark times we see light. What Ricky represents is light, and light will be over darkness each and every time.
Related: ‘I don’t want to be known as a hero’: barber who rushed to help Helen Haines praised by PM
Updated at 5.50am BST
4.03am BST
Haines loses leg in alleged attack The independent member for Indi has lost her leg and remains in a critical condition after being rammed by a vehicle, in what has been labelled an allegedly targeted attack.
Haines was allegedly hit by a Toyota LandCruiser outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, northern Victoria, at about 3.35pm on Monday afternoon.
She was airlifted to a Melbourne’s Alfred hospital and is fighting for her life after undergoing surgery overnight, with sources confirming to AAP the MP had lost one of her legs.
- AAP
Updated at 6.20am BST
3.58am BST
Indi representatives issue joint statement State and local government representatives across the Indi electorate have released a joint statement condemning the violent attack on Helen Haines.
Our thoughts are with Helen, her family, her staff, and all those affected by this deeply distressing incident.
We are each affected.
Helen represents the best of public service. Her commitment to integrity, her respectful engagement in debate, and her sense of democracy and peace are the example we should aspire to.
The statement, signed by Victorian members Tim McCurdy , Bill Tilley , Cindy McLeish and Annabelle Cleeland , along with the mayors of nine local councils said personal threats, intimidation and acts of violence had no place in our democracy. “ We will not allow intimidation to silence public voices. Decency still outweighs division, and our communities reject hatred, violence, and fear,” the statement said.
Joint statement on attack on Helen Haines in Wangaratta Updated at 4.39am BST
3.27am BST
Prime minister meets police commissioners and politicians in Melbourne
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese , has met AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett , and her Victorian counterpart, Mike Bush , in Melbourne after the alleged attack on Helen Haines.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke , and the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll , also attended.
Updated at 3.46am BST
3.02am BST
If the increasingly vituperative tenor of our public discourse, online and verbal, has fully trailed America’s into the murky dungeon of political violence with the appalling alleged attack on Helen Haines, Australia’s political class has only itself to blame.
Read more:
Related: Political hate speech can have real-word fallout. After the alleged attack on Helen Haines, our leaders must act | Paul Daley
2.52am BST
Nationals MP says office did not feel threatened by Brendan Nugent
Victorian Nationals MP Tim McCurdy said the alleged attacker, Brendan Nugent, was known to his Wangaratta office and regularly came in to raise different issues.
McCurdy said:
We get plenty of people come in, half a dozen a day come for various things. So yes, he’s been into our office, [to raise] various issues.
Our office didn’t feel threatened by him. If they had, they would ring the police.
I want to wish Helen all the best.
Updated at 2.57am BST
2.40am BST
I’m going to hand over coverage to my colleague Petra Stock , who will take you through further updates throughout the afternoon.
2.17am BST
Haines’ alleged attacker has been named as Brendan Nugent Helen Haines’ alleged attacker has been named as 43-year-old Brendan Nugent, Guardian Australia has confirmed.
Nugent is a long-term forestry campaigner in the state’s north east. Environment campaigners who worked with Nugent several years ago have expressed shock at his arrest.
He has a master’s of forest ecosystems science from the University of Melbourne and spent years researching the forestry industry in Victoria. He has also