At a glance…
- Content Warning: This article discusses topics which may be upsetting to readers.
- On Monday, 19 October 2026, Independent federal MP Dr Helen Haines, 65, was critically injured in an alleged deliberate car attack outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria.
- Several members of the public rushed to assist Helen and restrained the driver until police arrived. She was airlifted to hospital with catastrophic lower-body injuries. She lost both her legs to the alleged attack.
- On Wednesday, 21 October, her husband, Phil Haines, addressed the media outside The Alfred Hospital. He confirmed that although Helen remained critically ill, she was stable, and her heart and mind were strong. He acknowledged that her recovery would be a long process and thanked emergency workers, medical staff and the community for their support.
- Helen Haines’ family has asked that, instead of sending flowers, well-wishers make donations if they are able to Save the Children.
- Governor-General Sam Mostyn spoke on Wednesday with Phil to media. We’ve published her speech below.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn speech outside The Alfred Hospital.
Australia is still reeling from the shock and distress of this terrible attack on our much-loved member for Indi, Helen Haines. I know that, here in Victoria in particular, people are dumbfounded and finding it hard to fathom the scale of this tragedy. I know that, in Wangaratta, there have been vigils, and those vigils have continued across the country. Tonight I know Cathy McGowan is at a vigil in Wodonga.
It was so telling that when I spoke to Helen’s office, when this was first breaking, the first instinct of that office, which says so much about Helen, was to say, when we speak of the terrible behaviour of one person with such catastrophic consequences, we must remember to weigh that against the many thousands of Australians who have shown such care for Helen and her family in the last two days. That balance from the office of Helen tells you so much about her humanity and her family’s humanity.
I have ensured that His Majesty the King is regularly updated on this shocking moment.
At the invitation of Phil and his family, I’m speaking to you tonight both as a friend of Helen’s, but also as your Governor-General, as so many of my predecessors have done in very difficult times in Australia’s history.
“The great healing force of the nation.”
At a different time, when the country was facing different challenges, Sir Zelman Cowen said that the role of the Governor-General is to help the nation interpret itself, particularly in very challenging circumstances. And during his term, Sir William Deane said that, in times of national tragedy, we see the willingness of ordinary Australians to stretch out the hand of assistance and comfort. He described that spirit of generosity as the great healing force of the nation.
And of course, that is what we have seen already, and you’ve heard from [Helen’s husband] Phil. We have seen extraordinary efforts occurring at times of an extraordinary moment.
It started with Ricky Jefferies and the other extraordinary bystanders who immediately rushed selflessly to Helen’s side in the critical moments of the attack, joined by the office and those that followed.
I’ve been lucky enough to speak to Ricky, and his humility and his absolute rejection of the title “hero” reflect the Australian character we so often talk about and see everywhere. Decency, care and a simple concern for others.
I join Phil in acknowledging that many people were there in those opening moments. The paramedics, the Victorian Police, the People at the North East Health in Wangaratta, the transport to get Helen safely here [to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne] and stabilised, all of the medical, surgical, nursing, and administrative team that have taken such beautiful care of Helen in these last two days. We know that has meant a great deal to the family, and it means that she’s in a stable condition and we have great hope for the days ahead.
“What does the nation do now?”
Now, this violent attack on a much loved and respected sitting member of our Federal Parliament must be a moment for us to pause and to choose to be better.
In fact, it is bittersweet and quite difficult to talk about, but I was discussing this very topic with Helen just two weeks ago in Euroa when we were both visiting a recovery hub dealing with the bushfire recovery. And we talked about the need for greater civility and engagement across our civic and public life. As ever, Helen was actively thinking of ways in which the Australian community could come together and be encouraged to be both more engaged in our democracy, our great democracy, and participate with the kind of engagement she has always done – kindness and care and respect.
Now, just as my predecessors have all experienced, the Office of the Governor-General has this extraordinary privilege of experiencing Australia from a panoramic view, and then in the fine and deep grain of our communities. That’s where I was with Helen in Euroa, and that’s where we see the project of coming together and building connection and purpose and belonging in our country. It happens every day. It’s what I saw in Strathbogie, Shepparton and Euroa on the Victorian visit during which I was lucky enough to talk to Helen, to talk to local MPs alongside her, to talk to the mayors, about a national project where we could actually encourage care and kindness once again.
“Australians have great hearts.”
So in light of what you’ve heard from Phil and what we know of Helen’s situation at the moment, what do we all do? What does our nation do now?
Well, first, and with the permission of the family, I think we should do what I imagine Helen would be doing if she were not the victim of this terrible attack: Reaching out to those who are terribly distressed by what has happened, who are still trying to cope with this. We need to offer everyone comfort to get through this, to celebrate our strong and stable system of government and parliaments and democracy, and to be proud of that.
We need to remind ourselves, as Helen says all the time, that Australians have good hearts, great hearts. And check, each of us, to ensure that we are, in fact, disagreeing well, not fighting with one another, not descending into violence and chaos and division. Most importantly, we [need to] learn or relearn to exercise our muscle of decency.
Now, what I see and what I saw with everything that Helen has done across Indi and well beyond, is communities around Australia where Australians are yearning for kindness and care. And they’re asking us why we’ve lost the great skill of disagreeing well and with decency to each other.
Our democracy, the great Australian democracy, has always relied on passionate and robust debate. It’s a healthy and vital part of a modern and successful nation, and Helen plays a huge role in that, in representing her community. We don’t have to all agree, but we can wrestle the issue, not the person, just as Helen has done throughout her time in Parliament, representing the issues of her community and fighting for the very best.
It’s important to remember that words matter, whether in spoken or written form, or increasingly in the virtual world. So, in the midst of what is a disturbing and distressing moment, particularly for Helen’s family and her friends and her team, everyone who loves her, let’s work together as a healing force, as Sir William Deane first put it.
“Let’s work together as a healing force.”
More recently, one of my predecessors, Sir Peter Cosgrove, has talked about what’s happening with civility in this country. He describes civility as having the decency to understand and respect different points of view while allowing individuals the space to hold and debate them constructively … I agree with Sir Peter’s comments.
But right now, like everyone in Australia and here at the Alfred, with everyone who has shown so much care to Helen and her family, my thoughts on behalf of all Australians are with Helen, with Phil, her entire family, everyone that loves her, everyone that has been part of Helen’s great story of the representation of Indi and everything that she has always done in her life. Particularly in the 40 years of her beautiful relationship with you [Phil] and the children and grandchildren that says so much about that great love.
“We have to stand by Helen.”
I know you’ve heard from Phil that the family are drawing great comfort from the extraordinary affection being expressed not just around the country, but across the world. And I hope that, as Australians, we can now reflect thoughtfully on what has happened, and can recommit all ourselves to the care, kindness and respect that I know are so deeply embedded in the Australian character.
We have to stand by Helen in the next few days. It’s day by day, as you’ve heard. We’ve got to hope that that beautiful heart, that beautiful mind, will be strengthened every day by our support and our commitment to be more like Helen as part of this great democracy.
It’s the very least we can do for someone who has given her life to others, represented her community, and will go on and do so again with the kind of passion and care that we can all learn from … I can’t wait to see her great heart and her great mind back in action, exercising that great muscle of decency and teaching us how we can be better.
Helen Haines’ family has asked that, instead of sending flowers, well-wishers make donations if they are able to Save the Children.
This speech has been edited from the original.
If this article has raised any issues for you, help is available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention. You can also chat online at lifeline.org.au. More services are available here.
