No bail for man charged in attack on Australian MP Helen Haines
October 21, 2026 at 04:56 AM · Updated 46m ago
9 reports · 2 in Arabic, 7 in English · over 8 hours
نائبة أسترالية تفقد ساقيها.. ودوافع الدهس "غامضة"
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بتر الساق الثانية للنائبة الأسترالية ضحية هجوم الدهس المتعمد
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Attack on Australian MP Haines: How threats against legislators have soared
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Australian MP loses both legs in vehicle attack as suspect appears in court
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Helen Haines: Australian MP loses both legs after alleged car attack, husband says
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Australian lawmaker has both legs amputated after allegedly deliberate attack by car rammer
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Helen Haines has lost both legs after alleged attack but ‘her heart and mind are in good shape’, husband says
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What happened inside court for man charged with Australian MP attack
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No bail for alleged Helen Haines attacker as police chief warns of Australia’s ‘febrile’ political environment
(opens the publisher’s site)The man charged with driving into Australian MP Helen Haines appeared in court and declined bail, as police said they had no prior intelligence of a threat.
- Brendan Nugent appeared before a Wangaratta magistrate on Wednesday, did not seek bail, and will remain in custody until a committal mention on 4 February.
- Haines lost a leg in the attack and remains in a critical but stable condition at Alfred hospital in Melbourne.
- AFP commissioner Krissy Barrett said police had no intelligence indicating Nugent posed a threat to Haines.
- Barrett said the AFP charges roughly one person weekly over political targeting amid a growing volume of online abuse.
- Haines's husband Phil Haines said she has lost both legs and faces a long recovery, remaining in stable condition.
- Police charged Brendan Nugent with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.
- Police are considering laying additional charges, including attempted murder, against the 43-year-old Brendan Nugent.
- The attack occurred on Monday outside Haines's electoral office in Wangaratta, as police investigate the motive.
- Authorities said threats against Australian politicians doubled between 2021 and 2025, warning that rising polarization threatens democracy.
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said 1,067 reports of harassment and threats against senior officials were logged over the past year.