Helen Haines has lost both her legs, her husband confirmed in an update on Wednesday afternoon.

Haines’ left leg was amputated shortly after the horrific alleged attack on Monday but surgeons had hoped to save the right leg.

However, the limb had to be amputated on Wednesday morning.

‘What took place on Monday was a horrendous incident and it’s caused Helen significant injuries,’ Phil Haines said.

‘As a result of that, Helen’s left leg was amputated on Monday.

‘We had been hoping that her right leg would be saved but as of this morning, the surgeon’s had to also remove her right leg.

‘But the good news in all this is Helen is alive and she’s stable. That is the most important thing for our family.’

Despite the devastating update, Phil was grateful his wife had survived.

‘When we reflect and talk about and think about Helen, the two most important parts of Helen are her heart and her mind,’

‘…We are grateful and thankful that at this stage, both her heart and her mind are in good shape.’

Mr Haines, an agricultural scientist, shared he and the MP will celebrate 40 years of marriage next month.

He thanked the witnesses and emergency services that rushed to help his wife immediately after the alleged attack.

Mr Haines also teared up as he thanked the community for the outpouring of support and love in the wake of the crash.

‘I thank all those people for what they are doing and I ask them to keep doing it,’ he said.

‘Helen’s road to recovery will be long and difficult but we know she is a fighter.

‘She is a determined person who will do her best with our support and love to recover – and that is what we hope for.’

By Wayne Flower

Nugent’s former primary school art teacher ‘Jacquie’ (pictured below) attended court on Wednesday to show support for her former pupil.

Outside, she took a swipe at the media coverage of Nugent, accusing the press of a ‘pile on’.

‘He’s been branded an extremist. I don’t believe he is,’ she said.

‘If you look at his social media, from what I’ve seen …he does not threaten violence. He does not speak about terror.’

Jacquie described Nugent as a ‘great kid’.

‘From what I can remember, he was great kid,’ she said.

‘I could see that there was possibly some issues with him that probably ran a bit deeper. He was a bit withdrawn sometimes, but yeah, he was a beautiful kid, like most of the kids were.’

Jacquie said she felt ‘sick’ when she heard Haines had been injured in the alleged attack.

‘So I felt sick to the core for both of people involved and all their families,’ she said.

Jacquie said while she largely lost touch with Nugent over the years, she rekindled her friendship with him in recent times.

‘I had made contact with him again a few years ago to support him on a mental health journey that he was involved in, which only lasted for a few weeks, but was supporting him to be normal, to be able to go out and interact in the normal world,’ she said.

‘He was quite confused about being in an institution here, and needed support, and I felt that I could do that. There was a level of trust there, not that we’d known each other in between that, but yeah, he definitely trusted me to be able to just walk alongside him.’

His former teacher said she felt it was important to show Nugent support in his time of need.

‘I just wanted to make contact as a human towards another human who’s possibly been very marginalised for a long time because of his mental health issues. Someone who’s been reaching out for help for a long time,’ she said.

Jacquie described Nugent as an intelligent person who had a deep passion for horticulture.

‘I know that I know that it was hard for him to find work. But yeah, look, I’m not surprised at anything really,’ she said.

‘I just think there’s been a trial by media that’s been really unfair, and a lot of people have already made their mind up.

‘And I think we need to know exactly what happened, what was going on for him.’

By Wayne Flower

The man accused of mowing down independent Indi MP Helen Haines was unmedicated despite suffering complex neurological issues, a court has heard.

Brendan Nugent, 43, appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he was formally charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. The final charge is a federal offence.

Court documents have also revealed that he was also charged with separate offences of the cultivation and possession of cannabis.

Sporting a long, dishevelled beard and wearing a dirty grey windcheater, shorts, and thongs (beach footwear), Nugent gazed at the media pack during the brief filing hearing.

He sat staring with dark circles around his eyes and his lips closed.

Nugent was flanked by burly armed guards on both sides, with more security seated within the body of the courtroom.

The courtroom was packed with reporters, who were made to stand and watch proceedings.

Nugent’s lawyer, Chirag Patel, said his client suffered from a neurological condition, idiopathic transverse myelitis, but had not been diagnosed with any mental health problems.

However, Mr Patel said he had ‘concerns’ about his client’s mental health and wanted him to see a medical practitioner.

He also told the court that his client was also suffering from concussion.

The court heard that Nugent was not being medicated for the disorder, with a magistrate ordering he been seen by a custody nurse.

Nugent made no application for bail and will return to court in February.

Outside court, Nugent’s prison van was swamped by photographers, who jostled for a position to shoot him in custody.

The alleged offender was largely hidden from the pack as he was escorted in a back entrance and taken away via the same exit.

It is expected he will be driven back to Melbourne and remanded in custody most likely at the Melbourne Assessment Prison.

Many locals who had seen the horror unfold were outside court on Wednesday.

Among them was Cody Lepoidevin, who was one of the first people on the scene to help Haines.

Mr Lepoidevin was supported outside court by friends, who had rushed to comfort him after the horror scenes outside his place of business.

Helen Haines’ husband Phil is due to give an update on her health at 5pm after she underwent hours of surgery.

The 65-year-old federal MP was rushed to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne on Monday night but one of her legs could not be saved.

Mr Haines has supported his wife’s political career, including driving from Wangaratta to Canberra during weeks when parliament was sitting.

He is expected to make a statement with the support of Governor-General Sam Mostyn.

Parliamentarians will rethink how they function within their communities and in public.

That’s the warning from crossbench senator David Pocock as he paid tribute to his great friend Helen Haines during a National Press Club address in Canberra on Wednesday.

‘We get to decide how we respond, though, and what we actually put in place as parliamentarians, but as Australians, my view is, we have to ensure that we have a democracy where your local politician lives in the community, goes to local coffee shop, does the groceries, is part of that’s something Australians love about Australia,’ Pocock told the crowd.

‘So I think we need to be looking at things that we put in place as parliamentarians, but then as Australians more generally, to ensure that that can happen.

‘Things have undeniably changed, but we get to respond to that. And I think there’s a bunch of things we can do as parliamentarians, the way that we engage.’

The former Australian rugby union international also revealed that he was forced to moved house because ‘everyone knew’ his address.

Pocock also conceded that while he received abuse as a male politician, it was ‘nothing compared to what my female colleagues cop on a daily basis’.

‘If you want to hear stories of harassment, and of just vile phone calls, emails, comments – talk to basically any female MP,’ he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Housing Minister Clare O’Neil admitted that this week’s alleged attack on Haines has forced all politicians to rethink how they operate in public.

‘I want really people at home to understand the vast majority of interactions that I have with the Australian people are polite, they are friendly,’ she told Sunrise.

‘Even people who are coming to me with a problem or a criticism, they are very largely respectful.

‘What is so different now from when I first got involved in politics is that online environment, the level of vitriol, the absolute wall of abuse that you will experience every day as any woman in public life. That is what has changed.’

O’Neil added that other occupations are also impacted.

‘This is not just about politicians – if you talk to paramedics, to ambos, to teachers, to anyone who kind of has that service aspect of their job, they will tell you that they’re experiencing the same thing,’ she said.

‘And our country has got to find a way out of this because this is not Australia.’

An Australian-wide vigil will be held for MP Helen Haines this Friday night as she continues to fight for life in hospital.

Aussies are urged to light a candle for Haines at 8pm AEDT.

‘I just thought Helen’s just gone through something utterly life-altering and I would love it if everyone could just sit and focus on Helen, her husband, her children, her colleagues, you know, her friends,’ organiser Tracey Asquith told ABC Radio.

More than 200 locals attended a community prayer vigil in Wangaratta on Tuesday.

Rural City of Wangaratta held a special council meeting on Wednesday to formally support Dr Helen Haines

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has renewed calls for greater respect in political debate as he leapt to the defence of his boss, Anthony Albanese, amid recent reports of a ‘dirt file’ on Helen Haines.

The independent MP for Indi lost a leg and remains in a critical condition after Brendan Nugent, 43, allegedly rammed her against her car with his Toyota LandCruiser, reversed, and drove into her a second time outside her office in Wangaratta, in north-east Victoria, on Monday afternoon.

In the wake of the alleged incident, which has shocked Australia, Prime Minister Albanese called for the political temperature to be lowered as he praised Haines’ integrity and warned against unjustified attacks on politicians’ motives.

The Daily Mail has since revealed that Albanese’s office recently circulated a dirt sheet to journalists, baselessly raising questions about Haines’ integrity after she criticised a $6 million government grant allocated to his local golf course in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west.

Marles expressed admiration for his leader when he was questioned about the dirt file during an appearance on Channel Nine’s Today show on Wednesday.

‘I don’t think it’s about pointing fingers,’ he said.

‘I think what it is about is all of us taking responsibility for the way in which we engage in public discourse.

‘I actually think the Prime Minister is a person who, in terms of how he engages in discourse, in terms of the public debate, does so with grace.

‘It’s one of the things I admire about Anthony Albanese, and I think anyone who looks at the way in which the Prime Minister goes about how he speaks on issues, speaks about his colleagues and speaks about politics.

‘It is somebody who does so in a very sensible, considered and, I think, graceful way.’

Marles called on parliamentarians from all sides to follow Albanese’s lead in turning down the political heat.

‘We all need to embrace that and just understand that while there are our opponents, if you like, in politics, who in many ways are our colleagues as well, and have differing views, we all acknowledge the sincerity with which people come to their work to try and improve their communities,’ he said.

‘And that has to be the starting point in the way in which we engage in the public debate.’

Marles described Haines as a ‘beacon of decency’ and an embodiment of the robust but respectful debate expected of parliamentarians.

‘Anyone who looks at Helen Haines knows that what she is, is a person who is just sincerely, each and every day, trying to represent her community and make life better for it,’ he said.

‘She has always been a picture of grace. So that this has happened to her, you know, is deeply upsetting and, as I say, my thoughts are very much with her and her family.’

Victoria Police confirmed that it had not be monitoring Brendan Nugent before he allegedly rammed into MP Helen Haines outside her office on Monday.

‘We had no intelligence holdings against this 43-year-old individual,’ Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters.

‘And there was nothing known to us that would have … piqued our interest or given any indication that he was an immediate threat.’

Nugent (pictured after Monday’s arrest) will appear in Wangaratta Local Court for the first time on Wednesday morning.

The man accused of hitting Helen Haines with his car could face more charges, Victoria Police say.

‘While I say this investigation is far from complete, we are not ruling out further serious charges,’ the Victoria Police chief commissioner Mike Bush said.

‘I want to further add that we have deployed a number of staff into Wangaratta to give assurance to members of the public.

‘We do believe this was a deliberate but isolated act.’

Additional charges could include one count of attempted murder.

‘It’s been publicised – some sort of to and from on social media,’ Commissioner Bush said.

‘But at this point, we don’t understand there’s any direct personal contact previously.

‘But, we’re not ruling that out either.’

‘Motivation is one of these things that we absolutely need to explore. His motivation for this — what we allege is a deliberate attack — is very much a centrepiece of the investigation,’ Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said.

‘Our people will continue to explore every element, angle and avenue to work that out.

‘I cannot give that information in terms of motivation. It’s something that, when we work towards it, discover it, we will present in court.’

Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said the incident was shocking.

‘Absolutely shocking for Helen, her family, the community – not just because she’s a very well–respected person – not just because she’s a member of parliament. She is a member of the community,’ he told a press conference on Tuesday morning.

‘Everyone deserves to be protected from acts like this. People should not be out there causing serious harm to others.

‘Everyone in Victoria Police comes to work to prevent those kind of actions from occurring. So, that’s why our thoughts are absolutely with her, and we come to work every day to prevent such events.’