Helen Haines’s condition improves days after losing both legs from alleged attack

Independent MP Helen Haines’s condition has been downgraded to serious but stable after she lost both legs following an alleged attack near her electorate office in north-east Victoria on Monday afternoon.

The Alfred hospital in Melbourne provided an update on Haines’s condition on Saturday morning.

“The patient is in a serious but stable condition at The Alfred on Saturday morning,” a spokesperson for the hospital said.

Haines, the federal MP for the Victorian seat of Indi, had been in a critical but stable condition after she was struck by a car in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon. Surgeons were trying to save her right leg on Tuesday, but both legs had to be amputated due to the seriousness of her injuries.

Police on Tuesday charged Brendan Nugent, 43, from nearby Tarrawingee with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally cause serious injury and the commonwealth offence of causing harm to a commonwealth public official. Police have since charged him with two additional offences – cultivating and possessing cannabis – according to court documents.

Nugent appeared in court on Wednesday and did not apply for bail.

On Friday, an update on Haines’s social media accounts said her staff were working to reopen her electorate offices next Thursday.

“What happened on Monday has deeply affected Helen’s family and all of her staff. Many of us witnessed the incident and some were among the first to come to her aid,” the post read.

“As Helen takes the time she needs to recover, we will take time to look after ourselves and one another, too. Healing will take time, and we ask for your understanding as we navigate the days and weeks ahead.”

The alleged attack on Haines has reverberated through Australian politics, prompting conversations about the temperature of political debate and mental services in regional Victoria.