# Australian lawmaker hit by car in deliberate attack

> Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says independent MP Helen Haines was deliberately struck by a vehicle outside her office, as police investigate and arrest the driver.
- Title: Australian lawmaker hit by car in deliberate attack · ABC News
- Summary: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says independent MP Helen Haines was deliberately struck by a vehicle outside her office, as police investigate and arrest…
- Keywords: helen haines, anthony albanese, australia, wangaratta, parliament, attack, counterterrorism, news, Australian, lawmaker, hit, car
- Source: ABC News — https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/police-car-hit-australian-lawmaker-critically-injuring-driver-137371405
- Author: ABC News
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: helen haines, anthony albanese, australia, wangaratta, parliament, attack, counterterrorism, news
## Independent MP struck by vehicle
Helen Haines, sixty-five, was hit by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV outside her electoral district office in Wangaratta, Victoria state on Monday afternoon, critically injuring her.
## Prime minister calls it deliberate
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the incident was not an accident. "This wasn't an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear."

> This wasn't an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear.
## Driver arrested at scene
A forty-three-year-old driver was arrested at the scene by a passerby. Police located and seized a knife from inside the Toyota and said they are investigating whether it was intentional.
## Threats against lawmakers doubled
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said in two thousand twenty-five that threats against parliamentarians had doubled over three years.
## Albanese blames polarized climate
Albanese told the ABC that an increasingly polarized political climate had led to security changes for lawmakers.He said there has been too much shouting and not enough polite conversation, with social media playing a part.

> I think there has been a rise in temperature and there has been too much shouting, not enough discourse, not enough polite conversation and disagreement.
## Key takeaway

Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines was critically injured when a car hit her outside her office in Wangaratta on Monday in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as a deliberate attack, not an accident.