Australian Lawmaker Remains Critical After Losing Leg in Vehicle Attack
The 65-year-old politician “remains in very good care,” Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said, according to reports.
Haines is receiving treatment at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital after a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV struck her outside her office in Wangaratta, in the state of Victoria, on Monday afternoon.
Police have taken 43-year-old Brendan Nugent into custody in connection with the incident. He appeared before Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court after authorities brought five charges against him, including dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, causing harm to a Commonwealth public official and drug-related offences.
Nugent did not seek bail during the court proceedings and is expected to be transferred to Melbourne Assessment Prison. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 4 next year.
In a statement, Nugent's family said they had maintained a friendship with Haines for more than two decades.
Federal police, Victoria Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) have launched a joint investigation into the incident.
Claire McGuinness, ASIO's deputy director-general for intelligence service delivery, renewed concerns about the country's deteriorating security climate, warning that Australia's security environment was "degrading.”
"We are seeing a climate that is more permissive of violence, and as a result, acts of politically motivated violence are becoming more likely," she said.
In a separate warning, the Australian Federal Police said the country was approaching a critical turning point as authorities confronted what they described as a "tsunami" of youth crime, with vulnerable young people increasingly exposed to online radicalization.
Police official Sandra Booth said the speed at which young people are being influenced and manipulated through online platforms has become one of the nation’s “greatest challenges in history.”
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