Accused driver to face court as MP fights for life
A man accused of striking independent MP Helen Haines with his vehicle in an allegedly targeted attack is set to face court on multiple charges.
The LandCruiser driver who allegedly hit Independent MP Helen Haines has been charged over the “targeted” attack as details about the accused emerge.
Brendan Nugent, 43, will face Wangaratta Magistrates Court on Wednesday on charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.
“Police will allege the incident was targeted,” Victoria Police said in a statement after charges were laid on Tuesday night.
It comes as the Herald Sun reported the words Haines uttered as she was pinned between two vehicles during the shocking incident outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, Victoria, on Monday.
Haines reportedly thanked emergency workers and bystanders as they rushed to help.
“Thank you, you lovely people,” she said, according to the Herald Sun. “I appreciate your help.”
Brendan Nugent has been charged over the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines. Photo: AAP
The 65-year-old remains in a critical but stable condition.
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The accused’s father, Rod Nugent, and Rod’s partner Christine Cunningham on Tuesday revealed they had been friends with Haines for more than 20 years.
“We will be assisting Victoria Police in any way we can,” Nugent and Cunningham said in a statement released on Tuesday.
“We would like to sincerely thank members of the local community and police who came to Helen’s aid yesterday after the shocking and horrific crime.
“Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community.
“Helen has been our friend for more than 20 years and what happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable.”
Photos of the accused’s home at Tarrawingee, outside Wangaratta, were published by media on Wednesday, revealing an overgrown property crammed with rubbish.
The grass was waist-high, dishes were piled high in the kitchen sink and there were boxes of empty alcohol bottles.
‘Plant person’ to anti-Israel
For years, Brendan Nugent posted prolifically on social media about environmental conservation.
But, from late 2023 — coinciding with the escalation of violence in Gaza — his focus on X radically shifted from the protection of native forests to the conflict and other political issues.
In one post prior to the 2019 federal election, when Haines won the northeast Victorian seat of Indi, succeeding fellow independent Cathy McGowan, Nugent appeared supportive of her cause.
He tagged Haines’ personal account on the platform, then known as Twitter, in his post displaying political material, which he labelled: “LNP funded anti-independent propaganda.”
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Haines’ official MP account follows Nugent on X, where he has posted prolifically since 2014 under the handle @NotLaoTzu.
In his X bio, he identifies himself as a “plant person”, adding: “The world should be run by dogs and children.”
For close to a decade, Nugent posted hundreds of times advocating for less logging, the protection of Australia’s threatened species and action on climate change.
But from early 2024, he stopped posting about the environment on X almost entirely.
As recently as Sunday, two days before the alleged attack, Nugent reposted an article about an investigation by Italian officials into Israel’s defence minister, as well as a video about the trial of British comedian Russell Brand.
In a string of replies to posts in early 2024, Nugent was particularly active on issues involving Palestine in response to Australian politicians.
Nugent called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong “US lap dogs” in reply to a post condemning attacks by Iran on Israel.
“Maybe if you had warned Israel about its attacks the world wouldn’t be where it is right now,” he wrote.
Nugent responded to a post by Wong in which she said Australia was “clear” Israel should not proceed with attacks on the Rafah region of Gaza.
He replied: “You have not been clear on anything other than giving Israel impunity to kill thousands of children.”
Nugent also questioned the impairing effects of long-term cannabis use on drivers, saying opposition to the drug was “mostly ideological”.
In February 2018, Nugent posted about attending an anti-logging protest in Strathbogie in central Victoria in which he stated: “No machinery made it in today!”
He later posted asking for funding to support the program to help cover $7000 of fines issued to 10 protesters, including himself.
Nugent was a member of the Our Strathbogie Forest group, which campaigned against logging in the region, but he stopped attending meetings in person around the year 2020.
Many of the group’s members were supporters of Dr Haines and reported being highly distressed by the alleged attack on her.
-with AAP
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