The attack on Independent MP Helen Haines in Wangaratta has shocked a nation whose politics is normally peaceful even by the standards of mature democracies. A hardworking, decent parliamentarian with a strong moral compass and a gift for achieving consensus, Haines seems an especially unlikely figure to attract the kind of brutality visited on her yesterday.
We do not yet know the motivation behind this alleged attack. But there is no question Australia’s politics have been fractious over the past 12 months. Violence, literal and rhetorical, has been a growing feature of the landscape, shaping the relations between citizens and politicians – and among one another. The Bondi massacre of December 14 2025 is widely regarded as a tragic turning point in this regard.
