By Veronica Lenard , Rayane Tamer , Olivia Nguyen
The office of Helen Haines, who remains in a critical condition, has said its members are "devastated" by the attack on the independent MP, adding that their proximity to the incident had made the experience "deeply traumatic".
" Our team is devastated by the attack on Helen Haines this week. Helen is adored by her team. She is a remarkable leader, a truly wonderful boss and someone we all care about deeply," Kaz Rourke, Haines' chief of staff, said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon.
"Most of us were in the office when the incident occurred, and some of us were involved in Helen's immediate care, so this has been deeply traumatic for the team.
"We are receiving a great deal of support and my priority right now is making sure Helen's staff are as okay as they can be. I'm so very proud of them and know Helen would be too."
She added that, while Haines' office remained closed to the public, the team was "working in the background and planning towards reopening later next week".
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"It is important to us to keep doing our jobs, for Helen and for the people of Indi.
"Most of all, our hearts right now are with Helen, with Phil, their children and their family."
Melbourne's Alfred Hospital said on Thursday afternoon that Haines remains in a critical condition and would likely share another update on Friday morning.
Haines' husband Phil confirmed on Wednesday that the MP has had both her legs amputated and is recovering from multiple surgeries.
"But the good news in all this is Helen is alive and she's stable," he told reporters inside the hospital.
"That is the most important thing for our family."
Governor-General Sam Mostyn said she had the "great honour" to spend time with their broader family before the press conference.
"She's lost both her legs in this horrific attack and how any person, let alone a family then starts to process that," Mostyn told ABC News Breakfast.
"We've just got to continue to have them in our thoughts."
Independent MP Dai Le told SBS Vietnamese she had a "wonderful" conversation with Haines in the most recent parliamentary sitting week.
"Helen told me she was looking forward to the end of the year so she could have some rest. That last conversation with her has stayed with me."
The member for Fowler said it's "very difficult and confronting" to hear what has happened to Haines.
"My thoughts are with her, her husband and their family. It’s also an incredibly difficult time for the Nugent family [Brendan Nugent is accused of the attack], who know Helen. It’s hard to comprehend what has happened, and I feel for everyone involved."
Le said she was determined to keep up her community engagements.
"I will not stop attending community events or surround myself with security simply because of what has happened. I’m part of the people."
The update has brought some relief to her supporters across the electorate, including her predecessor Cathy McGowan .
McGowan won the seat of Indi in 2013, serving as the electorate’s first-ever independent MP until she retired in 2019.
She said the shock is still moving through the community.
"If it can happen to Helen, it can happen to anybody," she told SBS.
"We no longer think, in rural and regional Australia, with our strong communities, that we're immune.
"It was one of us, in our community, by one of us, and saved by us as well."
Supporters in Wodonga gathered for a vigil on Wednesday evening. Many had brought a cardboard orange cockatoo with them — a symbol throughout Haines' campaign.
Among them was Wodonga resident Susan Gordon-Brown. After moving to the area around a year and a half ago, she says she "can't think of anyone better to help".
"She has this huge constituency, yet she seems to be everywhere," she said.
Wolfgang Huber has been involved in every election Haines and McGowan have been in.
He said both have been really important for the community.
"We are a community that has come from all over the world and we should treasure that," he said.
"If I zip it, I look like any other Australian.
"But as soon as I open my mouth, they'll say 'oh, you're a migrant', and that hurts."
The man accused of attacking Haines will remain in custody until early next year, while an investigation into the incident continues.
Brendan Nugent has been charged with dangerous driving, intentionally causing serious injury, and a federal offence of causing harm to a public official. Court documents showed additional charges for cultivating and possessing cannabis.
He did not apply for bail and was taken to Melbourne Assessment Prison.
The 43-year-old's next court appearance is scheduled for 4 February 2027, for a committal hearing.
It's alleged he intentionally struck the 65-year-old MP with his Toyota LandCruiser outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, northern Victoria, on Monday afternoon.
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Vietnamese.
