The father of a 43-year-old man accused of allegedly attacking Helen Haines has pledged to work with police and described the incident as “shocking and horrific”.
The independent MP remained in a critical condition on Tuesday after being airlifted from Wangaratta in northern Victoria to Melbourne’s Alfred hospital for emergency surgery on Monday night. She has lost one leg, with surgeons working to save the other.
Police confirmed a 43-year-old Tarrawingee man alleged to have driven the Toyota LandCruiser was arrested at the scene.
Brendan Nugent was charged on Tuesday night with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally cause serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.
Victoria police confirmed in a statement that they would allege the attack was targeted. Nugent is expected to appear at Wangaratta magistrates court on Wednesday.
In a statement, Brendan Nugent’s father, Rod Nugent, and Rod’s partner, Christine Cunningham, said Haines had been their friend for more than 20 years.
“What happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable,” they said.
“We would like to sincerely thank members of the local community and police who came to Helen’s aid yesterday … We will be assisting Victoria Police in any way we can.
“Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community.”
‘Completely shocking’
Guardian Australia has spoken to local residents who have been concerned about Nugent’s behaviour for several years, including multiple allegations of abuse and threats from him.
They reported erratic behaviour, shouting and music playing loudly until the early hours of the morning. They also raised concerns about his mental health.
Nugent is a long-term forestry campaigner in the state’s north-east. Environment campaigners who worked with Nugent several years ago have expressed shock at his arrest.
Nugent has a master’s of forest ecosystems science from the University of Melbourne and spent years researching the forestry industry in Victoria. He has also been a registered business owner in Wangaratta.
Nugent was a committee member for the Save our Strathbogie Forest group, which campaigns against logging in the region. He became inactive around 2019-20.
His arrest has shocked the group’s chair, Bertrant Lobert, who said he initially appeared to be “a reasonable and thoughtful person but then he drifted away”.
“He was engaging, he was thoughtful and to hear what has happened now, if it all turns out to be true, is just completely shocking,” Lobert said.
“This is quite personal as a lot of people in our group knew Helen personally and were friends.
“This is more than just a tragedy about the targeting of public figures, it’s about our community and the people we know.”
Helen McKernan, the president of the Strathbogie Ranges Conservation Management Network Inc, also worked with Nugent as an activist before 2020.
She says Nugent lost contact with her network of forestry campaigners around this date.
“He was a committed activist,” McKernan said. “He would sleep out if necessary and help behind the scenes. We could always rely on him to turn up and contribute.”
“It’s just a shock.”
When the then-Victorian minister for environment, Lily D’Ambrosio, visited the Strathbogie forest in November 2019 to announce a ban on native forest logging, Nugent was among a group of about a dozen environmentalists who posed for photos.
Also among the group was Rebecca Swift, a friend of Dezi Freeman who owned the property where he was living when two police officers were killed and a third injured in a shooting last year.
Swift and Freeman shared conspiratorial beliefs about government and the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is unclear whether Nugent also embraced those views.
“Lily I was so pleased to be in the Strathbogie forest to hear your announcement today,” Swift commented on D’Ambrosio’s Facebook post announcing the logging ban.
“You gave us heart and hope that we are heard, and that our beloved wild landscapes are valued for so much more than merely dollars. Forest and wildlife defenders welcome a future where we can assist genuine governments to care for our national parks.”
Swift was contacted for comment.
The Victorian Nationals MP Tim McCurdy said Nugent was known to his Wangaratta office and regularly came in to raise different issues.
“He’s been at our office,” McCurdy said. “We get plenty of people come in, half a dozen a day come for various things. So yes, he’s been into our office, [to raise] various issues.
“Our office didn’t feel threatened by him, if they had they would ring the police. I want to wish Helen all the best.”
In October 2019, when Nugent was still actively campaigning on forestry issues, he praised Haines for her stance on climate change.
When Haines posted on X about an ABC Q+A episode, Nugent wrote “Would’ve been nice to include a politician who takes climate change seriously, such as yourself”.
