MELBOURNE — Australian independent MP Helen Haines has lost a leg and remains in critical condition after a driver allegedly rammed her twice with a four-wheel drive outside her electorate office in the Victorian town of Wangaratta, an attack Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said appeared to be deliberate.

A deliberate assault on a sitting federal lawmaker is rare in Australia, where MPs have long met voters in their home towns with no security detail. A joint counterterrorism team of police and intelligence officers has been activated, and security agencies will brief federal lawmakers on their personal safety this week.

Haines, 65, was taking items from the boot of her car on Murphy Street at about 3.30pm on Monday when she was struck by a white Toyota LandCruiser, according to the ABC.

Witnesses said the driver passed her, turned around and drove into her. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the driver then reversed and struck her a second time.

"This wasn't an accident. There was a deliberate act, it would appear. We don't know what the motivation is," Albanese told the ABC, according to the Associated Press.

Haines was taken to the local hospital and then flown about 236 kilometres to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, where she underwent surgery overnight on severe lower-body injuries. The ABC reported that doctors amputated one leg and were working to save the other.

Her family thanked first responders for their swift help and asked the public and media to respect their privacy, saying they would make no further comment for now.

A 43-year-old man from the nearby locality of Tarrawingee was held at the scene by members of the public and arrested. He was formally questioned by detectives on Tuesday morning and had not been charged by that time. Sources told the ABC that he was known to police and had undergone a mental health assessment in custody.

Ricky Jefferies, who runs a barber shop near the office, initially believed he was witnessing a car accident, Australian media reported. He ran out, helped restrain the driver and took a knife from the man's pocket, saying he wanted to stop anyone else from being hurt.

The man's father, Rod Nugent, and stepmother, Christine Cunningham, said in a statement that Haines had been "our friend for more than 20 years" and called the attack devastating.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the force and Victoria Police were working out what charges to bring. These "may include state and Commonwealth offences, such as the offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official," she said. That offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, according to Al Jazeera.

Barrett described the attack as an "isolated incident and there are no known threats connected to this matter." Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason also said there was no intelligence pointing to an ongoing threat, and that detectives were trying to establish what happened, how and why.

Albanese called Haines a "beacon of light" and urged Australians not to speculate about a motive. He said political debate had grown too heated, partly because of social media, and called for the "political temperature" to be lowered.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said: "Our nation cannot become a place where violent attacks are normalised." Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the attack "deeply disturbing," and Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said he was "appalled."

Haines, a former nurse and midwife who worked in rural hospitals in the region, has held the north-east Victorian seat of Indi since 2019. She succeeded Catherine McGowan, an independent backed by the same grassroots community movement, making her the first independent in federal parliament to take over a seat from another independent. She was re-elected in 2022 and 2025.

In Canberra she is known for pushing for stronger climate policy and for her work on political transparency, including her push for a federal anti-corruption watchdog. She is regarded as respected across party lines and as a neutral, non-polarising figure, the ABC reported. State MP Tim McCurdy called her "the most inoffensive person you come across."

The attack comes as threats against Australian politicians rise. Police said last year that threats against parliamentarians had doubled over three years, and official figures recorded more than 1,000 threats against politicians in the 2025-26 financial year, the AP reported.

Political campaigning for the Victorian state election, due on November 28, was paused on Tuesday out of respect for Haines. Carroll said there was now a discussion about whether more security was needed, including at polling booths.

The Department of Home Affairs, the AFP and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation will brief federal MPs and senators in person at Parliament House and online on Wednesday, and lawmakers will be encouraged to share their diaries with the AFP.