Image source, EPA

A man has been charged over the alleged attack on Australian MP Helen Haines on Monday.

A 43-year-old remains in custody and will appear in court on Wednesday. Here's a recap of what we know:

Haines's condition

• Haines remains in a "critical but stable condition", according to the latest police station
• Alfred Hospital, in Melbourne, has confirmed that Haines underwent surgery last night
• Local media reports has lost one of her legs

Suspect charged

• Police say a 43-year-old man was arrested at the scene and has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official
• Police say they will allege the incident was targeted
• The suspect has not been officially identified, but local media has named him as Brendan Nugent
• Nugent's family have released a statement. His father, Rod Nugent, and father's partner, say they have been friends with Haines "for more than 20 years"
• The family adds that it will be "assisting Victoria Police in any way we can", describing the attack as "devastating and unfathomable"

We're pausing our live coverage now. You can read more in our news story here.

South Australia Police says it will brief all MPs in the area next week on "security issues, arrangements and precautions" following the attack of independent MP Helen Haines.

The force - which covers the neighbouring state to Victoria, where the alleged attack on Haines occurred - says that although the incident "appears to be isolated" the briefing will include steps for MPs to enhance their personal safety.

It adds that security arrangement for MPs is under "constant review" and are "continually adjusted" based on the latest intelligence.

Australian MP Helen Haines was hit by a car on Monday at around 15:35 local time (05:35 BST) close to her office in Wangaratta, Victoria.

Police said the incident happened on Murphy Street - where her electorate office is located.

A property in Great Alpine Road, Tarrawingee, was searched by police on Tuesday morning.

A short while ago, a 43-year-old man from Tarrawingee was charged with three offences.

As we've been reporting, police have not named the man, but he was named by local media as Brendan Nugent.

Flowers and messages of support have been left outside of Helen Haines's electorate office in Wangaratta.

One tribute, written on a small white card, says its been placed there to reciprocate the support Helen has given "through difficult times".

Haines was hit by a car close to her office. She remains in "critical but stable condition", according to the latest police statement.

Image source, EPA / Shuttershock

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

In their statement, Victoria Police say a highway patrol unit was nearby at the time of the incident and "on scene" within eight seconds of the call coming through.

As we've reported, the statement says a 43-year-old Tarrawingee man has been charged.

Police say a search warrant was executed at a Great Alpine Road property in Tarrawingee this morning.

"At this stage it appears this is an isolated incident, and there are currently no other known threats connected to this matter," the police say, adding that officers will maintain a presence in the city of Wangaratta where the incident took place.

Haines remains in hospital in a "critical but stable condition", the statement says.

Image source, Wangaratta Chronicle, Bailey Zimmermann

We can now bring you images of the suspect being detained at the scene on Monday.

Victoria Police say a 43-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.

Although police have not named the man charged, local media have identified him as Brendan Nugent.

Nugent's family have also released a statement. The suspect's father, Rod Nugent, and father's partner, Christine Cunningham, say they've been friends with Haines "for more than 20 years". They describe the incident as "devastating and unfathomable".

He will be held overnight to appear at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.

Image source, Wangaratta Chronicle, Bailey Zimmermann

Simon Atkinson
Reporting from Wangaratta

As we've just reported, police in Australia have charged a man after Helen Haines was hit by a car on Monday.

The 43-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official.

He remains in custody and will appear at Wangaratta Magistrates' Court tomorrow.

Police say they will allege the incident was targeted.

A 43-year-old man has been charged over the alleged attack on Australian MP Helen Haines.

We'll have more in our next post.

Australia will be changed by the attack on Helen Haines, the mayor of the city where the incident took place tells the BBC.

Irene Grant adds the incident "should" change Australia, adding: "It's a terrible thing."

She describes the incident as an "assassination attempt", adding: "The discourse in public life has changed. It's become a lot more tense."

The Wangaratta mayor says Australia has always imagined it's "immune" to violence like that which occurred on Monday, but adds "we're not".

Haines is as a "warm", "cheerful" and "committed" MP, Grant says, who had a focus on issues such as environmental and indigenous rights.

Police say they are still investigating the "alleged targeting" of Haines. Officers said on Monday they were investigating whether the incident was intentional - the suspect has not been charged.

Image source, AAP

We've just had an update from the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, where Haines underwent surgery last night.

They say the MP remains in a critical condition.

Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Haines was in "critical but stable".

Local media, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, has reported that the MP has lost one of her legs.

Wangaratta, Victoria, is a rural town of 30,000 people, around three hours' drive north-east of Melbourne.

Our correspondent Katy Watson has sent this report from the town - a place, she says, that remains in a state of shock.

Simon Atkinson
Reporting from Wangaratta

I’ve been speaking to locals who are still clearly shocked at what happened here 24 hours ago.

Jane Hill, who owns The Spirited Party Shop, a few hundred metres down the town's Main Street from where Dr Haines was hit, says she feels "numb".

"Everyone knows Helen. She is a such a good person in our community. She’d go to everything - celebrations, funerals, she’s one of those genuinely kind people - and so are her family.

"They’re saying it was deliberate - and as a country person, I worry that things like this are happening here now."

Image source, BBC: Simon Atkinson

Image source, Getty Images

The family of the man accused of attacking Helen Haines have released a statement, describing the alleged attack as "devastating and unfathomable".

The suspect's father, Rod Nugent, and father's partner, Christine Cunningham, say they've been friends with Haines "for more than 20 years".

"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," they say.

"Helen Haines is a deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community.

"All of our love and all of our thoughts are with Helen and her family and friends."

The suspect has been named by local media as 43-year-old Brendan Nugent, an environmental campaigner in the city of Wangaratta.

The family statement adds they will be "assisting Victoria Police in any way we can".

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The local barber who grabbed the suspect out of his car told reporters earlier he doesn’t think he is a "hero".

"I just think I was a person who had the opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish sort of way," Ricky Jefferies says.

Jefferies, whose barber shop is near the scene of the attack, says he searched the suspect and found a knife.

"He didn’t pull it [the knife] out. I just wasn't comfortable with his movements and so I took it out of his pocket and threw it away," Jefferies says.

Other bystanders also got involved too, he adds.

"They didn’t even check for danger, they just ran to help," he says. "The driver was still in the car, the car was still on and they sat in front of a rolling car, that's not an exaggeration.

"There is a man who sat in front of a rolling car to help someone, that really happened."

• See Jefferies describe the incident in our video rail at the top of the page

Katy Watson
Australia correspondent reporting from Wangaratta

At the vigil earlier today, locals queued patiently in the cathedral aisle, waiting their turn to light a candle for Helen Haines.

People there were emotional – the priests hugging some of those who’d come to pay their respects.

There were Wangaratta residents, as well as people who’d travelled from other electorates to show their solidarity after what happened.

Clearly there’s a lot of affection for Dr Haines. Sitting in the pews, are people wearing orange T-shirts – campaign merchandise emblazoned with "team Helen Haines".

Haines won this seat as an independent back in 2019, and in the years since has become a prominent member of the crossbench, building rapport across Australia's increasingly divided political spectrum.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Helen Haines, the independent MP for the Indi division in Victoria, is well regarded by her colleagues and seen by many as a unifying force in an age of increasingly divisive politics.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called her a "beacon of light" while fellow MP Allegra Spender says she's the person she turns to "when I have an ethical dilemma".

The independent MP has only been a federal parliamentarian for a relatively short time - having been elected in 2019. However, in that time she has become an influential advocate for integrity in politics.

Haines proposed legislation for a national anti-corruption watchdog in 2021, and has been credited for driving the creation of the National Anti-Corruption Commission under Labor in the previous parliamentary term.

Before entering politics, she worked as a nurse, midwife, and public health researcher and she has published several research papers on maternal health.

MPs say the apparent attack is their 'worst nightmare' come truepublished at 06:04 BST

06:04 BST

Tiffanie Turnbull
BBC News, Sydney

As increasingly frequent acts of violence against politicians have shocked the globe in recent years, Australia has watched on with a contradictory feeling: that attacks like that could not happen here, and that it was only a matter of time until they did.

But MPs and public figures – backed by experts – have been warning of a volcano of threats against them as social cohesion cracks, polarisation intensifies and the tone of debate grows hotter.

Coalition Senator James Paterson told News24 on Tuesday: "I'd like to say that I was surprised… but I'm not at all surprised."

MPs from across the spectrum have been describing a political climate in which they've found themselves wearing disguises in public, locking their office doors, and scanning every crowd for potential threats.

Women in politics are particularly scared, said Victorian state MP Georgie Purcell, who shares part of her electorate with Haines: "For many of us, the news... is our worst nightmare."

There have been frustrated rumblings in Canberra from some MPs who say security arrangements have not changed to match the threat and – if a political motivation for this incident is confirmed – one of the greatest tenets of the nation's political culture could now be at risk.

Read the analysis here.

Helen Haines, the independent federal MP for Indi, is in a "critical but stable condition", Australia's prime minister has confirmed.

"All of our thoughts are with Helen Haines today, with her family, her team, her many many friends and indeed her community as well," Anthony Albanese told the audience at an event in Melbourne this afternoon.

He also got a chance to chat to Ricky Jefferies, the local barber who pulled the driver out of the car that hit Haines and detained him until police arrived.

"It’s a reminder that at the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character," Albanese says, adding Jefferies ran into danger "not knowing what the consequences could potentially be for him".

Image source, Getty Images

An outpouring of thoughts and well wishes, in the form of flowers, has built up in the street outside Helen Haines' MP office in Wangaratta this morning.

The tributes illustrate Haines' popularity among members of her electorate.

Image source, Simon Atkinson/BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Simon Atkinson/BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he spoke with Anthony Albanese in the aftermath of the alleged attack on Helen Haines, and passed on "thoughts and prayers from New Zealand".

Speaking to journalists this morning, Luxon described the incident as a “terrible set of circumstances”.

"The facts haven't still come out as to what the motivation has been or was, but you know, a concerning development in Australia for sure," he said.

New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters said in an X post that "New Zealand is shocked by the attack on Australian MP Helen Haines".

"Violence has absolutely no place in politics," he wrote.