Governor-general appeals to Australians to ‘exercise our muscle of decency’; Haines’ husband reveals MP has lost second leg
- Written by: Weekend Times
Governor-General Sam Mostyn has appealed to Australians to “learn or relearn to exercise our muscle of decency” in the wake of Monday’s horrific attack on Helen Haines.
Mostyn appeared
late Wednesday at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital with Haines’ husband Phil, at his invitation. He revealed that earlier in the day, Haines’ second leg had been amputated.
Haines remains in a critical but stable condition, after Brendan Nugent allegedly drove his Toyota Landcruiser at her when she was standing by the boot of her car outside her electorate office in Wangaratta. She was pinned between vehicles.
Mostyn, disclosing that King Charles was being “regularly updated on this shocking moment”, said the violent attack on a much loved and respected member of parliament “must be a moment for us to pause and to choose to be better”.
She said she and Haines had discussed the issue of civility a fortnight ago when they were at a function in Euroa.
“We talked about the need for greater civility and engagement across our civic and public.
As ever, Helen was actively thinking of ways in which the Australian community could come together and be encouraged to be both more engaged in our democracy, our great democracy, and participate with the kind of engagement she has always done – kindness and care and respect.
Asking what the nation should do now, Mostyn said she imagined that in such circumstances Haines would be reaching out to those who were terribly distressed by what had happened and were trying to cope.
We need to offer everyone comfort to get through this, to celebrate our strong and stable system of government and parliaments and democracy, and be proud of that.
Remind ourselves, as Helen says all the time, that Australians have good hearts, great hearts, and checking each of ourselves to ensure that we are in fact disagreeing well, not fighting with one another, not descending into violence and chaos and division. Most importantly, that we learn or relearn to exercise our muscle of decency.
Mostyn said in communities around Australia, people "are yearning for kindness and care, and they’re asking us why we’ve lost the great skill of disagreeing well and with decency to each other.
"The great Australian democracy, has always relied on passionate and robust debate. It’s a healthy and vital part of a modern and successful nation, and Helen plays a huge role in that in representing her community.
"We don’t have to all agree, but we can wrestle the issue, not the person, just as Helen has done throughout her time in parliament, representing the issues of her community and fighting for the very best. And it’s important to remember, words matter, whether spoken or in written form, or increasingly in the virtual world.”
“I hope that as Australians, we can now reflect thoughtfully on what has happened and can recommit all ourselves to the care, kindness, and respect that I know are so deeply embedded in the Australian character.”
‘Her heart is huge’: Phil Haines
Phil Haines said it had been hoped Helen’s right leg could be saved. While this couldn’t be done, “the good news in all this is Helen is alive and she’s stable.
"The two most important parts of Helen for us as a family are her heart and her mind. Her heart is huge.
"She is a very compassionate, caring, loving person, incredibly supportive of all around her, her family, her community, anybody she comes across and her mind – she has the sharpest intellect. She has always had the most intense desire to learn, to read, to synthesise, and to understand what’s going on. We are grateful and thankful that at this stage, both her heart and her mind are in good shape.”
He said her road to recovery would be “long and difficult, but we know she is a fighter”.
He appealed to people who wanted to support Helen to donate to Save The Children, a Charity of which she was “a passionate supporter”.
Phil Haines, who said he and Helen would next month celebrate 40 years of marriage, broke down at the end of his comments. He hastened away before realising he hadn’t introduced Mostyn.
Nugent in court
Haines’ alleged attacker faced magistrate Allison Vaughan in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
He is charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury; intentionally cause serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. He is also charged with cultivating cannabis and possessing cannabis.
Nugent’s Lawyer Chirag Patel told the court his client suffered from idiopathic transverse myelitis. This is a rare neurological disorder that involves an inflammation of the spinal cord.
Nugent also had a concussion and suffered mental health problems, the court was told.
There was no bail application and Nugent has been ordered to reappear at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on February 4.
Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
