9 To 5 Aussie

Updated: 21 October 2026, 11:22 am AEDT Brendan Nugent was remanded in custody after his first appearance at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 21 October, over the alleged car attack on independent federal MP Helen Haines. He did not apply for bail and is due back in court on 4 February for a committal mention, ABC court reporters said . The 43-year-old Tarrawingee man faces charges of dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. He was not required to enter a plea at the brief hearing. The charges remain allegations and have not been proven. ABC reported that Magistrate Allison Vaughan set 24 December as the deadline for police to provide their brief of evidence to the defence. The magistrate also requested an immediate medical assessment for Nugent. Further details of the alleged offending were not aired in court. BBC journalists attending the hearing independently confirmed that no bail ...

Updated: 20 October 2026, 23:27 AEDT (Sydney) Victoria Police charged a 43-year-old Tarrawingee man on Tuesday evening over the alleged vehicle attack that critically injured independent MP Helen Haines outside her Wangaratta office on Monday. The man, identified by ABC News as Brendan Nugent , faces dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and the Commonwealth offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. In a statement published at 7:39pm on Tuesday , police said he would be held overnight to appear at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 21 October. The charges are allegations and have not been determined by a court. Police allege a white Toyota LandCruiser struck Haines, 65, outside an office on Murphy Street at about 3:35pm on Monday, 19 October. They said the incident was targeted. A member of the public initially restrained the man before he was taken into custody at about 3:40pm. Detectives searched a property on Great A...