Federal lawmaker Helen Haines 'alive and stable,' husband says; suspect makes first appearance in court; police yet to announce motive, believe it was a targeted attack

Father of suspect Brendan Nugent, 43, gives statement of support to Helen Haines; motive yet to be formally declared; lawmakers suggest gender-based violence to blame; suspect's anti-Israel posts surface online

Ricky Jefferies says he had just finished cutting hair when he grabbed and held the driver who allegedly deliberately struck the Indi MP

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• Who is Helen Haines, the MP allegedly attacked in Victoria?

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The Australian prime minister has hailed him a hero for rushing out of his shop to help independent MP Helen Haines after she was allegedly run down in a deliberate attack – but barber Ricky Jefferies says he had “no choice” but to intervene.

Standing on Tuesday morning outside his shop, which is right next to Haines’ electorate office in Wangaratta, Jefferies was almost shy about the whole thing.

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© Photograph: Lauren Powell

© Photograph: Lauren Powell

© Photograph: Lauren Powell

Australia’s politicians have been facing increasing threats and abuse. It can no longer be dismissed as social media noise or harmless comment

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• Politicians condemn alleged attack after independent MP Helen Haines critically injured

• Who is Helen Haines, the MP allegedly attacked in Victoria?

Victorian independent MP Helen Haines was at the opening of a dog park in Mansfield on Monday, out and about in the sprawling northern Victorian electorate, talking to locals and moving freely.

Later in the afternoon, at 3.35pm, she was unpacking a car outside her electorate office when a man understood to be known to authorities struck her with his car. He allegedly completed a U-turn when he saw Haines.

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© Photograph: Martin Keep/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Martin Keep/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Martin Keep/AFP/Getty Images

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• ‘Deeply appalled’: politicians condemn alleged attack after Helen Haines critically injured

• Helen Haines, the principled MP respected across parliament

‘It’s very clear that this was a deliberate act’, PM says

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Haines’ alleged attacker “did a U-turn in order to get back to where Helen Haines was” after passing her on the road.

It would appear that the driver of the vehicle that inflicted the damage to Helen Haines did a U-turn in order to get back to where Helen Haines was after passing where she was getting things from the boot or putting things into the boot of her car.

So it’s clear that there was a deliberate act here, this wasn’t an accident – someone, you know, just getting off the road here.

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© Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

© Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

© Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA