We are now joined by the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, who is in Sydney for us this morning. Prime Minister, welcome back to News Breakfast.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Good morning, James.
GLENDAY: Really appreciate you making time for us. Is there anything at all you can tell us about the state of this investigation and also the condition of Helen Haines?
PRIME MINISTER: Helen Haines remains in hospital in a critical condition. She underwent surgery last night after being medevaced to Melbourne. And our thoughts and our prayers are very much with Helen today, but importantly with her family. I spoke with her husband Phil last night. Our thoughts are with him, Helen’s children and grandchildren, her many, many friends and the community there in that beautiful part of Victoria that she so proudly represents. Helen Haines is characterised by her kindness, her compassion, her diligence, her intelligence. She’s someone who is very passionate about advocating for the interests of North Victoria there, around Wodonga and Wangaratta and those communities, about jobs, about the clean energy transition, about economic development there, about health care. She’s someone who’s such a strong advocate and is widely respected right across the political spectrum because the way that she advocates is very respectful. So, Helen, I think people are shocked. She’s a particularly loved local member of Parliament. The investigation is continuing. It’s led by Victoria Police. We’ve established a Joint Counter Terrorism Taskforce that involves Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO. Someone is in custody, the alleged perpetrator of this attack. Last night, of course, he was taken into custody on the scene. Victoria Police are continuing that investigation. I’ll be briefed later this morning on the conduct of that investigation. At this stage, the motivation is not clear for why this incident has occurred. What is clear is that Helen Haines is in a serious condition. This was a serious incident and it is truly shocking that it occurred.
GLENDAY: Prime Minister, you were pretty clear in saying this was an attack. Some locals here have said much the same thing. They said that this man appeared to drive into her while she was at the back of her car. Do you think that it was politically motivated or an act of terrorism?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, I’m not going to speculate on the motivation. We’ll allow the police to do their work, but it’s very clear that this was a deliberate act. 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 accident, someone, you know, just getting off the road here. The motivation is not clear at this time. It’s important we don’t speculate on that, but allow facts to be found. And I’m sure that the police investigation will do that.
GLENDAY: Prime Minister, this is just a pretty ordinary looking street in a regional town, a relatively busy one at this time of the morning, but still somewhere that you would think was quite safe, nonetheless. Has this incident caused you to review the security that MPs and Senators have across the country?
PRIME MINISTER: Look, we constantly are monitoring these issues. You’d be aware I’ve spoken about the need to turn the heat down, about the way in which political discourse has risen in character, in some of the personal attacks, the way that discourse is conducted. It’s up to all of us in politics, in the media, in society, to decide for ourselves – what do we want Australia to be? I want Australia to be a country where people can go about their business, where Members and Senators can go to the local shops, can go to the footy and sit on the hill, can engage and get about and engage with people, because that’s the way that we keep in touch as well, it is very important. At the same time, obviously, security issues have to be dealt with and we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of people who’ve been charged with making threats. And we need to make sure that these things aren’t normalised, that the way that people conduct themselves. You can have disagreements, but do it respectfully. It’s important in a democracy that people are allowed to have disagreements. But that doesn’t mean that you have to draw into question people’s motivations or their patriotism or who they are. And we’ve seen, I think, political discourse go in the wrong direction in recent times. And I want us to acknowledge in the way that politics is conducted that what unites us is far more than any divisions that are there and any disagreements which are there as well. And this is a test of our character. I want Australian democracy to continue to be strong and continue to be accountable.
GLENDAY: Prime Minister, we’re going to have to let you go in a second, but just before I do, do you feel personally shaken by this? We’ve seen these types of incidents happen overseas, but not recently here in Australia.
PRIME MINISTER: I do. And the fact that it is someone like Helen Haines in that beautiful regional town of Wangaratta. I’ve been with Helen in Wangaratta there and I know what a great town it is and I know how proud she is to represent it. And the fact that an incident like this can occur there is something that does shake all of us, I think. And I think it will have an impact on all Australians, not just Members of Parliament. And I think it is a call to, you know, think of, today, of course, our thoughts overwhelmingly are just with Helen Haines. It’s about Helen today and her recovery and our wishes for a full recovery. But the debate about political discourse and the way we conduct ourselves will of course be ongoing.
GLENDAY: Prime Minister, we do really appreciate you joining our show and making time for us this morning.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks so much.
