IN FULL: Helen Haines has lost both legs after attack, husband confirms — ABC NEWS

[0:00] Thank you for being here. [0:01] So as was introduced, my name is Phil Haynes. [0:05] I've been married to Helen for almost 40 years. [0:08] In fact, next month we celebrate our 40th anniversary. [0:13] I'm here today to give you an update about Helen's health [0:18] on behalf of my family, our three children, [0:22] their partners, and our two gorgeous grandchildren [0:26] who were just born in the last four months [0:28] and in the last four weeks. [0:30] They give us all great joy and happiness to have them here with us. [0:34] They are here at the moment, next door. [0:38] I also are here to represent and speak on behalf of Helen's four brothers [0:42] and their families and my three brothers and their families. [0:49] So what took place on Monday was an horrendous incident, [0:55] and it's, as you know, caused Helen significant injuries. [1:00] As a result of that, Helen's left leg was amputated on Monday. [1:07] We had been hoping that her right leg would be saved, [1:11] but as of the last afternoon or this morning, [1:13] the surgeons had to also remove her right leg. [1:18] But the good news in all this is Helen is alive and she's stable. [1:24] That is the most important thing for our family. [1:28] And I think when we reflect and talk about and think about Helen, [1:31] the two most important parts of Helen for us as a family [1:36] are her heart and her mind. [1:40] Her heart is huge. [1:41] She is a very compassionate, caring, loving person, [1:45] incredibly supportive of all around her, [1:48] her family, her community, anybody she comes across. [1:52] And her mind, she has the sharpest intellect. [1:55] She has always had the most intense desire to learn, to read, [2:00] to synthesise and to understand what's going on. [2:04] We are grateful and thankful that at this stage, [2:07] both her heart and her mind are in good shape. [2:13] I want to say a few thanks to many people [2:15] who have been incredibly supportive of our family the last two days. [2:18] And it's amazing to think it's only been two days [2:21] since this horrendous accident or this horrendous incident took place. [2:25] If I can start with Helen's office staff in Canberra, Wodonga, Wangaratta, [2:33] who were first on the scene, of course, to some people next door, [2:38] to the first responders, Vic Police, Vic Pol, paramedics, [2:45] fire brigade were all there within minutes to support Helen. [2:50] She then went to North East Health, to the hospital, [2:53] where they did incredible work to try and stabilise her, [2:56] before she was flown to Melbourne in the good hands [2:59] of our fantastic paramedics. [3:02] And here in the Alfred Hospital, [3:04] she has received the most incredible treatment and care [3:07] from her medical and surgical staff, [3:10] from the nursing staff across ICU, [3:14] and from everybody she's come across in the last two days. [3:17] I cannot speak highly enough of what has been contributed [3:20] by this hospital, so we thank them all. [3:24] I also want to thank the community, [3:27] my community of Wangaratta in North East Victoria, [3:30] the community of Indi, the electorate which Helen has represented now for seven and a half years. [3:36] And across the nation, and internationally, [3:38] we have had thousands upon thousands of messages of love and support, [3:42] and I can only say how much a difference that makes to all of us. [3:44] So I thank all those people for what they are doing, [3:47] and I ask them to keep doing it. [3:50] Helen's road to recovery will be long and difficult, [3:54] but we know she is a fighter. [3:56] She is a determined person who will do her best with our support and love to recover, [4:03] and that is what we hope for. [4:07] I also want to say, in terms of what can come next and how people can help, [4:15] rather than flowers, flowers are a beautiful thing, and Helen loves flowers. [4:25] She had just sown last week in our garden at home her hundreds of dahlia bulbs, [4:30] and she takes great joy and pleasure in growing flowers, [4:34] and she has given many bulbs to our neighbours and our family to plant as well. [4:37] So that is a great joy of hers. [4:38] We love flowers, she loves flowers, [4:40] but it is a bit difficult to look after many bunches of flowers. [4:44] So we will ask people if they would like to support Helen financially, [4:48] to make a donation to Save the Children Fund. [4:51] Only just last week in Canberra. [4:53] Her last official appointment was to speak at a legacy lecture in the evening for Save the Children. [5:00] She is a passionate supporter of them, [5:01] so we ask people if they would like to support Helen, [5:04] to perhaps think about making a donation through that organisation. [5:08] And you can find the link to that on Helen's website. [5:13] If I can just finish by saying, again, this is an horrendous thing for our family, [5:22] but we are very loving, very supportive, [5:25] and again, I thank all those from across the country and internationally. [5:29] We have been actually overwhelmed by some of the support we have received from many countries, [5:34] and we thank that feedback and those comments and that support. [5:39] And I ask on behalf of our broader family to continue that support. [5:44] We will need that over the next few days and beyond. [5:47] But we are going to focus, one thing I have learnt the last two days, [5:50] reinforced by many people, is to take things day by day. [5:53] I know it is a cliché, but it is a cliché for a very good reason. [5:56] So I thank you all for being here. [5:58] I thank you for listening. [6:00] And please keep sending Helen your love and our family's work. [6:06] Thank you. [6:11] Sorry, I wanted to introduce and thank Sam Mostyn, the Governor-General, [6:17] who I invited her to come today at very short notice, [6:22] and she warmly and gladly straight away said yes, [6:25] and it's wonderful to have you here. [6:27] Helen has the most incredible affection and respect for our Governor-General, [6:33] so thank you for being here today. [6:35] And to my cousin, Julie, he is here as my support person, [6:39] has lived in Wangaratta for 30 years, [6:42] who is a great friend of our family. [6:45] The three kids grew up with our three kids, [6:47] and she's a nurse of 35 years' experience. [6:50] Her compassion, her sage and composed advice [6:57] has been great for our family, [6:58] so I thank you all for being here as well. [6:59] Thank you. [7:05] It's very hard to follow Phil, [7:07] but I will do so because he has invited me to say a few words. [7:14] You've heard why, and I am so touched [7:17] that you would ask me to join you here this evening. [7:20] Australia is still reeling with the shock and distress [7:25] of this terrible attack on our much-loved member for INDI, Helen Haynes. [7:31] I know that here in Victoria in particular, [7:35] people are simply dumbfounded [7:37] and finding it very hard to fathom the scale of this tragedy. [7:44] I know that in Wangaratta there have been vigils. [7:47] I know that those vigils have continued across the country [7:50] and that tonight I know Cathy McGowan is at a vigil in Wodonga. [7:55] It was so telling that when I spoke to Helen's office [8:01] and her Chief of Staff, Kaz, when this was first breaking, [8:05] the first instinct of that office, which says so much about Helen, [8:10] was to say that we must remember that when we speak of the terrible behaviour [8:15] of one person with such catastrophic consequences, [8:20] we must weigh that against the many thousands of Australians [8:24] who have shown such care and love for Helen and her family [8:28] in the last two days. [8:30] That balance from the office and from Helen tells you so much about her humanity [8:34] and her family's humanity. [8:37] I have ensured that His Majesty the King [8:40] is regularly updated on this shocking moment. [8:44] At the invitation of Phil and his family, [8:49] I'm speaking to you tonight both as a friend of Helen's [8:53] but also as your Governor-General, [8:55] as so many of my predecessors have done [8:58] in very difficult times in Australia's history. [9:01] At a different time when the country was facing different challenges, [9:06] Sir Elman Cowan said that the role of the Governor-General [9:09] is to help the nation interpret itself, [9:12] particularly in very challenging circumstances. [9:15] And during his term, Sir William Dean said that in times of national tragedy, [9:21] we see the willingness of ordinary Australians to stretch out the hand of assistance and comfort. [9:28] He described that spirit of generosity as the great healing force of the nation. [9:33] And of course that is what we have seen already and you've heard from Phil. [9:37] We have seen extraordinary efforts occurring at times of extraordinary moment. [9:46] It started with Ricky Jeffries and the other extraordinary bystanders [9:52] who immediately rushed selflessly to Helen's side [9:55] in the critical moments of the attack, [9:57] joined by the office and those that followed. [10:01] I've been lucky enough to speak to Ricky [10:03] and his humility and his absolute rejection of the title Hero [10:07] reflects the Australian character we so often talk about and see everywhere. [10:12] Decency, care and a simple concern for others. [10:17] I joined Phil in acknowledging that many people were there in those opening moments. [10:21] The paramedics, the Victorian Police, [10:24] the people at the North East Health in Wangaratta, [10:28] the transport to get Helen safely here and stabilised, [10:31] all of the medical, surgical, nursing, [10:34] administrative team that have taken such beautiful care of Helen in these last two days. [10:40] We know that that has meant a great deal to the family [10:42] and it means that she's in a stable condition [10:45] and we have great hope for the days ahead. [10:48] Now, this violent attack on a much-loved and respected sitting member of our Federal Parliament [10:56] must be a moment for us to pause and to choose to be better. [11:00] In fact, it is bittersweet and quite difficult to talk about [11:05] that I was discussing this very topic with Helen just two weeks ago in Euroa [11:10] when we were both visiting a recovery hub dealing with the bushfire recovery. [11:14] And we talked about the need for greater civility and engagement across our civic and public life. [11:22] As ever, Helen was actively thinking of ways in which the Australian community [11:26] could come together and be encouraged to be both more engaged in our democracy, [11:31] our great democracy, and participate with the kind of engagement she has always done. [11:37] Kindness and care and respect. [11:40] Now, just as my predecessors have all experienced, the Office of the Governor-General [11:45] has this extraordinary privilege of experiencing Australia from a panoramic view [11:50] and then in the fine and deep grain of our communities. [11:53] That's where I was with Helen in Euroa. [11:55] And that's where we see the project of coming together [11:58] and building connection and purpose and belonging in our country. [12:02] It happens every day. [12:03] It's what I saw in Strathbogie, Shepparton and Euroa in the Victorian visit [12:08] that I was so lucky enough to catch up with Helen and to talk to local MPs alongside her, [12:13] talk to the mayors, talk to her about this national project [12:16] that we could actually encourage care and kindness once again. [12:20] So, in light of what you've heard from Phil [12:22] and what we know of Helen's situation at the moment, [12:26] what do we all do? [12:27] What does our nation do now? [12:29] Well, first, and with the permission of the family, [12:32] I think we should do what I imagine Helen would be doing [12:35] if she was not the victim of this terrible attack. [12:38] Reaching out to those who are terribly distressed by what has happened, [12:42] who are still trying to cope with this, [12:44] we need to offer everyone comfort to get through this. [12:47] To celebrate our strong and stable system of government [12:51] and parliaments and democracy and be proud of that. [12:54] Remind ourselves, as Helen says all the time, [12:57] that Australians have good hearts, great hearts, [13:02] and checking each of ourselves to ensure that we are, in fact, disagreeing well, [13:07] not fighting with one another, not descending into violence and chaos and division. [13:12] Most importantly, that we learn or relearn to exercise our muscle of decency. [13:20] And what I see and I saw with everything that Helen has done [13:23] across Indi and well beyond is communities around Australia, [13:28] where Australians are yearning for kindness and care, [13:31] and they're asking us why we've lost the great skill of disagreeing well [13:36] and with decency to each other. [13:38] Our democracy, the great Australian democracy, [13:41] has always relied on passionate and robust debate. [13:44] It's a healthy and vital part of a modern and successful nation. [13:48] And Helen plays a huge role in that in representing her community. [13:52] We don't have to all agree, but we can wrestle the issue, not the person, [14:00] just as Helen has done throughout her time in parliament, [14:03] representing the issues of her community and fighting for the very best. [14:07] And it's important to remember words matter, [14:11] whether spoken or in written form or increasingly in the virtual world. [14:16] So in the midst of what is a disturbing and distressing moment, [14:21] particularly for Helen's family and her friends and her team, [14:24] everyone who loves her, let's work together as a healing force, [14:29] as Sir William Dean first put it. [14:31] More recently, one of my predecessors, Sir Peter Cosgrove, [14:35] has talked about what's happening with civility in this country. [14:39] He describes civility as having the decency to understand and respect [14:44] different points of view, while allowing individuals the space [14:48] to hold and debate them constructively. [14:51] Now, I'm the daughter of a soldier, [14:53] so I understand this impulse for us to treat everyone with decency [14:59] and respect, to find each other where we are at. [15:02] So I agree with Sir Peter's comments. [15:06] But right now, like everyone in Australia and here at the Alfred, [15:11] with everyone who has shown so much care to Helen and her family, [15:15] my thoughts on behalf of all Australians are with Helen, [15:19] with Phil, her entire family, everyone that loves her, [15:23] everyone that has been part of Helen's great story of the representation [15:27] of Indi and everything that she has always done in her life, [15:31] particularly in the 40 years of her beautiful relationship with you [15:35] and the children and grandchildren that say so much about that great love. [15:39] I know you've heard from Phil that the family are drawing great comfort [15:44] from the extraordinary affection being expressed, [15:46] not just around the country, but across the world. [15:50] And I hope that as Australians we can now reflect thoughtfully [15:55] on what has happened and can recommit all ourselves [15:58] to the care, kindness and respect that I know [16:02] are so deeply embedded in the Australian character. [16:05] We have to stand by Helen in the next few days. [16:09] It's day by day, as you've heard. [16:11] We've got to hope that that beautiful heart, that beautiful mind, [16:15] will be strengthened every day by our support [16:17] and our commitment to be more like Helen as part of this great democracy. [16:22] It's the very least we can do for someone who gave her life to others, [16:26] represented her community and will go on and do so again [16:29] with the kind of passion and care that we can all learn from [16:33] and that makes sure that we are a united country [16:36] that can be so proud of everything that we stand for. [16:39] Do follow Phil's advocacy for the Save the Children Fund. [16:44] I know that means so much to Helen. [16:46] It doesn't surprise me that that's where she would want the money to go. [16:49] It shows that great character once again about caring for so many others. [16:52] So Save the Children is the fund that she would like you to give to generously. [16:57] But please, everyone's thoughts and love for Helen, [17:00] every hour of the next few days and weeks and months ahead [17:04] and for the family, for Phil and everyone who loves this great Australian, [17:09] this great woman. [17:10] I can't wait to see her great heart and her great mind back in action, [17:15] exercising that great muscle of decency and teaching us how we can be better. [17:18] Thank you.