With ashen faces, a shocked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke confirmed to the nation late on Monday that the independent member for the federal seat of Indi, Helen Haines, had been attacked and critically injured.

The assault on the much-respected MP has gripped the country, igniting intense discussion over the nature of our democratic politics and triggering fevered speculation about possible motives of the man who has been charged.

Albanese cautioned against jumping to conclusions and at time of writing there had been nothing from the investigation that throws further light on why the individual behind the wheel reportedly did a U-turn when he noticed Haines loading things into the back of her vehicle.

At that initial news conference, Burke raised the safety of politicians when he revealed that in the 2024/25 financial year there were 951 reports of “harassing and threatening behaviour” against various high office holders.…