00:02Having shouldered the hope of a nation, a tiny fracture appeared in Phil Haynes' facade.
00:08And please keep sending Helen your love and our family's work.
00:14As he gave a health update for his wife of 40 years.
00:18But we know she is a fighter. She is a determined person who will do her best with our support
00:26and love to recover.
00:27Today, the man accused of putting her there, charged over the alleged attack.
00:32Will he be defending the charges? There's nothing further to be defended.
00:36Brendan Nugent fronted the Wangaratta Magistrates Court two days after being arrested outside Helen Haynes' electoral office.
00:43He's facing five charges, including dangerous driving, causing serious injury, harming a public official and separate drug offences.
00:51We are not ruling out further serious charges.
00:56The court heard the 43-year-old has a neurological disorder and mental health issues.
01:01He didn't apply for bail and said nothing during the hearing.
01:06Investigators will allege Brendan Nugent's actions were deliberate, but maintain they were unforeseeable.
01:12What I can say is we didn't have any specific intelligence that would have indicated something as atrocious as happened
01:19on Monday afternoon.
01:20There was one person who turned up to the courthouse this morning to offer Brendan Nugent support.
01:25Jackie, who didn't want to appear on camera, said she'd known him since she was his art teacher and that
01:30he'd long struggled with his mental health.
01:33I've come down here because I was hoping that I could at least make eye contact with Brendan to let
01:39him know that there are people in the world that care about him.
01:42But how Brendan Nugent came to be accused of such grave crimes is a question weighing on the town of
01:48Wangaratta.
01:49It disturbs me to think that someone could be attacked, a public figure like Helen.
01:57At Helen Haynes' electoral office, blossoming tributes have grown as the community searches for answers.
02:04What more can anyone do is just to send her our love and support.
02:08And it was just such shocking news that such a thing would happen.
02:11Her friend and political predecessor, Cathy McGowan.
02:15Certainly the supporters who helped get Helen elected, and there's thousands of them,
02:21they don't want this event to be the defining feature of Indi.
02:27Even from her hospital bed, although transformed, Helen Haynes hasn't changed.
02:32We are grateful and thankful that at this stage both her heart and her mind are in good shape.
