Liberal MP Andrew Hastie has delivered a powerful speech urging politicians to \u201cdo better\u2019 and avoid the personal attacks of the \u2018MAGA\u2019 movement and Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur parliament requires tough and rigorous debate, but in moments like this one, we can reflect on how we can do better,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe, the 150 members of this house, have a duty to model, steward, and uphold our democratic traditions for the 27 million Australians that we represent. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why there can be no place for the targeted destruction of character or the relentless demonisation of personality, because it only takes one person with a twisted mind or a perverted sense of reality to strike out, to weaponise a car, a kitchen knife, or a firearm, and to feel justified in doing so because they judge that an online assassination must be followed up with a real-life assassination. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo what we say here or online shapes the political culture, and we can all do better, and we should strive to do better. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo let\u2019s play the ball, not the person, and leave the nasty personal politics of MAGA in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Hastie said he was stunned by the attack. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know why a local man turned his Toyota Land Cruiser into a two-ton weapon and robbed Helen Haines of her legs and health,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know why, and that question gnaws at us because we know Helen Haines, and we know that she is a kind and gentle lady. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all seen Helen gracefully gliding through the corridors during the working day. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve all known Helen smile, channelling that Wangeratha warmth, and we\u2019re all stunned because we don\u2019t know why someone would want to hurt her. <\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps we\u2019ll never know why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Unfathomable\u2019: Tanya Plibersek\u2019s emotional tribute Samantha Maiden <\/p>\n
Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said it was \u201cunfathomable that anyone would want to hurt Helen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does keep me up at night, thinking that we might be entering a political era in which representatives feel afraid to be fully and properly available to the communities that they serve,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cViolence is the antithesis of democracy; it\u2019s an ugly, dangerous dead end. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know many people across Australia are asking what they can do to help. Well, the first thing they can do, of course, is to donate to save the children, as Helen has asked. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut also be good to each other. Be patient. Be kinder. Smile at a stranger. Let someone go ahead of you in a queue. Listen carefully. Try and see something from someone else\u2019s point of view. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember being really little. One of my earliest memories is walking through Janelli\u2019s shops with my mum, and I I said to mum, \u201cWhy is everybody smiling at us, mum?\u201d She said, \u201cBecause I\u2019m smiling at them, and what you put out into the world, you get back.\u201d And as a parliament, I think we have to ask ourselves what we\u2019re putting out into the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll of us as politicians have an opportunity to do better, but of course it\u2019s not just each other that we have to be worried about in terms of how people are being treated: teachers, principals, nurses, paramedics, shop assistants, flight attendants. <\/p>\n
and bus drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe the young referee at your kid\u2019s sport on the weekend, if you can\u2019t contai<\/p>\n
Anthony Albanese pays tribute to Dr Haines<\/p>\n
Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to Helen Haines\u2019 husband, Phil, following the attack on his wife as she continues her recovery in Melbourne after being rammed twice outside her electorate office in Victoria\u2019s northwest.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer husband Phil Haines was with us this morning,\u201d the Prime Minister told parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has shown a level of grace that, for most of us, is simply beyond reckoning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis morning, Phil spoke lovingly of Helen\u2019s superpowers as empathy, kindness, and compassion, he spoke of hope and change, and the need for a gentler, more cohesive path.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Phil to know that we are with him and Helen, and with their children and their grandchildren, and will remain with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shock from what happened last Monday is like a stone in our hearts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Phil to know that we are with him and Helen, and with their children and their grandchildren, and will remain with them. <\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, our friend and colleague is in hospital, grievously injured. The shape of her life and her family\u2019s lives changed forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barnaby Joyce absent from parliament<\/p>\n
There were two empty seats in the Lower House as the tributes flowed.<\/p>\n
One belonged to Dr Haines. The other belonged to One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce.<\/p>\n
Mr Joyce was at Tamworth Airport instead giving an interview from Tamworth Airport.<\/p>\n
However, he did pay tribute to Dr Haines, saying it is \u201ca hell of a time for her and her family\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just want our colleague back \u2026 otherwise it\u2019s a form of loss and a form of win for violence,\u201d he told News24.<\/p>\n
\u2018Matriarch\u2019 of the parliament <\/p>\n
Independents have led emotional tributes to Dr Haines calling her the much-loved \u201cmatriarch\u201d of parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are the matriarch of the cross bench, always a voice for respectful political debate,\u2019\u2019 independent MP Zali Stegall said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s advised me to amend a few questions over the years. We have heard your words loud and clear: kindness over hate. It\u2019s time to diffuse the tension and consider how our words are being received by others in the community beyond this space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Independent MP Monique Ryan said broke down in tears as she paid tribute to Dr Haines\u2019 strength and resilience.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe always uses her magnificent heart and mind for the greater good,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod gives his hardest battles to the strongest soldiers. We can improve mental health services.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelen Mary Haines is the very best of us, a woman of luminous generosity and kindness, the most intelligent and measured of voices, someone who stands firmly for a more accountable and more civil parliament. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hugely grateful to know my warm, funny friend. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe can put anyone at ease. She makes an excellent sponge. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe grows a beautiful garden. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe tells great stories about being a small Colac schoolgirl, unafraid to take on the nuns, about riding her bike through the snow in black tie during her PhD studies, who adores her husband, and this week the whole country has seen why.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Disagree\u2019: Angus Taylor questions Anthony Albanese\u2019s call to turn down the temperature<\/p>\n
Liberal leader Angus Taylor said Australians were \u201cpraying for your swift recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy hope, our hope, the nation\u2019s hope, is that you will be back here soon,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when you resume your seat in this parliament, that will be a resounding moment for our democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cA moment when our nation says with one voice to those who seek to undermine our way of life through intimidation and violence, you will not break us. You will not silence us. You will not change us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile last Monday\u2019s horrendous attack was a national tragedy, it is first and foremost a family\u2019s tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also thinking of Helen\u2019s beloved husband Phil, and their three cherished kids, Will, Nick, and Georgia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past week, so many have spoken and written about Helen\u2019s qualities: her intelligence, compassion, commitment, poise, gentleness, and courtesy.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr Helen Haines epitomises civility, and that\u2019s why the violent attack on her seems so unfathomable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Taylor has used his speech to question Mr Albanese\u2019s call to turn the political temperature down and link robust debate with the attack on Dr Haines.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week, it\u2019s been suggested by some there is a causal connection between robust parliamentary debate and political violence. <\/p>\n
\u201cI disagree with this view,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur democratic system has served us well, from our colonies through to federation, through to the present day, the Westminster system is about settling differences through robust and rigorous debate, not violence. <\/p>\n
\u201cWith symbolic significance, the distance between the prime minister and opposition leader is said to be the length of two swords. <\/p>\n
\u201cImportantly, we debate with adversarial vigour, but we never allow that vigorous parliamentary debate to spill over into violence. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who resort to intimidation and violence cross a line that must never be crossed. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe antidote to violence isn\u2019t to compromise our system of robust debate, but to cherish, champion, and strengthen that system. \u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the government has been absolutely right to call out far-right extremism. But all extremism must be called out. Every source must be named, must be targeted, and must be fought, especially through our additional funding for intelligence and law enforcement. And we need judges to come down harder on people found guilty of acts of intimidation or violence.\u201d<\/p>\n
House Speaker Milton Dick \u2014 a fierce advocate for greater civility \u2014 praised Dr Haines\u2019 \u201cgenuine warmth and respect\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said the day \u201cis a moment for all of us to rise to the challenge\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many members I valued Helen\u2019s friendship, counsel and commitment to making our parliament better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could always on count on Helen when I had a particularly difficult day or if I needed a bit of extra encouragement \u2014 that\u2019s just Helen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australians dig deep for Helen Haines<\/p>\n
Australians have now donated more than $1m to the Save the Children charity in honour of Dr Haines who remains in a serious but stable condition after a double amputation.<\/p>\n
Dr Haines\u2019 husband, Phil, launched the donation plea last week in lieu of flowers revealing that the charity\u2019s work was close to her heart as she recovers from her injuries.<\/p>\n
Floral tributes have lined the footpath outside her electorate office in regional Victoria this week after she was allegedly attacked by Brendan Nugent.<\/p>\n
Mr Haines said that while his wife \u201cloved flowers,\u201d donating to charity was a better idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur team has been overwhelmed by the kindness shown by the Indi community and people right across Australia and internationally,\u2018\u2019 her office said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince Phil first invited people to donate to Save the Children Australia in Helen\u2019s honour, more than $919,000 has been raised to help children across Australia and around the world. We are deeply moved by the extraordinary generosity of so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donations are still welcome at www.savethechildrenfundraising.org.au\/helenhaines.<\/p>\n
\u2018Not going anywhere\u2019: Pauline Hanson defends cartoon<\/p>\n
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says her controversial Please Explain videos \u201cwill not be going anywhere\u201d as parliamentarians call for greater civility following the attack on independent MP Helen Haines.<\/p>\n