MEDIA RELEASE · For immediate release · Monday 19 October 2026
Hitendra Joshi, independent candidate for Ashwood, today expressed his deep concern for Helen Haines, the independent Member for Indi, who was seriously injured in an incident outside her electorate office in Wangaratta this afternoon. Our thoughts are with Helen, her family, her staff and the Wangaratta community, and we join the many people across the country wishing her a full recovery.
Police are investigating, and it would be wrong for anyone to speculate while that work is under way. We are also grateful to the bystanders who came to her aid and to the emergency services who responded.
“Everyone has the right to live in peace and to feel safe, and that includes those who give their time to serve their communities,” Mr Joshi said. “Violence against a person doing public work has no place in Australia, whatever the reason behind it. Helen has spent years listening to the people of Indi, and I hope she and her family are given the privacy they have asked for.”
Mr Joshi said that disagreement is part of democracy, and that it should always be settled with words and at the ballot box. The campaign will continue to keep safety and respect at the centre of how it speaks and acts.
ENDS
Media contact: Gregory Storer, Campaign Manager
[email protected]