The member for Indi should be here with us, working hard, representing her community that she cares for so much. Instead, last week she experienced an unthinkable attack, and today we come together as a parliament in our disbelief, in deep sadness and shock that this has happened to our much loved colleague and friend and that this would happen in our democracy. I speak on behalf of Canberrans too when I say our hearts are with you, dear Helen, and we are hoping and praying for you to have the smoothest recovery possible and to have strength and to have comfort through this. And our hearts are with your family, including your husband, Phil, your children, Will, Nick and Georgia, their partners and your very new little grandchildren, and your amazing staff team, who have gone through so much.

Dr Helen Haines has spent her life caring for others as a nurse, a midwife and an MP representing her community. She is kind, empathetic, always respectful, deeply committed and well known for her advocacy. It says much about Helen that so many members across the political spectrum are speaking about a diversity of issues that they have worked on together, with consistent reflections of her caring nature and the principled way in which she does this job. I'm very privileged to work with Helen as Co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Maternal Health, an area that she has made such an immense contribution to both before parliament and in parliament. In a recent chat I was having with Helen, I found myself pouring my heart out a little bit, maybe a bit too much, and I said, 'Sorry, Helen, I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this.' She said, 'It's because I'm a midwife,' but it's not that—it's who she is, but it is that quality that makes her exactly the kind of midwife you would want to have, the kind of friend and colleague you want to have and absolutely the kind of local member you want to have.

While this attack is shocking, it is also symptomatic of a political environment that has become increasingly heightened, divisive and aggressive. Helen's husband, Phil Haines, has spoken with such grace since the horrific attack on his wife, and this morning he came to parliament to share his family's most solemn wish—that this tragedy should be the event that will break the fever and be the moment at which we turn to a gentler and more cohesive path, and that we as representatives make the choice to lead us there. With a social media environment that thrives on hate and anger and is feeding real-life threats and violence, it is important that politicians and, indeed, anyone with a platform think carefully about what we are saying and the impact it has in our communities, including for people who are struggling with other issues. As Phil said, we have a choice to inflame or disarm this situation, and we must be able to disagree and to advocate without diminishing each other's humanity. In recent years, many, including our prime minister, have called for us to take the temperature down, and it is more important than ever.

Beside this horrific attack, we see the courageous and selfless acts of bystanders who ran into danger to help. I thank those brave Australians. It is significant that Ricky Jefferies, the barber who managed to remove the attacker from his car and keep him at the scene, did so not with violence or force but with kindness and calm. He told the ABC:

It was the right thing to do and to show him kindness and grace at a time that could have escalated from there.

Ricky, you absolutely are a hero. In these acts we find hope, and it is this kindness, respectfulness and decency through which we can de-escalate the tensions in our communities and keep our democracy alive and thriving.

Again, I want to send so much love and the very best wishes from myself and my community to the member for Indi. May we follow in her example.