There is something special about representing a regional electorate, whether it's Indi or Dawson. People don't just want to know who their local member is; they want to know them personally. They expect to see us at the markets, at the community events, at the local footy and down the main street. When something goes wrong, they expect our door to be open. That is why what has happened to our friend and colleague the member for Indi, Dr Helen Haines, has shaken us all so deeply. It is heartbreaking, it is unthinkable and it has touched every corner of this parliament.

Helen and I come from different political spectrums and we haven't always agreed on everything. That's perfectly alright because parliament isn't supposed to be a place where everyone agrees all of the time. It's supposed to be a place with different ideas. Parliamentarians all come together, argue their case and fight for the communities who put trust in them. Helen and I share something that goes well beyond politics. We both represent regional Australia and we both understand that the people who sent us here deserve someone who will stand up for them. Helen has been a determined advocate for regional health care, helping lead the Parliamentary Friends of Rural and Regional Health. It's a cause that affects everyone in Dawson, where accessing medical treatment can mean hours on the road, time away from work and families travelling enormous distances. We come from different electorates, with different politics, but have the same determination to make life better for the communities we love.

There is another side to public service that people don't always see—the phone calls after hours, the weeks spent away, the family occasions missed because someone in your electorate needs help. The truth is that the people who make those sacrifices aren't just the members sitting in this chamber. Our families serve too. When I watched Helen's husband, Phil, speak publicly about her condition, I was struck by his courage and composure. He was a husband facing something no family should ever have to endure yet speaking with such dignity and such obvious love for his wife. It reminded me just how much we ask of the people closest to us. Our families don't stand for election, they don't deliver speeches, and they rarely receive recognition. But they carry the long absences, the missed birthdays, the interrupted dinners and the countless times when the needs of our community must come before their own. I've served in local and federal government, and I know how much my own family has sacrificed. Most of all, they have sacrificed time—time together that we will never get back. To Phil, Helen's family and everyone who loves her: please know that you are not alone.

There's something else I hope we remember from this tragedy: an electorate office isn't simply a place where people lodge forms or make appointments; sometimes it's where someone walks in because they've run out of all other options. They're frightened about losing their home, struggling to access health care or desperate to find someone who will simply listen. They don't care which party we belong to. They only care about whether we care. That responsibility, that connection between a member and their community, is something that we must never lose. Of course, we must take the safety of parliamentarians and staff very seriously, but we cannot allow fear to build walls between representatives and the people we are elected to serve, because our democracy depends on more than what happens inside this chamber. It depends on trust, accessibility and the courage to keep showing up.

To Helen: I know the road ahead will be long and difficult, but the strength you have shown and your family has shown and the extraordinary support flowing from Australians everywhere reflect the very best of the Australian spirit. From one regional representative to another: we are thinking of you, we are backing you, and we are wishing you every strength in your recovery. To your family: our hearts are with you.