Seize the moment, said Mary Aldred, or let it pass until next time

THERE was an outpouring of support and emotion in the Federal Parliament on Monday this week as speaker after speaker sent out their best wishes to the Member for Indi, Helen Hains, her family, friends and work colleagues following the events outside her electorate office the previous Monday.

Among those to speak to the Prime Minister’s motion of support was the Member for Monash, one of the neighbouring electorates to the south of Indi, Mary Aldred.

As well as sending her love while urging her colleagues to “must meet this moment or it will pass until the next time”, Ms Aldred raised a pressing issue in regional Australia, the lack of mental health care.

Here’s what the Member for Monash, Mary Aldred had to say on our behalf:

“This is a gathering and reflection that none of us wishes we had to make. As we do so, may I start by sending my love and prayers to my friend and electorate neighbour Dr Helen Haines; her husband, Phil; their children and family; her staff; and the people of the electorate of Indi.

“I also send my thanks, however inadequate they are, to the people who came to Helen's aid—the bystanders, her staff, paramedics, police and the medical teams.

“For all of the despair created by what happened last week, the good people who acted as they did their job, as well as Helen's and Phil's innate decency and generosity, are an antidote to that despair.

“So too were the Governor-General's fine remarks in Melbourne last week. The attack on Helen was also an assault on the democratic will of the people of Indi, who chose to send Helen to Canberra on their behalf.

“Our job, our profession and, yes, our vocation is to be in the community. It is to see, listen, engage and represent the people of our electorates.

“It is also to navigate, explain and debate the choices and challenges before our nation. Disagreement is foundational to democracy. Our work is to debate and deliver. We can't step back from our responsibilities, but we have to reflect on what is happening around us.

“The fragmentation of beliefs, the escalation of frustration, the shattering of norms and the inability to see the humanity of people we disagree with are changing the environment that we work in. Every member and senator in this place has experienced it.

“The AFP received more than 1000 reports of threats and harassment against parliamentarians and officeholders last financial year, and it is struggling to meet those demands from its existing budget.

“I believe we need a new approach. Security now warrants a better integrated approach, where services are consolidated into a parliamentary security office, resourced as the Parliamentary Budget Office is.

“I also want to acknowledge people such as the members for Canning, Berowra and Macnamara and the Minister for Small Business, who face particular threats and intimidation at different times.

“We also have to engage with another issue too. Rural Australia is in the grip of a mental health crisis. Rural Australians aren't more likely to have a mental illness. They're more likely to die from one, though.

“I can't say that the AFP could have prevented the shocking incident last week, but addressing the mental health crisis in regional Australia may well prevent another. We must meet this moment, or it will pass until the next time.

“There have been calls to moderate debate. My concern is what that really means for some of the people making those calls is that we all must agree or that we are simply calling on those not on our own side to tone it down.

“We must not lose the contestability of policy and ideas, nor can we lose the heart and soul in debate. Parliamentary democracy means holding government to account, and robust debate enables that. We cannot simply all agree with one another.

“The behaviour, tone and nuance with which we argue matters, though. I believe something deeper has been eroding. Trust in our institutions has been worn down, and in some quarters it has been weaponised. For years now we have heard from voices at each end of the spectrum that the system is broken and that politicians are only in it for themselves.

“The French writer Alphonse Karr once said that some people grumble that roses have thorns, while he was grateful that thorns have roses. If we only ever look for the bad, the bad is all we will find.

“We have seen the dehumanising of people in public life spill well beyond politics. Retail staff, nurses, council workers and paramedics have all experienced this pandemic of abuse. We are living through an era of entitlement to incivility.

“Finally, the threats against women in this place must be named. Men face them too, but women are overrepresented in a particular type of abuse. Like all female parliamentarians, I face an inbox and a social media feed with continual gendered and sexualised comments.

“There is much that must change, and this debate is a good place to start. We owe it to Helen, we owe it to each other, and we owe it to the country to continue it.

“I conclude with a few words for Helen.

“Helen, the people of Indi want you home, and we want you home in your place here too, my friend.”

The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s motion of support was as follows:

That this House declares:

(1) Its support for the Member for Indi following the horrific incident in Wangaratta on Monday, 19 October 2026;

(2) Its strongest well wishes for the Member for Indi's recovery ahead;

(3) Its appreciation for the courage and swift action of bystanders, first responders and health professionals; and

(4) Its support to the Member for Indi's family, friends, staff and community at this extremely difficult time.

As well as being a geographic neighbour to the Member for Indi, Mary Aldred also serves on the Speaker’s Panel with Helen Hains.

These are the members of the Speaker's Panel: Ms Mary Rose Aldred MP, Mr Colin Einar Boyce MP, Hon. Scott Bucholz MP, Ms Lisa Marie Chesters MP, Ms Cassandra Juanita Fernando MP, Dr Michael Randolph Freelander MP, Dr Carina Mary Lindsay Garland MP, Mr Steven Georganas MP, Dr Helen Mary Haines MP, Ms Tania Natalie Lawrence MP, Ms Zaneta Felice Antoinetta Mascarenas MP, Ms Alicia Emma Payne MP, Ms Marion Rose Scrymgour MP, Ms Rebekha Carina Che Sharkie MP, Ms Meryl Jane Swanson MP and Mr Andrew Damien Wilkie MP.