Lizz Gourley had met Helen Haines only a handful of times. But one quiet encounter involving a mother, a four-week-old baby and a conversation about midwifery left an impression she never forgot. Now, as the injured MP remains in critical condition, Lizz has written a deeply personal letter — sharing the moment that changed how she saw her local representative and the words she hopes Helen will one day read.
A Letter Written in the Middle of an Unimaginable Week
As Helen Haines lay in hospital fighting to recover from critical injuries, a mother in Wangaratta was putting her feelings into words.
Lizz Gourley had never considered herself particularly political. She had met her local federal MP only a few times, through brief encounters at work, election-day handshakes and community fundraising events.
Yet those meetings had left her with a lasting impression of the woman behind the public title.
When news emerged that Helen’s husband, Phil Haines, had confirmed both of his wife’s legs had been amputated following the incident outside her electorate office, Lizz found herself thinking about a moment they had shared less than a year earlier.
She decided to write Helen a handwritten letter and leave it at the MP’s office on Murphy Street in Wangaratta, in Victoria’s north-east.
Alongside the letter, she included a photograph of Helen looking down at her daughter, Minnie, when the little girl was just four weeks old.
It was a simple image of a woman meeting a young baby — but for Lizz, it had come to represent something much more meaningful.
Her letter was not about politics, elections or parliamentary achievements. It was about kindness, motherhood and the impression one person can leave on another, even through a brief encounter.
With Helen still in a critical condition at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital when the ABC published Lizz’s account on Friday, October 23, the mother wanted her local MP to know that a community was thinking of her.
These are Lizz’s words.
“Dear Helen”: The Words She Needed to Put on Paper
Lizz began her letter by acknowledging the gravity of what had happened and the emotions many people in the community were struggling to express.
Dear Helen,
It’s hard to find the words to express how deeply sorry we all are for what has happened to you.
What you have been subjected to is unfathomable, devastating and completely unacceptable.
It should never have happened. Not to you, not to anyone.
Since Monday, you have been constantly in my thoughts.
So many people, not only in the Wangaratta community, but Australia-wide, are standing by you, willing you on and holding you and your family in our hearts.
You are not alone in this fight; not now, not in the days ahead and not when the road gets difficult.
Her words reflected the feelings of people who had watched the news unfold and wanted to do something to help, even when they could not change the circumstances Helen and her family were facing.
For Lizz, writing the letter was a way to turn those feelings into a personal message — one that could remain with Helen long after the flowers outside her office had begun to fade.
“I Have Never Been an Overly Political Person”
Lizz made it clear that her admiration for Helen did not come from a strong interest in politics.
Instead, it grew from the way the MP had treated her during their brief interactions.
She recalled meeting Helen a couple of times at work and once at a voting station at Wereena Hall. None of the encounters was particularly remarkable at the time, yet she remembered the warmth Helen had shown.
In her letter, Lizz explained why those moments had mattered.
I would be the first to admit that my knowledge of politics is limited. But politics aside, I’ve always believed that regardless of background, beliefs, gender or religion, I am able to recognise a good person when I meet one.
Helen, you are one of those people.
I have met you on a handful of occasions, a couple of times at work and once at a voting station at Wereena Hall.
They were brief interactions, nothing out of the ordinary, and yet they left a lasting impression on me.
You were genuinely kind, warm-hearted, intelligent and compassionate.
There was no pretence, no sense of someone playing a role, just a good woman who genuinely cared about the people around her.
Since Monday, I have spent more time looking into your political career and the work you have done for our community.
What I have found only deepened my respect for you.
The letter showed how Lizz’s understanding of Helen had grown in the days following the incident. As she read more about the MP’s work, she gained a greater appreciation for the responsibilities Helen had taken on and the causes she had championed.
But the qualities that mattered most to Lizz had already been apparent during their brief meetings.
She remembered a person who appeared genuinely interested in the people around her, rather than someone simply carrying out the duties of a public office.
The Photograph of Baby Minnie That Made the Moment Unforgettable
Of all the memories Lizz could have chosen to share, one photograph became the centrepiece of her letter.
It showed Helen looking down at Minnie when the baby was only four weeks old.
The encounter took place while the two women chatted about babies and midwifery — a natural point of connection, particularly given Helen’s professional background as a nurse and midwife.
For Lizz, the moment had never been about creating a memorable political image. It was simply a genuine interaction between two women talking about motherhood.
In the context of what happened to Helen, however, the photograph took on a different meaning.
Lizz found herself thinking about Helen not only as the independent MP representing Indi, but as a mother, a wife, a friend and a colleague.
In her letter, she wrote:
You are so much more than your position, your title or your political career.
You are a mother. A wife. A friend and a colleague, as much as you are a human who deserves safety and peace.
This is a photo of you with my daughter, Minnie, who was only four weeks old at the time.
I have thought about this moment a lot this week. It was never a photo opportunity or political moment for you: simply a genuine interaction between two women, while we chatted about babies and midwifery.
That memory formed the heart of Lizz’s message. It was a reminder that the relationships people remember most are not always the ones made at major events or during important public moments. Sometimes, they are the small encounters that reveal something about a person’s character.
For Lizz, Helen’s kindness during that conversation had stayed with her long after the meeting ended.
“Your Fight Is Only at the Beginning”
The photograph also prompted Lizz to reflect on Helen’s strength and the long road that lay ahead.
At the time of the letter, Helen remained in critical condition after being struck by a car outside her electorate office on Monday, October 19. Her husband had confirmed that the severity of her injuries had led to the amputation of both legs.
The circumstances of the incident had left Helen’s family, colleagues and constituents facing a period of profound uncertainty.
Lizz did not pretend that a letter could ease those difficulties. Instead, she wanted Helen to know that the support she had given her community was being returned to her.
She wrote:
I hope you never underestimate the strength you already possess.
You have spent so much of your life showing up for others and advocating for people in your community. Now, I hope you can feel the same community showing up and advocating for you.
Her words carried a message that reached beyond the immediate moment. They recognised Helen’s years of public service while reminding her that she was more than the responsibilities she had carried.
As a local mother, Lizz wanted Helen to know that people were standing alongside her, regardless of their political beliefs or how well they knew her personally.
A Four-Year-Old Boy Adds His Own Message of Support
Lizz was not the only member of her family who wanted to reach out.
Her four-year-old son, Roy, also made a card for Helen. He and his younger sister decorated cards that the family left at Helen’s electorate office on Wednesday night.
The children’s contribution added another personal touch to the growing collection of tributes outside the building.
Flowers, handwritten notes and messages had been appearing at the office throughout the week as Wangaratta residents and visitors sought a way to express their concern.
For Lizz, involving her children was a simple way of passing on an act of kindness. Roy’s card did not need to explain the political significance of what had happened. It was simply a message from a young child to someone his family wanted to support.
The gesture also echoed the photograph of Helen with baby Minnie: both moments connected Helen’s public role with the everyday relationships that make up life in a regional community.
At a time when the news had been dominated by Helen’s injuries and the investigation into the incident, these small acts offered a more personal account of how people were responding.
“Now We Are Showing Up for You”
As Lizz brought her letter to a close, she returned to the idea that had run through every paragraph: Helen had spent years showing up for other people, and now people wanted to do the same for her.
The final lines read:
You have spent so much of your life showing up for others.
Now we are showing up for you.
Sending love,
Lizz Gourley.
There was no elaborate speech or grand promise. Instead, the words expressed a straightforward intention to stand alongside someone who had spent years serving her community.
The letter also captured something important about the response to Helen’s injuries. Many of those offering their support were not close friends or family members. Some had met her only briefly, while others knew her primarily through her work as their elected representative.
Yet they had felt moved to reach out.
For Lizz, that connection began with a conversation about babies and midwifery — a moment she might otherwise have remembered as an ordinary encounter. Now, she hoped the photograph and the words accompanying it would remind Helen of the kindness waiting for her beyond the hospital.
A Community Waiting to Support Helen and Her Family
Helen Haines has represented the federal electorate of Indi since 2019. Her work in the regional community has included advocating for healthcare and other services important to people living outside major cities.
In the days following the incident, her husband, Phil, paid tribute to her compassion and intellect while confirming the seriousness of her injuries. Her staff also described being overwhelmed by messages of support from the local community and people across Australia and overseas.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain the subject of a police investigation. A man has been charged in connection with it, and those allegations must be determined through the legal process.
For now, however, Lizz’s letter is focused on something more personal: the woman she remembers meeting, the photograph of her holding a newborn baby and the hope that Helen will feel supported as she faces the difficult days ahead.
The future remains uncertain, and there is no suggestion that a handwritten message can change the medical challenges confronting Helen and her family.
But the letter offers a glimpse of the lasting impression she left on someone who had met her only a handful of times.
What began as a simple conversation between two women has become a message of solidarity from a mother who wants Helen to know that her kindness was remembered.
And, as Lizz wrote in the closing lines of her letter, the community that Helen spent so much of her life serving is now finding its own way to show up for her.
Source: ABC News — Wangaratta mother writes letter to injured MP Helen Haines (October 23, 2026).