Video taking off 16x its usual first day

"Don't let violence win": Cathy McGowan stands with Helen Haines' community

In Wangaratta and Wodonga, the tributes remember a former midwife as much as an MP, while Haines remains in critical condition in Melbourne.

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SBS News Story of October 23, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 48,601 views a day, 16 times a normal first day on this channel (2,957).

‘Don’t let violence win’: Former MP’s plea as community rallies for Helen Haines

Some of the cards outside Helen Haines' electorate office in Wangaratta are not addressed to a politician at all. They are for the midwife many locals knew first. One resident tells SBS News, "She actually delivered one of my grandsons 27 years ago." Another handwritten card thanks Haines for showing up for others.

The office has been closed for three days. Haines has had both legs amputated and remains in critical condition at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Down the road in Wodonga, people queue to sign books of support. Campaign volunteer Jocelyn Lyon puts it simply: "You can't get a better person."

The report's central figure is Cathy McGowan. She held Indi as an independent before Haines succeeded her, and she calls Haines a close friend. The description says she felt "enormous relief" on learning that Haines is alive. At the Wodonga gathering she embraces people in the queue, then speaks at the microphone: "If it can happen to Helen, it can happen to anybody." Her closing line gives the report its title: "We don't let violence win, for these kids."

Political correspondent Rayane Tamer ends outside the Wangaratta office, saying the events there have "opened up the floodgates" around concerns for people in high office. The same question runs through the channel's other coverage. That includes a report on a man arrested over alleged threats at the office of WA MP Hannah Beazley, and, as we reported here, the AFP chief's assessment of what protecting every federal MP would take.

The short report drew about 43,000 views in 18 hours, far more than SBS News Shorts usually reach in their first day.

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