Video taking off 19x its usual first day

"Why did this happen to Helen?" Wangaratta's mayor hears it constantly

Irene Grant tells Sunrise the Red Cross is moving through the town to help residents with the shock, as the council condemns violence and Phil Haines calls his wife a fighter.

Channel:

Sunrise Story of October 22, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 109,797 views a day, 19 times a normal first day on this channel (5,792).

Victorian mayor speaks out after Helen Haines' alleged attack | Sunrise

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:11Phil Haines says his wife's heart and mind are in good shape and calls her a fighter.
0:22The anchor recaps the alleged attack and an overnight community vigil in Wodonga.
0:49Mayor Irene Grant recalls Phil Haines delivering news of the second amputation and praises his dignity.
1:31The anchor notes Haines' background as a nurse and midwife in the region.
1:51Grant describes local disbelief and the Red Cross offering residents emotional support.
2:40Grant says the council condemned violence and called for the community to come together.

"People constantly ask me, why, why did this happen to Helen?" Irene Grant, the Mayor of Wangaratta, tells Sunrise, describing a town still in disbelief after the alleged vehicle attack that has left Victorian MP Helen Haines without both her legs.

The segment opens at The Alfred hospital, where Phil Haines speaks to the press. "We are grateful and thankful that at this stage both her heart and her mind are in good shape," he says, adding that her road to recovery will be long and difficult, "but we know she is a fighter."

Grant was there when he gave the news of the second amputation. "It was an extraordinarily difficult moment," she says, and she singles out how he carried it: "Phil's bravery, his dignity, it was moving, it was outstanding."

The program reminds viewers that before politics, Haines worked as a nurse and midwife in the area. Grant describes what has followed in the community: the Red Cross going around town to help people through the immediate emotional shock, an overnight vigil in Wodonga, and a council meeting that reaffirmed its support for Haines. "We unequivocally condemned violence and we also said that we need our community to come together," she says.

The interview had about 44,000 views within seven hours, well beyond what a regular Sunrise video usually draws in a full day. The comment section was far busier than usual too. Many viewers send recovery wishes to Haines and her family, many ask the same question Grant keeps hearing, and a number simply remark that comments were left open on the video.

Published on Trari