The defamation trial against Brittany Higgins launched by former defence minister and WA Senator Linda Reynolds, begins today at the WA Supreme Court.
It is yet another episode of the years-long legal saga concerning former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who was raped by her colleague Bruce Lehrmann, the Federal Court of Australia found on the balance of probabilities this year. He has always denied the allegations.
Higgins was raped in Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office in March 2019, when she held the Minister for Defence portfolio under the Morrison government.
Since Higgins made her allegations against Lehrmann public in media appearancecs in February 2021, Reynolds said she has been “the target of unwarranted criticism and abuse” and thus launched legal action against Higgins, alleging damage to her reputation over social media posts.
Here’s everything you need to know about the case.
‘It is time to stop’
In December 2022, Higgins settled a personal injury claim she made against the federal government. While the amount she settled for was undisclosed, some reports claim it was up to $3 million. Higgins had said it is far less than the reported amounts.
Following the settlement, in June 2023, Reynolds raised “serious questions” about the “unusually swift” nature of the settlement. She questioned “how this significant sum of public money was determined and allocated” and urged the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to investigate. The case is yet to go before the NACC, and the watchdog would only be able to investigate the conduct of the government, not Higgins herself.
Higgins then, in response, urged Reynolds to “stop” in an Instagram story post she made in July 2023.
“This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop … My former boss who has publicly apologised for mishandling my rape allegation. Who has had to publicly apologise to me after defaming me in the workplace … Who is suing my fiance (David Shiraz) for a tweet,” Higgins wrote at the time.
Higgins was hit with a concerns notice from Reynolds, which Higgins made public in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“I’ve just received a concerns notice from @lindareynoldswa threatening defamation over an Instagram story,” Higgins wrote on July 6 2023. “I’m considering my legal options.”
‘I have had enough’
It was after this post that, two weeks later, Reynolds announced she would be launching legal action against Higgins for damage to her reputation.
“That (the concerns notice) was a private communication, which she has chosen to make public,” Reynolds said at the time.
“Ever since Ms Higgins first made her allegations of rape public, I have been the target of unwarranted criticism and abuse.
“Until now I have not taken any action against her personally – even though I considered her words to breach our previous settlement agreement.”
“I have had enough.”
The settlement agreement Reynolds was referring to in her statement was from a release signed in March 2021, which reportedly contained a non-disparagement clause, according to court documents.
Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz – who Reynolds is also suing over a series of tweets from December 2022 – made attempts to settle the matter with Reynolds over mediation earlier in the year. They were unsuccessful.
In April this year, Higgins release a statement apologising to Reynolds and her former chief-of-staff, Fiona Brown.
“Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown have also been hurt and for that I am also sorry,” Higgins said.
“My perceptions and feelings about what happened in the days and weeks after my rape are different from theirs. I deeply regret we have not yet found common ground.”
‘Every fairytale needs a villain’
Despite the olive branch gestures, Reynolds has pursued the case, which began in the WA Supreme Court today. The case will be heard by Justice Paul Tottle and is expected to run until early September.
Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, addressed the court today. He said that “every fairytale needs a villain”, and in Higgins’ story, which he admitted was a “terrible circumstance”, Reynolds was the villain.
He addressed early accusations made by Higgins – which Justice Michael Lee found were not true in his judgement of the Lehrmann v Network Ten defamation trial – that there was a political cover up to conceal details of her rape. Bennett said it was a “fictional story” and “none of it was true”.
Over the next five weeks, the court is expecting to hear from at least 17 witnesses put forward by Reynolds and her legal team, including Reynolds and Higgins themselves, Senator Michaelia Cash, former Minister Marise Payne, journalist Samantha Maiden, and even former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
A judgment on the case could take months to finalise.