Former PM Scott Morrison poised to give evidence in Linda Reynolds defamation case against Brittany Higgins

Former prime minister Scott Morrison is poised to give evidence in the looming legal showdown between Brittany Higgins and her ex-boss Linda Reynolds.

At a directions hearing in the Supreme Court of WA on Tuesday, lawyers on both sides continued to argue about trial dates and details of high-profile witnesses who look set to take the stand began to trickle out.

The outgoing Liberal senator’s lead counsel Martin Bennett said the original schedule of a six-week proceeding starting July 24 should remain, saying it fit in with the Federal Parliament sitting calendar.

“Unlike the defendant who doesn’t have commitments, Senator Reynolds has commitments to the nation and the State,” Mr Bennett said.

After Ms Higgins’ husband David Sharaz recently bowed out — declaring he could not afford to keep fighting the case — her lawyer Teresa Ward requested the trial start on August 5, saying it should now only last three weeks.

Ms Ward said newly-appointed trial counsel Rachael Young — who represented billionaire Andrew Forrest and his battle against Meta — was not available for the first few days of a trial starting July 24.

Another directions hearing will be held next week to finally land on a date, with Justice Paul Tottle urging the parties to confer as soon as possible.

“The difficulty is we’re running out short of time and hearing dates to deal with matters,” Justice Tottle said.

Mr Bennett said the trial start date was needed to issue subpoenas to people who would be called as witnesses — and the longer the delay, the greater the inconvenience to them.

Senator Reynolds revealed outside court that Mr Morrison was supporting her defamation action against her former junior media adviser, saying she had observed the procedural hearing on Tuesday in person because she was determined to bring the matter to trial and clear her name.

“I’ve been particularly grateful in recent times for the support from Scott Morrison and for many other colleagues who will be witnesses in this trial in terms of the impact this has had on me, but on many other people as well,” Senator Reynolds told reporters.

“Because there simply was never, ever any political conspiracy.

“Ms Higgins was looked after by myself and particularly by my chief of staff Fiona Brown.”

Mr Bennett said Mr Morrison had filed a witness outline and was prepared to give evidence at trial if required, via link as he would be overseas.

Senator Michaelia Cash was also mentioned as a potential witness.

“We’ll see — it depends on Parliament sitting time,” Mr Bennett said.

The defamation action is over a series of social media posts the now France-based former junior media adviser and Mr Sharaz published in 2022 and 2023.

They came amid the fallout from Ms Higgins’ claim she was raped by ex-parliamentary colleague Bruce Lehrmann, who faced a criminal trial in the ACT in 2022 that was aborted due to juror misconduct.

But in a bombshell judgment in April, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee concluded he was convinced, to a civil standard, that Ms Higgins had told the truth when she made the claim in her interview with The Project in 2021.

The case was a defamation claim by Mr Lehrmann, which Justice Lee threw out.

But Justice Lee also made another crucial finding, that the other claim in the Network Ten story — of a political cover-up involving Senator Reynolds and others — was not true.

Senator Reynolds’ legal team recently filed an application attempting to ascertain who the trustee of the Brittany Higgins Protective Trust deed is - and who to sue in the event Ms Higgins says she cannot pay any damages awarded.

Ms Higgins set up the trust in February last year after being awarded a $2.4 million compensation payment by the Federal Government.

The assessment of any damages Mr Sharaz must pay will be done after Ms Higgins’ trial, which comes after two rounds of face-to-face mediation talks between the couple and senator failed to reach a settlement.