Brittany Higgins to accuse Linda Reynolds of mishandling her rape complaint

Brittany Higgins is set to openly accuse Linda Reynolds of mishandling her rape complaint and then launching a “campaign of harassment” against her — which she says included the WA Senator leaking multiple confidential documents.

The full details of both sides’ claims have been released to The Nightly ahead of their high-stakes defamation showdown in WA’s Supreme Court starting next week.

This includes the full details of Ms Higgins’ defence of the social media posts, which the former defence minister says caused significant damage to her reputation and her health.

That defence is rigorous and robust, containing the details of why Ms Higgins says her posts to Instagram and Twitter were justified — because she says they were substantially true.

In July 2023, the former junior media adviser wrote on her Instagram account: “These are just headlines from today.

“This is from a current Australian senator who continues to harass me through the media and in the parliament. 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? This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop.”

In her statement of claim, Senator Reynolds says that post and others meant she had been “greatly injured in her credit, character and reputation”.

“Has been brought into public hatred, scandal, odium and contempt . . . has been injured in the way of her future occupation . . . and has suffered stress and embarrassment,” the claim states.

But Ms Higgins says that post was justified for several reasons — including that Senator Reynolds had publicly “challenged the defendant’s veracity on the rape allegation . . . and undermined the defendant’s trauma”.

Firstly, Ms Higgins sets out why she still says her boss botched her handling of her complaint that Bruce Lehrmann raped her after a Canberra night out in 2019.

That mishandling included not disclosing information to Senator Reynolds about the incident, seeking to have a report made to the Australian Federal Police without her consent and then meeting Ms Higgins in her office — the same office the raped alleged happened in.

The defence also states that in late 2022, Senator Reynolds leaked letters about Ms Higgins’ compensation claim to the Commonwealth to a journalist from The Australian newspaper.

She says subsequent leaks included an internal government email marked ‘Sensitive: Personal’ and Senator Reynolds’ own submission to the Sofronoff Inquiry into the handling of Mr Lehrmann’s prosecution.

Ms Higgins also points to Senator Reynolds’ interview on the Seven Network’s Spotlight program and her complaint to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

“In the circumstances, the plaintiff (Senator Reynolds) has engaged in a campaign of harassment against the defendant,” the defence states.

“By providing confidential information to the media . . . questioning directly or indirectly the circumstances of the defendant’s personal injury claim . . . undermining her credibility and questioning directly and indirectly the truth of sworn testimony given.”

In her reply to those allegations, tendered to the trial judge Justice Paul Tottle, Senator Reynolds denies harassment, saying she was “entitled to deal” with the information sent to journalist Janet Albrechtsen.

And she asserts she was also entitled to “question the circumstances” of the personal injury claim because that claim was “founded on matters that were disputed”.

In Senator Reynolds’ 80-page statement of claim, she detailed what she says was an orchestrated and coordinated attack on her by Ms Higgins and her now-husband David Sharaz, aimed at damaging her career and the government.

That claim also includes an allegation of “tortious conspiracy to injure by lawful means”, which is said to involve “collaboration . . . with their respect to their joint social media plan”.

And that could mean additional, aggravated damages.

“The defendant and Mr Sharaz agreed on a common design for the sole or dominant purpose of causing injury,” the claim says.

“Conduct . . . seeking to injure the plaintiff (which) has been improper, unjustifiable and lacking in bona fides.”

Senator Reynolds says her former staffer acted with “malice” because as far back as 2021, she knew any allegations the rape complaint had been covered up were false.

Also, Ms Higgins’s claims that she was “alone and cast out” while working in Perth during the 2019 federal election campaign are said to be false.

To prove that, Senator Reynolds will point to various events, drinks, and parties Ms Higgins attended in WA—including at the home of former indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt and with then-Governor Kim Beazley.

“The defendant has persisted in the coverup allegation . . . in circumstances where she knows the allegation is untrue,” the claim states.

“The conduct . . . was deliberate, outrageous and in contumelious disregard of (Senator Reynolds’) interests.”

Earlier this month, Chief Justice Peter Quinlan ruled that Senator Reynolds and her legal team should be given access to the secret details of a trust find set up by Ms Higgins to house the $2.4 million compensation award.

Potentially gaining access to those assets was “likely to be the only process by which Senator Reynolds recovers damages and costs if she’s successful,” her lawyer Martin Bennett later said.

“If you’re out of pocket, and you’ve mortgaged your house to the hilt to pay for litigation, recovering those costs is something you try and do as soon as possible.”

Just this week, it was revealed that Ms Higgins has sold the home she purchased in France, where she has been living with Mr Sharaz.

The trial is due to begin on August 2.