Linda Reynolds vs Brittany Higgins: Day 16: Final evidence tendered as high-stakes defamation trial nears end

The blockbuster defamation trial brought by Linda Reynolds against her former junior media adviser is nearing its end, with some 360 documents tendered as evidence on the final court sitting day before closing submissions.

The Supreme Court action against Brittany Higgins heard from 23 witnesses — including just one brought by the defence — after Ms Higgins, who now lives in France, elected not to take the stand.

Her lawyer Rachel Young said it came after two psychiatrists concluded she was unfit to testify either in person or via videolink.

However, Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett argued that one of the psychiatrists had left open the videolink option and said the other was “tainted” as a reliable source.

Justice Paul Tottle ruled he was satisfied that Ms Higgins was not in a fit medical state to give oral evidence.

In lieu, he is accepting a statement taken from Ms Higgins preparatory to Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial, some evidence from that trial and an ensuing defamation case that Mr Lehrmann unsuccessfully brought against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.

Mr Bennett said the court now had all of the documents it needed to assess Senator Reynolds’ damages claim against Ms Higgins’ husband David Sharaz, who she is also suing over social media posts the pair made in 2022 and 2023.

Mr Sharaz engaged counsel who took part in preliminary hearings but did not defend himself at trial.

Earlier, Mr Bennett told the court of his client’s “fury” around the $2.4 million settlement reached between Ms Higgins and the Federal Government over the alleged rape and its handling of it, which the former minister was excluded from.

Senator Reynolds referred the settlement to the National Anti-Corruption Commission not because she sought to harass Ms Higgins, as her former staffer claims, but because she cared “about corruption in government”, Mr Bennett said.

Earlier this month, Mr Bennett subpoenaed HWL Ebs­worth to provide the court with correspondence between the legal firm and Ms Higgins’ lawyers while settling the matter.

“We want them to be received by his honour to substantiate that Senator Reynolds’ concern was not to question Ms Higgins’ settlement, but to question the procedure by which the Higgins claim was so rapidly settled by the Commonwealth,” Mr Bennett told reporters.

“That involved the Commonwealth taking over the conduct of Senator Reynolds’ case, extending a limitation period that had expired the day before . . . and dealing with claims that included new matters that Senator Reynolds was totally unaware of.”

Ms Higgins claims she was sexually assaulted by then-colleague Mr Lehrmann on a couch in Senator Reynolds’ parliamentary office, in the early hours of March 23, 2019.

The court was told on Wednesday that Parliament House made a counselling appointment for Ms Higgins with the Assure employee assistance program for April 11, 2019, but she had already engaged Kathryn Cripps of the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre.

Ms Higgins told journalist Samantha Maiden and Network Ten’s The Project in February 2021 that she tried to access the EAP but the wait was one to two months, Mr Bennett said.

“We say it’s relevant for support that was offered and not taken up,” Mr Bennett said.

“It’s this failure to mention in The Project interview or to Ms Maiden that she was getting counselling.”

Justice Tottle allowed the material to be tendered as evidence but Mr Bennett’s bid to have Mr Higgins’ diary notes about “dinner and drinks with Lucy and Malcolm” Turnbull was knocked back, with the judge saying he wasn’t convinced it was “entirely relevant”.

Mr Bennett also raised evidence that Mr Sharaz had repeatedly prompted former Senator Kristina Keneally to ask questions about the matter in parliament, “working in conjunction with Ms Higgins to maintain the issue”, which Justice Tottle allowed to be tendered.

Mr Bennett was also successful with evidence that Mr Sharaz told Network Ten producer Angus Llewellyn he had “pointed every journo to The Project tonight” and offered photographs of the couch.

Closing addresses are scheduled over three days next week.

The outgoing senator argues that the couple’s social media posts, which were critical of her handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation, damaged her reputation and took a big toll on her health.

But Ms Young said Ms Higgins “motivations to speak out” were not to denigrate Senator Reynolds.

Mr Lehrmann faced trial in 2022, accused of raping Ms Higgins, but it was aborted due to juror misconduct.

The charge was ultimately dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.

In his defamation case against Network Ten and Wilkinson, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee determined, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins.

Justice Lee also found that the other claim in the Network Ten story, of a political cover-up involving Senator Reynolds and others, was not true.

Mr Lehrmann is appealing the decision.

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