Penny Wong clashes with senator over Brittany Higgins cover-up claims after court rulings clear Linda Reynolds

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has clashed with Liberal Senator Anne Ruston in a tense Senate hearing over Labor’s longstanding claims of a political cover-up in the rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.

The exchange centred on allegations levelled in 2021 against former defence minister Linda Reynolds and her then chief of staff Fiona Brown, which have since been rejected by both the Federal Court and the WA Supreme Court.

Those courts found that claims of a cover-up and inadequate support for Ms Higgins were unfounded.

“The allegation of a cover-up had no foundation in fact and the allegation of inadequate support was based on an incomplete and misleading account of the facts,” WA Supreme Court Justice Paul Tottle wrote in his judgement in August.

The issue has resurfaced just two weeks after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese angrily rejected Ms Reynolds’ call for an apology over the discredited claims.

During Monday’s budget estimates hearing, Senator Ruston challenged Senator Wong to confirm whether she or the Prime Minister accepted the court’s findings by Justice Michael Lee in the Federal Court and Justice Tottle in the WA Supreme Court that Labor’s accusations were baseless.

“I’ll see if the Prime Minister has anything to add to the answer that he gave on the day in question (November 19)...I will check whether or not he, on notice, whether or not he has anything to add to the answer he already gave,” Senator Wong replied.

“I would make a couple of observations though, Senator Ruston. The first is that the independence of the judiciary is an important and central feature of the Westminster system. The role of the opposition and ministerial accountability to Parliament is also a central feature of the Westminster system,” she added.

“And what I would also say is this...the heart of this matter is a young woman, who a court found was raped in the office of a Liberal minister, and I would hope we can all reflect on the impact of her and as importantly all survivors of sexual assault in this country.

“Now, I know there are further legal proceedings in place which make it much more difficult for us to comment further.”

Senator Ruston pressed the Minister, insisting she was not asking about the criminal case involving Ms Higgins, but rather the allegations directed at Senator Reynolds and Ms Brown.

“So given the findings of the two superior Australian courts, will you now acknowledge that accusations by you and your Government were, in fact, unfounded?” Senator Ruston asked.

“You may not be asking questions about the issue, meaning a young woman’s sexual assault, but that is at the heart of this matter,” Senator Wong responded.

“I take the issue of sexual assault very, very seriously,” Senator Ruston replied, “but that is not what I am asking about.”

When pressed again on whether her earlier comments had been unfounded, Senator Wong again dodged the question, saying only: “I’ll refer you to my previous answer.”

Legal findings

In an April civil case ruling, Federal Court judge Michael Lee found that Bruce Lehrmann did, on the balance of probabilities, rape Ms Higgins inside the former defence minister’s office in Parliament in 2019.

But Justice Lee found there was no cover-up and, in August, a WA Supreme Court judge awarded Ms Reynolds $315,000 in a defamation case against Ms Higgins.

Ms Higgins was also ordered to pay 80 per cent of Ms Reynolds’ legal costs.

Ms Reynolds has now launched bankruptcy proceedings against her former staffer.

Justice Paul Tottle wrote that Ms Higgins’ cover-up claim was “sensational” and “assured of attracting media interest but it was untrue.”

During a press conference on November 19, when asked whether “mean girls” Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher should apologise over the cover-up allegation, Mr Albanese rejected the “characterisation” that his senior ministers weaponised the claim against Ms Reynolds.

“Hang on, a rape occurred, a judge found on the balance of probability, in a ministerial office in Parliament House. I think that’s a pretty big issue,” he said.