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No wonder Bruce Lehrmann was grinning from ear to ear outside court. His defamation case against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson is on a roll.
Lehrmann is sueing the broadcaster and the journalist for defamation, over The Project’s scoop interview with former Canberra staffer Brittany Higgins, who claims she was raped in then-Defence Minister Linda Reynold’s office after a night of heavy drinking. The Project also amplified Higgins’ claims to have been subject to a political conspiracy to silence her.
Except, now Wilkinson’s barrister has conceded that there was no conspiracy. Oopsie.
Lisa Wilkinson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC had just finished her cross-examination of Fiona Brown when Justice Michael Lee moved in with a trademark killer question.
“Can I proceed on the basis that no submission will be made Ms Brown was a knowing participant in a systemic cover-up of a rape?” he asked.
There was a pause as Ms Chrysanthou took stock of this question.
It was only last week that her client had sat in the same witness box and told the Federal Court she believed Brown, former chief of staff to then-minister Linda Reynolds was “getting instructions from the prime minister’s office” and it followed she and Reynolds were “knowing participants in a systemic cover-up”.
Than came the bombshell concession.
“Not for the purposes of these proceedings, your Honour,” she agreed after a long moment – there would be no submission that Brown was engaged in a systematic cover-up of the rape.
And, just like that, the whole “MeToo” narrative that did so much political damage to the Morrison government is blown apart.
That stunning concession may not win Bruce Lehrmann his defamation case against Wilkinson and the Ten Network, but it puts a torpedo through the bows of a central claim in their case – that Brittany Higgins was a victim of powerful forces inside the Morrison government who pressured her to stay silent or risk her career.
As Argus Filch, caretaker of Hogwarts, might say: Dear, oh dear, we ARE in trouble…
In fact, the court has heard that, quite the opposite of a cover-up, there was a determination in Reynolds’ office to see the affair brought to the attention of police.
On the evidence Chrysanthou extracted from Brown on Tuesday, Reynolds had been determined to get the police involved even before Higgins had verbalised her rape claim, let alone decided to make a complaint.
Brown told the court she feared losing her job after defying orders from both Reynolds and another minister, Alex Hawke – a close confidante of Scott Morrison – to make a police report without Higgins’ consent, before the young staffer had said she was raped.
Higgins had said she did not want to make a police report, and wanted to speak to her father before making a decision, Brown said […]
Chrysanthou: “You felt they were covering themselves – that’s all they were worrying about?”
Brown: “Yes.”
It’s not a pretty allegation to make about Reynolds and Hawke – that they simply wanted to be able to say they did something – but it shoots down the proposition that the government was intent on silencing the young woman and covering up the rape.
The Australian
The demolition of the “cover up” claim is also yet another blow to Higgins’ credibility. In previous testimony she has repeatedly changed her story or conceded that she had said things that were not true. Then there’s her long refusal to hand her phone over to police, only doing so after deleting hundreds of texts and photos.
To be fair, Lehrmann has also conceded some errors and corrected some claims — but he’s not the one making the extraordinary claims.
As for Higgins: her legal troubles are far from over, and scuttling off to rural France won’t evade them.
Former Liberal Minister Linda Reynolds will apply for freezing orders against Brittany Higgins after her former staffer flew out of the country this week to start a new life in France with her fiance, David Sharaz.
Senator Reynolds, who is suing both Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz for defamation, will ask the Supreme Court of Western Australia for the orders, which restrain a party to a case from selling or moving assets while a legal action is still in process.
Ms Higgins has reportedly bought her first home in a small village in the south of France, following her $2.4 million compensation settlement with the Commonwealth.
The couple said goodbye to family and friends at Brisbane International Airport on Monday night, flying to Singapore before boarding a connecting flight to France, where it is reported Ms Higgins plans to study and learn the language.
The Australian
Here’s a little phrase to start off with: Mentir comme un arracheur de dents.
