The Circus Just Keeps on Giving

For as long as I can remember, there hasn’t been such a goldmine of scandal and skullduggery as the Higgins-Lehrmann saga since the 1970s, at least. It’s a never-ending fountain of shenanigans: from scheming politicians, sketchy public servants, dodgy lawyers and shameless media. It’s burned nearly everyone who’s tried to exploit it. Often deservedly so.

For those of you who’ve been living under a rock, or in New Zealand (much the same thing), the gist of the story is this: back in 2019, two parliamentary staffers got shitfaced, then checked themselves into Parliament House late at night. One of them (Brittany Higgins) zonked out, starkers, on the couch in her boss’ office. Them’s the facts. From there, it all gets murky. Higgins claims the other, Bruce Lehrmann, raped her. He denies it. It all got turned into a media-political circus that’s ended several careers and made Higgins a very rich young woman, courtesy of a multi-million dollar, taxpayer-funded, settlement.

And it’s all still rolling on.

Brittany Higgins, her partner David Sharaz and her former boss Linda Reynolds are making plans to go to trial to decide Senator Reynolds’ defamation case against the couple.

A month after mediation in Perth failed to resolve the matter, lawyers for all three talked to ­Supreme Court judge Paul Tottle at a directions hearing about what form the trial should take […]

Senator Reynolds will argue the couple defamed her on social media in a “concerted plan”, [Senator Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett] told the court.

The Australian

There’s also a corruption investigation into the circumstances of Higgins’ payout, which detractors allege was little more than a payoff by a grateful Labor party.

And, of course, there’s Bruce Lehrmann’s own defamation suit against several media organisations and personalities.

And, boy, is that one getting weird.

Bruce Lehrmann wanted accommodation with a jacuzzi as part of his negotiations with Seven over giving the network his exclusive interview rights, according to text messages tendered to the Federal Court, as bombshell claims emerge that Seven covered the cost of prostitutes for him, as well as ­illicit drugs, a round of golf and a $361 Tomahawk steak.

The new information was released on Wednesday in an affidavit signed by former Spotlight employee Taylor Auerbach as part of Mr Lehrmann’s defamation suit against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, and contains claims that Mr Lehrmann gave Seven Brittany Higgins’s private text mes­sages to use as part of his interview with the program […]

While judge Michael Lee had been expected to hand down a judgment in the matter on Thursday, Ten this week successfully applied to have its defamation case reopened, citing the new material provided by Auerbach.

Justice Lee is now not expected to deliver his judgment until next week.

The Australian

Auerbach is fitting right into this big ol’ circus of crazy.

Former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach admitted in an extraordinary email to his then-boss the day after he spent more than $10,000 for a Thai masseuse service using the media company’s corporate credit card that the late-night services “had nothing to do with work”.

The admission, in an email to Spotlight executive producer Mark Llewellyn, appears to be at odds with Mr Auerbach’s sworn affidavit to the Federal Court that the $10,315 he spent at Sensai Thai Massage was incurred “for the benefit” of Bruce Lehrmann […]

The Australian understands that Mr Auerbach was warned by Seven about his conduct, counselled about alleged drug and alcohol issues and given another chance.

Auerbach wasn’t immediately sacked for whooping it up on the company credit card, but his contract wasn’t renewed when it expired the next year. Since then, he’s given every appearance of behaving like the classic psycho ex.

Auerbach and [Spotlight producer, Steve Jackson] had a bitter falling-out, and Auerbach is alleged to be the source of stories relating to the appointment of Mr Jackson as the head of the NSW Police Force Media Unit.

In an extraordinary video obtained by the Australian, Auerbach recorded himself smashing golf clubs belonging to Jackson. Auerbach posted the video on social media last October accompanied by a caption reading “Merry Christmas, sue me” with a laughing emoji. He left the post up for less than a week before deleting it.

The Australian

Only one thing is sure: this whole, wacky circus isn’t about to stop hooting and rolling around the ring any time soon.