The opposition says it is legitimate to question the $2.445 million compensation payout to Brittany Higgins, given the finding by Federal Court Justice Michael Lee that there was no political cover-up of her rape.

Opposition manager of business Paul Fletcher said Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Foreign Minister Penny Wong had also been exposed by the judgment because they ran harder than most on the theory of a cover-up, as they targeted Ms Higgins’ former boss Linda Reynolds.