Taxpayers to fund legal costs for PM staffer Fiona Brown in Higgins rape case

A senior staffer in Scott Morrison’s office, who may give evidence in a trial over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, has been ­approved legal assistance ‘and related costs’ at taxpayer expense.

A senior staffer in the office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who may give evidence in a trial over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, has been ­approved legal assistance “and other related costs” at taxpayer expense.

Fiona Brown was the acting chief-of-staff in the office of defence minister Linda Reynolds in March 2019 at the time of the alleged rape of Ms Higgins, and handled the matter.

Three months later — after the federal election — Ms Brown moved to the prime minister’s office where, as at January this year, she was fulfilling the role of director of operations.

Mr Morrison has been under fire over when exactly he became aware of the allegations. He has maintained he learned of the claims when they became public.

It can be revealed the federal government has approved for Ms Brown to receive an amount of as much as $7000 in legal assistance, with an option to apply for further assistance should it be required.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Jason Edwards

The details are contained in a letter from Assistant Attorney-General Amanda Stoker to Assistant Minister to the PM and Cabinet Ben Morton, who sought funding assistance on behalf of Ms Brown.

The January 10 letter, obtained by The Saturday Telegraph, reveals Ms Brown will be eligible to receive as much as $7000, with the exact amount dependent on the ­details of the subpoena.

Brittany Higgins at a Women’s Day breakfast in March. Picture: Getty Images

It is also revealed Ms Brown will be able to apply for further assistance should it be required.

“Ms Brown seeks assistance for the costs of legal representation and other related costs in responding to a subpoena she anticipates she will receive to give evidence in the criminal prosecution of an alleged sexual assault in Parliament House in March 2019,” Ms Stoker wrote.

“I have no objection to your proposal to approve assistance to Ms Brown in connection with the anticipated subpoena to give evidence in the criminal prosecution and to impose three conditions.”

The three conditions Ms Stoker imposed included “limiting the amount of assistance to $7000 inclusive of GST”, with Ms Brown to also consult with the Department of Fin­ance with an estimate of costs before engaging legal representation.

Ms Brown will also be required to consult Finance in relation to the “disclosure and nondisclosure of Commonwealth documents and information” while also meeting departmental guidelines.

The revelation comes as ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum dismissed an application for a permanent or temporary stay made by lawyers for Bruce Lehrmann.

She also dismissed an application for a take-down order made by the defence, which would have forced media to ­remove previous articles written about the case.

Mr Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to a single charge of sexual intercourse without consent. The trial is expected to begin in June.

Ms Higgins went public in March last year with the allegation that she was raped by a male colleague in Ms Reynold’s office.

She has claimed the incident occurred in the early hours of March 23 in 2019.

The PM’s office has been contacted for comment.