Bruce Lehrmann defamation suit against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, live coverage
Brittany Higgins’ ex has told the Federal Court he contacted Scott Morrison’s office in 2019 to get Ms Higgins “help” after the alleged rape.
WARNING: Graphic details
Welcome to our rolling coverage of Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation suit against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson.
Follow the latest news and updates from the hearing today.
Bruise bombshell: Ex-boyfriend says ‘I never saw it’
Brittany Higgins’ ex-boyfriend Ben Dillaway has revealed he never saw a bruise on Ms Higgins’ thigh in the days after the alleged rape.
Bruce Lehrmann has previously questioned the authenticity of the bruise on the Spotlight program suggesting it may have been fabricated which was “pretty sick.”
“It would appear that she’s given that to The Project to enhance the weaponisation of her sexual assault allegation,” Mr Lehrmann said.
“It’s pretty sick.”
In the Federal Court on Thursday, Mr Dillaway said he travelled to Canberra to support Ms Higgins in the week after the alleged rape from Melbourne.
Ms Higgins also stayed the night at a hotel with Mr Dillaway while they discussed what had occurred.
“And you were staying at the Burberry?,” Bruce Lehrmann’s barrister Steve Whybrow asked.
“Yes,” Mr Dillaway replied.
“And you saw Miss Higgins over the following two nights?”, he was then asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“And she stayed at your hotel for at least one of those nights?”.
“I believe so. Yes,” Mr Dillaway replied.
“And is it the case that you don’t have any recollection of seeing any bruises or marks on her body?,” Mr Whybrow asked.
“Correct. I cannot recall seeing a bruise. But also I cannot recall if I would have seen her where I would have seen a bruise.”
Mr Whybrow asked if it was the case that at no stage did she refer to a bruise on her body in their texts or discussions. He asked that if the first he learned of the bruise was as a result of The Project.
“Probably. I don’t recall discussing a bruise,” he said.
Under questioning from Lehrmann’s counsel Steven Whybrow SC, Ms Higgins conceded the photo of the bruise, which she said was taken in April 2019, may not have been sustained in the alleged sex assault.
“It’s possible that it was caused by falling up the stairs,” she said.
‘Blow the whole thing up’: Ex boyfriend’s warning
Brittany Higgins’ ex-boyfriend Ben Dillaway has told the Federal Court he contacted Scott Morrison’s office in 2019 to get Ms Higgins “help” after the alleged rape and thought they would realise if it became public it would “blow the whole thing up”.
The Prime Minister’s office has consistently denied it was alerted or tipped off about the alleged rape until two years later.
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has previously confirmed he first learned of the allegation when news.com.au broke the story in February, 2021.
But Mr Dillaway told the Federal Court that he contacted a member of the then Prime Minister’s office in the hope of speeding up her access to support services.
Mr Dillaway, also a former Liberal staffer, told the court he spoke to a staffer in the office about the incident on April 3, 2019 with Ms Higgins’ permission.
“She was happy for me to proceed,’’ Mr Dillaway said.
“So I sent her that final message before I then reached out to the Prime Minister’s office to ensure she was comfortable with me doing so.
“And who was your contact in the Prime Minister’s office?” Ten’s barrister Matt Collins KC said.
“Julian Leembrugen,” Mr Dillaway said.
“I sent him a text message...saying I had something pretty serious to discuss with him and he offered for me to come down and meet with him in the office.”
“Did you report back to Ms Higgins?” Dr Collins asked.
“I did. I sent her a text message as a readout of that meeting,” Mr Dillaway said.
“I reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office in the hope of getting Brittany help. She’d been telling me that she was not doing well. She wasn’t coping. There’s a long wait for counselling.
“I thought if I reached out to someone such as the Prime Minister’s office that could speed things up.
“I thought they would see someone that was in pain and suffering and needed help. I thought they would see the political imperative that if Ms Higgins went public during the election, which was coming up, it could blow the whole thing up. So I thought they would be motivated at least by that, to wrap their arms around her, care for her, and make sure she got the help.”
‘Barely lucid’: Brittany’s texts to ex
Mr Dillaway has given evidence to the Federal Court about the texts he exchanged with her after the night of the alleged rape where she initially said it was “just the usual shenanigans”.
A few days later, she told him things had “not played out” like she suggested and she feared she was about to lose her job. She then alleged she was “barely lucid” and was raped.
Mr Dillaway has told the Federal Court that when she told him the day after the incident she had “kicked on” at Parliament House after a night drinking he thought it was “very strange”.
“I thought that was quite strange. I’d worked in that building as an adviser for a number of years and you would almost never go back to Parliament to carry on or party as she had referenced it,” he said.
“So I thought that was very strange, so I started to question her a bit about it.”
But Mr Dillaway said Ms Higgins was “cagey” and ended the conversation abruptly.
The court also heard texts exchanged between the pair throughout March 23, 2019 in which Ms Higgins tells him that her night out had involved “just the standard shenanigans”.
She then met with her boss Fiona Brown on the Tuesday after the allged rape, who revealed she had been found in the office by security.
In the week after the alleged sexual assault, Ms Higgins then told Mr Dillaway the evening “didn’t play out how I made out”.
“I don’t remember getting there at all, vaguely remember Bruce being there and then I woke up in the morning half dressed by myself in the Minister’s office on Saturday morning,” she wrote.
“So he f**ked you? I hope you’re ok. This is pretty serious, horrible stuff. You probably need to report this,” Mr Dillaway responded.
Ms Higgins said she didn’t want the incident to become public knowledge.
Higgins’ plea to her ex
Mr Dillaway told the Federal Court she never wanted to be known as “the girl that was raped in Parliament”.
“She had concerns about becoming known as the girl who was raped in Parliament,’’ Mr Dillaway said.
“And she was worried about how it could affect her job and her career.”
Justice Michael Lee then asked the witness, “She said that to you?”
“I believe so,” Mr Dillaway responded.
Mr Dillaway said he also encouraged her to see a doctor.
“I encouraged her to see a doctor, to get tested, in case you picked up any STDs or anything like that,” he said.
“Just to create a record of having seen a doctor so then if she wanted to pursue action down the track. It was like, you know, creating a proof point of that.”
Mr Dillaway said she indicated she would. She later confirmed in a text message she had.
But Ms Higgins has previously given evidence she made appointments but never went to see a doctor.
Walkley Foundation strips Spotlight of nomination
Channel 7’s Spotlight program has been stripped of its nomination as a finalist for a Walkley Award over failing to fully disclose payments to Mr Lehrmann.
The program presenter Liam Bartlett, executive producer Mark Llewellyn and producer Steve Jackson were finalists in the Scoop of the Year award.
In a statement, the Walkley Foundation said it had reviewed documents uploaded to the Federal Court this week which show an exclusivity agreement made between Seven and Mr Lehrmann that provided for 12 months of accommodation.
“Following a review of these documents, The Walkley Foundation Board has come to the unanimous conclusion that the Seven Spotlight story “Trial and Error” was not eligible for consideration in the All Media Scoop of the Year category for the 2023 Walkley Awards as the entry did not accurately describe the extent of benefits provided to Mr Lehrmann in exchange for interviews, information and exclusive access,’’ a spokesperson said.
The Walkley Foundation has revoked the story’s finalist status in the 68th Walkley Awards.
The program Trial and Error featured exclusive CCTV, text messages and documents that were in the brief of evidence for the criminal trial but never released publicly and provided to Seven by persons unknown.
‘Are you accusing me of lying under oath?’
A former ministerial staffer Nikita Irvine clashed with Mr Lehrman’s barrister Steve Whybrow after declaring “I believe” Ms Higgins before asking him to clarify if he was accusing her of lying under oath.
Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds’ former aide de camp Ms Irvine was cross examined on Thursday over her night out drinking with Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins on the night of the alleged rape.
Ms Irvine maintained she had a good memory of the night in question and the aftermath when she said Ms Higgins disclosed an alleged rape to her at Parliament House in the week after the incident.
The Federal Court was told that Ms Irvine did not take notes of the conversations because she wanted to protect Ms Higgins confidentiality.
Ms Irvine was at The Dock drinking on the night of the alleged rape and was also friends with Lauren Gain who went to the nightclub called 88MPH afterwards.
“So since it was made public, you and Ms Gain, have spoken about this matter which involved colleagues of yours and became quite a high profile manner?,” Mr Whybrow asked.
“Yes, we have,” Ms Irvine said.
“Has Ms Gain told you that she believes Brittany?,” Mr Whybrow asked.
“I believe she has. She believes Brittany,’’ Ms Irvine replied.
“And is that your attitude as well?,” Mr Whybrow said.
“I do. I believe Brittany,” she said.
The week after the alleged incident, Ms Irvine received a text from Ms Gain stating “Brittany and Bruce hooked up”.
She was then told by a colleague Chris Payne there was an incident in the office involving Bruce Lehrmann and he no longer worked there.
Mr Whybrow then probed Ms Irvine on why she asked to take a walk with Ms Higgins and how she knew the alleged incident involved Ms Higgins.
“I don’t know, maybe because she was very upset that day and she was very down and maybe I put two and two together,” she said.
“Or maybe you’re just saying things because you believe that she was the victim of a rape and you’re prepared to say evidence in support of that,” Mr Whybrow retorted.
“So are you accusing me of lying under oath?” Ms Irvine asked.
“I’m not accusing you, I’m putting to you that maybe there are subconscious additions to your evidence,” Mr Whybrow responded.
Ms Irvine rejected this proposition.
“I don’t believe there’s any subconscious additions to my evidence. I’ve gone through everything very thoroughly, and I have tried to separate things I’ve learned since, and things that I knew then,” Ms Irvine said.
Don’t talk to Bruce: Linda Reynolds
Channel Ten’s barrister Matt Collins KC asked Ms Irvine about a phone call she witnessed Defence Industry Linda Reynolds take on the Tuesday after the alleged rape from her chief of staff.
It was on this day that the chief of staff Fiona Brown learned of a late night incident where Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann entered the ministerial suite after hours.
She had met with Mr Lehrmann and asked him to finish up and pack up his desk. He was planning to move on anyway but he was not terminated until the following month.
At this stage, Ms Brown had just found out that Ms Higgins had been found naked in the office.
Ms Irvine then received a call from Ms Brown in the afternoon who said she urgently needed to speak to Senator Reynolds after cabinet.
“The Minister took a phone call in Brisbane?,” Mr Collins asked.
“Yes,” Ms Irvine replied.
“I received a phone call from Fiona Brown telling me that the minister needs to call her ASAP.
“We had to leave ASAP. We had all our bags ready. Linda Reynolds came up after she had hung up the phone and she just said to Jesse (Wotton) have you spoken to Bruce or have you had any conversations with Bruce?
“And Jesse said no and she said ‘you’re not allowed to talk to Bruce’.”
Mr Wotton was a ministerial staffer at the time and a friend of Mr Lehrmann’s who worked in the same office. He is now the deputy Liberal Party director in WA.
‘Bad vibes’ on Bruce Lehrmann
Ms Irvine has given evidence that she got “bad vibes” from Bruce Lehrmann and didn’t want to spend time with him.
Ms Irvine, who was out for drinks at The Dock on the night of the alleged rape, said she went home at the conclusion of the drinks when the pub closed and did not want to continue on to the nightclub 88MPH.
“Because I don’t like mixing work with like ... I wouldn’t go out to a club with people I work with,” she said.
Ms Irvine said she also got “bad vibes” from Mr Lehrmann and knew he was moving on from the office.
“Yeah, and I just, when I started that office I had bad vibes on Bruce,” she said.
“He’s not the sort of person I would have socialised with so that’s probably why I said that.”
Dr Collins asked Ms Irvine, “Just explain what you mean by bad vibes.”
“Well, I think he thought he was moving on,” she said.
“It’s women’s intuition. Dr Collins, I’m sorry. I just didn’t really want to spend time with him.”
The week after the weekend drinks, Ms Irvine was told by another staff member Chris Payne that there had been an incident in the office involving Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins and that he no longer worked there.
Later, she went for a walk with Ms Hihhins on the Wednesday or Thursday after the alleged rape.
“Have you heard what’s happened?,” Ms Higgins asked her.
Ms Irvine said that Ms Higgins indicated that “Bruce and I were in an Uber to go home and he wanted to come back to Parliament House.”
“He said he had some whiskey to show me or something,” Ms Irvine said of what Ms Higgins told her.
Ms Irvine said Ms Higgins told her: “I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up and he was on top of me.”
“And I said, ‘Okay, was it...’ and I paused and she said, ‘yeah, definitely.’”
“And I took that to mean it was an assault,” Ms Irvine said.
“I asked if she’d spoken to the minister or Fiona Brown about it yet. At that stage she had spoken to Fiona, but had not yet spoken to the Minister. I am confident that police were mentioned in that meeting.”
Ms Irvine said that she spoke to the chief of staff Fiona Brown about the conversation. She said Ms Brown told her, “Yes it is very disconcerting.”
She also told her boss Senator Reynolds on a plane.
She said Senator Reynolds indicated that she “felt sick and nothing like that has ever happened to me”.
Ms Higgins later told her she wasn’t pursuing a police complaint because it would take a long time and be traumatic.
“The police had told her it would take a really long time to get to court. It would be emotionally taxing on her and it would be difficult to reach a conviction of Bruce for what happened.”
Mr Lehrmann denies raping Ms Higgins.
Higgins found ‘completely naked’, ‘dress thrown on the floor’
A former parliamentary security guard Nikola Anderson has given evidence that she found Ms Higgins completely naked in the minister’s office on the night of the alleged rape and her dress “just looked like it had been taken off and thrown on the floor”.
Ms Anderson gave evidence in the Federal Court today about the moment she walked Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins to the ministerial suite and unlocked the door.
She later performed a welfare check on Ms Higgins after Mr Lehrmann exited the building.
“Can you recall if the dress was folded?” Mr Lehrmann’s barrister Mr Whybrow asked.
“It just looked like it had been taken off and thrown on the floor,’’ Ms Anderson said.
“And you did not have any concerns, in relation to when you were doing a welfare check, at that stage? You say the woman opened her eyes and looked at you. Did she speak to you?”
“No. She rolled over into the foetal position and faced the desk,’’ Ms Anderson said.
Ms Anderson said she did not observe the woman to be in any trouble, or distress.
What’s happening today
Two security guards who worked at Parliament House on the night Ms Higgins alleged she was raped will give evidence in the Federal Court on Thursday.
Ms Anderson and Mark Fairweather, have been called to give evidence by Network Ten.
Ms Anderson is the security guard who discovered Ms Higgins naked in the office of Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds in the early hours of March 23, 2019.
She had previously given evidence in the criminal trial in October, 2022.
She was also interviewed by the ABC’s Four Corners Program in March, 2021 after the story first broke.
Justice Lee, discussed the proposed witness list on Wednesday and expressed surprise that Ms Higgins’ fiancé David Sharaz will not be called to give evidence.
“You’re not calling him?” Justice Lee asked.
Channel Ten’s barrister Matt Collins KC indicated to the court that Mr Sharaz was not around in 2019, when the alleged incident occurred.
“He was not on the scene in 2019,” Mr Collins said.
Mr Sharaz was present when Ten producer Angus Llewellyn recorded a five hour pre-interview in 2021 between Ms Higgins, Ms Wilkinson and Mr Llewelyn.
On Thursday, Justice Lee also heard submissions on whether or not Ms Reynolds’ chief of staff, Fiona Brown will be called to give evidence.
“Ms Brown has returned from overseas. She’s still jet lagged, but she has returned and I have met with her,” her lawyer told the court on Thursday.
“She has told me she wishes to assist your honour. She has received medical advice that she not give evidence.
“We have, having regard to her vulnerable state, we have sought an updating report from her psychiatrist, which I understand is in train.”
Justice Lee said if she was able to give evidence “then obviously it would seem to have some significance”,
Ms Brown’s lawyer also asked for the court’s live stream to be delayed if she was to give evidence.
“Conscious of the public interest and also conscious of the risk of harm and also how the giving of evidence, with something up to 20 to 25,000 people watching would be oppressive in itself,” she said.
Justice Lee said he was “open” to the idea of delaying the live stream to limit the “vexation” to the witness.
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