‘One of my worst’: Ex-Attorney-General George Brandis’ big call on Bruce Lehrmann
A former Attorney-General has revealed how he feels about being the person who gave Bruce Lehrmann his first job in Parliament.
Former Attorney-General George Brandis has revealed his surprising connection to former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann as he reminisced about some of his best – and worst – decisions in office.
In a column for the Sydney Morning Herald, the former Queensland senator reflected on the things that stood out to him in 2024.
One of his picks was Justice Michael Lee for the best performance by a judge this year.
Mr Brandis noted Justice Lee is a “pleasingly idiosyncratic jurist” who has “presided over some of the Federal Court’s most complex cases” during his time on the bench.
“But it was the way he handled the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial that rocketed him to public acclaim,” Mr Brandis wrote in the opinion piece, published on Sunday.
“It is exquisitely difficult to conduct the hearing of a case which is already a cause célèbre, yet his honour did so with exemplary skill.
His judgment was painstaking, fair and – important, given the huge public interest – comprehensible.”
The former Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom praised Justice Lee for managing to be “dryly humorous” despite the difficult and sensitive subject matter.
“Appointing Lee in 2017 was one of my best decisions as Attorney-General,” Mr Brandis wrote.
“But, in a spirit of full disclosure, I must confess I also gave Lehrmann his first job in Parliament House, which was undoubtedly one of my worst.”
The opposite ends of Mr Brandis’ spectrum collided in the Federal Court in April this year, when Justice Lee delivered an eloquent judgment in the defamation case brought by Lehrmann against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson.
He found Lehrmann had, on the balance of probabilities, raped Ms Higgins at Parliament House in March 2019.
Justice Lee criticised Lehrmann’s decision to pursue defamation action after criminal proceedings against him were withdrawn following an aborted trial in 2022.
“Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” he now-famously said.
Lehrmann has continued to maintain his innocence and is appealing against Justice Lee’s decision.
The appeal is expected to be heard late next year.
The former political staffer faced a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court in 2022 after pleading not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
However, the trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct and the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges against him out of concern for Ms Higgins’ welfare in the event of a retrial.
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