Bruce Lehrmann pleads ‘not guilty’ to car theft charge as his lawyer alleges ‘national secret’

Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to a car theft charge, as his lawyer accused prosecutors of treating information in the strange case like a ‘national secret’.

Bruce Lehrmann in Hobart. Picture: Elise Kaine

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Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to a car theft charge in Tasmania, as his lawyer accused prosecutors of treating information in the case like a ‘national secret’.

Mr Lehrmann’s Sydney-based lawyer, Zali Burrows, initially told the Hobart Magistrate’s Court she would seek a stay on proceedings rather than enter a plea on her client’s behalf.

Ms Burrows said a statement by the owner of the vehicle, Gail Denise Oates, provided by the prosecution, redacted the name of the person Ms Oates believed allegedly stole her Toyota Prado.

“I don’t know why this is such a national secret,” Ms Burrows told Magistrate Reg Marron.

She also told the court Ms Oates had committed “sub judice contempt” by giving a media interview in relation to the matter, and that the interview presented a version of events that differed from her statement.

There were issues of “procedural fairness” in play, she told the court.

However, Magistrate Reg Marron said in Tasmania it was the practice of the prosecution to “lay a charge on the basis of some evidence and then when a plea is entered they go away and get the rest of it”.

“If there is a plea of not guilty that will trigger the release of other information … and we can have a mention (hearing) and discuss the issue of the redaction,” he told Ms Burrows.

He said he would not view her client negatively if he later changed his plea.

Ms Burrows then told the court Mr Lehrmann had just instructed her to enter a plea of not guilty to the charge.

Prosecutor Bunewat Keo told the court Ms Oates may have talked to the media on one occasion but had not done so since, and that all information in his file on the case had been disclosed to Ms Burrows.

Both Ms Burrows and Mr Lehrmann appeared via telephone link. A request by Mr Keo to ensure future appearances were in person was dismissed by Mr Marron.

Bail was continued and the case adjourned to September 19.

The Toyota Prado Tasmania Police alleged Bruce Lehrmann stole. Picture: Matthew Denholm

In February, it emerged Mr Lehrmann had sought to have the car theft charge dropped, amid contrasting stories about how the Toyota Prado allegedly went missing from a “middle of nowhere” property in the Huon Valley on November 20, 2024.

Sources close to the case told The Australian police had CCTV footage allegedly of Mr Lehrmann filling the car with diesel at a petrol station in Huonville shortly after it was allegedly stolen.

The owner of the car, Gail Denise Oates, is understood to insist she has never met Mr Lehrmann and reported the alleged theft to police after noticing the car missing overnight from the driveway of her Mountain River property, about 40 minutes drive south of Hobart.

However, sources close to Mr Lehrmann have suggested the charge is the result of a misunderstanding involving someone known to Ms Oates, who gave permission for the car’s use.

Adding to the intrigue, Ms Oates, her daughter Melissa, and the family of Melissa’s late partner, Jari Wise, have been at the centre of long-running legal battles and persistent ill-feeling.

Melissa Oates in 2020 struck Mr Wise with her car, in Huonville, resulting in his death. A coroner later found no evidence she intentionally did so but the case won notoriety and a new “Jari’s law” requiring coronial hearings in such cases.

Mr Wise’s mother, Faith Tkalac, was in August 2021 found guilty of assaulting Ms Oates.

Mr Lehrmann is understood to have been based in Tasmania since losing his high profile defamation bid against Channel 10 and former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson.

The car theft case against Lehrmann is the latest in a string of legal matters across four different states and territories.

After a criminal trial against him for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins was terminated due to juror misconduct, he unsuccessfully sued Ten and Wilkinson for defamation.

Mr Lehrmann is also facing separate criminal rape charges in Toowoomba District Court.