Coalition seek to censure Gallagher over Higgins

The Coalition tried to censure Katy Gallagher over her knowledge of Ms Higgins’ rape allegations amid ongoing claims she misled parliament.

The Coalition’s attempt to censure Finance Minister Katy Gallagher over Brittany Higgins allegations has failed

The Coalition has tried to censure Finance Minister Katy Gallagher over her knowledge of Brittany Higgins’s rape allegations amid ongoing claims that she misled parliament.

Despite the Coalition seeking to maintain pressure on the government over the issue, its attempt to suspend standing orders to move a censure motion failed after it was voted down by Labor and the Greens.

Senator Gallagher has been facing claims she misled parliament over an outburst during a contentious Senate estimates hearing when she rejected assertions she was tipped off about Ms Higgins’s rape allegations in 2021.

In response to claims from former defence minister Linda Reynolds that senior Labor figures had been tipped off about Ms Higgins’s allegations before they were aired in the media, Senator Gallagher said: “No one had any knowledge. How dare you! It’s all about protecting yourself.”

Leaked text messages obtained by The Australian revealed Ms Higgins and her fiance, David Sharaz, claimed to have corresponded with Senator Gallagher days before the former Liberal staffer went public with her rape claim, with Mr Sharaz saying Senator Gallagher was “really invested” in Ms Higgins’s story.

After going to ground, Senator Gallagher was forced to concede she knew about Ms Higgins’s allegations before they became public but denies she misled parliament.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham on Thursday said Senator Gallagher’s claim that she did not know anything about Ms Higgins’s allegations was a “blatant act” of misleading the Senate as he moved a motion to suspend standing orders to censure the Fin­ance Minister.

Senator Birmingham attacked Senator Gallagher for failing to take responsibility for the comments made during the Senate estimates hearing in 2021, arguing that she refused to answer questions over her knowledge of the allegations.

The criticism comes after Senator Gallagher refused to provide details on the advice she provided Ms Higgins’s supporters ahead of her rape allegation being made public during four days of grilling by Coalition senators last week.

“The facts are clear – Senator Gallagher has misled the Senate and despite being given ample opportunity over the past two weeks to acknowledge that reality and to do the right thing by appropriately apologising and appropriately correcting the record, Senator Gallagher has obfuscated, avoided and outright refused to acknowledge the reality,” Senator Birmingham said.

“This is an open and shut case of misleading this Senate, and this parliament.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong defended Senator Gallagher, saying she had led reforms to make parliament a safer place for women after Ms Higgins had sparked a “national reckoning” by airing her allegations in the media.

Senator Wong said Ms Higgins was “courageous” for speaking out, despite being aware that she would become a political ­target, and she attacked the ­Coalition’s grilling of Labor in the Senate as a “desperate attempt to rewrite history by peddling false accusations about others” and a “desperate attempt to launder their reputation”.

“Her courage and selflessness helped start a national reckoning; it led to the Jenkins report, it helped this government implement Set the Stand and Respect at Work,” Senator Wong told question time.

The Coalition’s attempt to suspend standing orders to censure Senator Gallagher failed after the Greens voted with Labor, with the left-wing party last week criti­cising the “politicking” and “mudslinging” surrounding Ms Higgins’s allegations.

Senator Gallagher on Thursday referred to her previous statement to the Senate explaining her actions and maintained that she did not mislead the Senate.