Fiona Brown lodges Federal Court action against commonwealth

The political staffer who claims she was made to take the fall for the Morrison government in the wake of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations has filed a fair work case against the commonwealth.

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Political staffer Fiona Brown, who claims she was made to take the fall for the Morrison government in the wake of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, has lodged a fair work case against the commonwealth.

Ms Brown, former chief of staff to Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, filed documents in her Federal Court claim in the NSW registry last week, citing a “breach of general protections”.

Her legal team, led by barrister Dominique Hogan-Doran SC, is seeking to have elements of key documents suppressed, claiming a non-publication order is necessary “to protect the safety of any person”.

Ms Brown was first accused by Ms Higgins in an interview on Network 10’s The Project of treating her poorly after she was raped on the couch of Senator Reynolds’ office in Parliament House.

The central narrative adopted in the interview was that Bruce Lehrmann’s assault of Ms Higgins had been papered over by Senator Reynolds and Ms Brown for their own political convenience in the run-up to a federal election.

But Ms Brown was vindicated in Federal Court judge Michael Lee’s 324-page judgment in the defamation case brought by Mr Lehrmann, against Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson.

In the judgment, Justice Lee forcefully rejected Ms Higgins’ characterisation of Ms Brown’s handling of the assault, and found there was no political cover-up.

Liberal senator Linda Reynolds. Picture: NewsWire.

He found both Ms Brown and Senator Reynolds were emphatically encouraging her to go to the police, with Ms Brown offering to personally take her to the Australian Federal Police office in Parliament House.

“It is the only alleged cover-up of which I am aware where those said to be responsible for the covering up were almost insisting the complainant go to the police,“ Justice Lee observed.

As for Ms Higgins’ claim that she had told Ms Brown of the rape in early meetings, Justice Lee flatly accepted Ms Brown’s evidence that that did not happen, declaring her an honest witness concerned for the young woman’s welfare.

“The cover-up allegation was objectively short on facts, but long on speculation and internal inconsistencies – trying to particularise it during the evidence was like trying to grab a column of smoke,” he wrote.

Justice Lee also found, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins. Mr Lehrmann has always denied the allegations and is appealing the findings.

Ms Brown’s case against the commonwealth will have its first case management hearing before Federal Court judge Nye Perram on April 2.

The commonwealth is yet to file a defence in the matter.

Justice Perram late last year granted a suppression order for former television producer Amelia Saw in her fair work case against the Seven Network – despite opposition from multiple media outlets – claiming the release of information could “imperil” a mediation.

Following the success of the mediation, Justice Perram ordered the critical documents be suppressed for a further five years.

In a lengthy interview with The Australian in June 2023, Ms Brown alleged senior figures in then prime minister Scott Morrison’s office did not support her after she was wrongly accused of failing to help Ms Higgins – a claim weaponised by Labor to attack the government.

“It all ­becomes about the survival of the PM,” Ms Brown said at the time. “You are ­invisible, marginalised, isolated … no one wanted to know.”

Former prime minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Getty Images.

Anthony Albanese, amid intense scrutiny on the government over the handling of the allegations in 2021, asked Mr Morrison during question time whether he had spoken to Ms Brown about Ms Higgins’ claim that her job had been threatened.

Mr Morrison replied that he had.

Ms Brown said that was not true and after that question time, Mr Morrison had approached her and said “we’ve spoken, haven’t we”.

Ms Brown, who has quit her role in politics, told The Australian she could only guess at why she was accused of having “played down” the rape.

“She (Ms Higgins) had to have a villain – apart from the rape in the office story. On the political conspiracy side that story needed a villain,” Ms Brown said in the 2023 interview.

“She needed to present stuff as facts in order to ­justify or convey her feelings, and that’s why she did this to me – so I was the villain.”