Katy Gallagher accused of misleading parliament, faces referral to corruption watchdog
Katy Gallagher faces allegations she misled parliament over rape claims as new text message exchanges between David Sharaz and Brittany Higgins are revealed.
Katy Gallagher is facing serious claims she misled parliament over an outburst in which she rejected assertions she was tipped off about Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations in 2021, as pressure builds on Anthony Albanese over Labor’s war-gaming with Ms Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz.
The Finance Minister and senior government ministers went to ground on Thursday following the damaging fallout from text messages and audio recordings of Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins boasting about contact and collusion with senior Labor figures.
The Australian can also reveal texts between the couple that show Mr Sharaz’s response to their growing fame after the allegations became public, with Ms Higgins’ partner telling her they “exude power” and expressing his delight at organising her private meetings with former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull.
Revelations in The Australian that Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz claimed to have corresponded with Senator Gallagher days before the former Liberal staffer went public with her rape claim have embroiled the Albanese government, which ran on an election platform of anti-corruption and open governance last year, in its first major integrity crisis.
Senator Gallagher, who first met Mr Sharaz as ACT chief minister a decade ago, did not answer six questions put to her by The Australian about whether she misled parliament and when or how she became aware of Ms Higgins’ allegations.
Peter Dutton said Ms Higgins’ reported $3m taxpayer-funded payout and the role played by Senator Gallagher should be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The allegation Senator Gallagher misled parliament traces back to a June 2021 Senate hearing when former defence minister Linda Reynolds claimed that senior Labor figures had been tipped off about Ms Higgins’ allegations before they were aired in the media.’
“No-one had any knowledge. How dare you!’ It’s all about protecting yourself,” Senator Gallagher shot back at Senator Reynolds, who was Ms Higgins’ boss at the time of her alleged assault by colleague Bruce Lehrmann. But text messages from February 11, 2021 – four days before Ms Higgins’ Ten Network interview went to air – show Mr Sharaz implying that Senator Gallagher did know about the allegations before they were made public and said she was “really invested” in Ms Higgins’ story.
Leaked messages obtained by The Australian also revealed on a number of occasions Mr Sharaz asked Ms Higgins: “Are you getting spotted? Are people noticing you? Anyone recognise you?”
On March 16, 2021, about a month after Ms Higgins was interviewed by Lisa Wilkinson on The Project, Mr Sharaz texted Ms Higgins to say “we exude power”.
In the months after Ms Higgins became a nationally known figure, Mr Sharaz also organised tea with Dr Rudd at his Brisbane apartment. “It’s not exactly a shack. A $10m penthouse haha,” Ms Higgins’s partner said..
On another day, he expressed delight at an invitation to see Mr Turnbull.
Senator Gallagher referred The Australian to an ABC interview from earlier in the week, after refusing to explain her relationships with Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz and whether she discussed a civil claim against the commonwealth with either of them.
Asked by the ABC about a recording of Mr Sharaz saying “I’ve got a friend in Labor, Katy Gallagher”, the Finance Minister said: “I have nothing further to add to this. Particularly it’s been raised in relation to a settlement or a compensation package in relation to Miss Higgins and that I had absolutely no role in that at all. And … I think that’s all I need to say.”
Across 2021 and 2022, Ms Higgins’ name was mentioned in Senate estimates hearings at least 338 times by senators, with Senator Gallagher referencing the former Liberal staffer on 135 occasions, or almost 40 per cent.
The Prime Minister, along with Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, has also been named in texts and audio of communications involving Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins. Mr Albanese dodged questions over whether his Left-faction ally and close friend misled parliament.
Mr Albanese said he had “absolute confidence in Senator Gallagher” and distanced himself from being named by Mr Sharaz as complicit in the political pressure campaign against former prime minister Scott Morrison.
“I don’t take advice from, I had not met Brittany Higgins until I met her publicly, publicly on the same day that she met Scott Morrison,” Mr Albanese said.
Ms Plibersek refused to answer questions from The Australian about when and what she knew about Ms Higgins’ allegations.
The Opposition Leader said he would strongly back a referral by Senator Reynolds to the NACC, which commences on July 1.
“You have serious third party allegations, you have tape recordings, you have text messages, you have other detail … and it doesn’t accord with the public accounts of some senior members of the Albanese government – and that needs to be explained,” Mr Dutton said.
“I would expect the Prime Minister – in terms of his own comments, but also the actions of his senior people – to be upfront and honest, to forget the tricky and deceptive language and answer truthfully in relation to the allegations being levelled against the government at the moment.”
Mr Dutton said misleading parliament was a “very serious allegation” and raised concerns over the multi-million-dollar payment and Senator Gallagher’s role in “signing off on ex-gratia payments”. The opposition’s deputy leader in the Senate, Michaelia Cash, will lead Coalition questioning of Senator Gallagher when parliament returns on Tuesday.
Asked whether the NACC should look into the payment to Ms Higgins, Mr Albanese said it would be “entirely inappropriate” for MPs to “direct the Anti-Corruption Commission into what to do”.
The Prime Minister’s comments appeared to contradict those made last November by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who said the NACC should take “very seriously” any referral made by a minister.
Analysis of Hansard records show Senator Gallagher’s first mention of Ms Higgins was at a Senate estimates hearing in March 2021 – about a month after the former Liberal staffer’s allegations were made public. “Part of the public interest in this also is about making sure this never happens again to anyone – a young woman allegedly raped in this building when people were working here,” she said.
Text messages between Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins in February 2021, four days before The Project interview aired, implied that Senator Gallagher was aware of the sexual assault allegations. Mr Sharaz messaged Ms Higgins: “Katy is going to come to me with some questions you need to prepare for … She’s really invested now ha ha.” Later Mr Sharaz wrote: “She’s an old friend. We opened a chair together! So you can trust her.”
Text messages also suggest Mr Albanese gave Mr Sharaz his personal phone number in April 2021 to organise a meeting with Ms Higgins. Ms Higgins responded: “For sure. I have no qualms meeting with Albo”. On April 22, Mr Sharaz texted Ms Higgins, “Friday 9am with Albo locked in at CPO. Details to come. A minute later Mr Sharaz texts: “Tanya too.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NOAH YIM
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