Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds files writ for defamation case against Brittany Higgins

Linda Reynolds has followed through on her threat to sue Brittany Higgins over allegedly defamatory social media posts.

Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has followed through on her threat to sue Brittany Higgins over allegedly defamatory social media posts and has filed a writ this morning in the Western Australia Supreme Court

According to the writ, Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins for aggravated damages over a July 4 Instagram story and a July 20 tweet which she claimed were defamatory of her. Senator Reynolds will also sue her former staffer for breach of contract.

The legal action was brought to the fore on July 6, after Ms Higgins revealed Senator Reynolds’ legal team had issued her a defamation concerns notice concerning her social media activity. Ms Higgins tweeted that Senator Reynolds had sent the notice, telling her 85,000 Twitter followers: “I’m considering my legal options.”

The allegedly defamatory Instagram story saw Ms Higgins criticise her former boss for continuing “to harass me through the media and in the parliament”. She added: “This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop.”

Liberal senator Linda Reynolds leaves the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra during the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann.

The post came after Senator Reynolds’ announcement that she intended to refer Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission, over Ms Higgins’ compensation payment of more than $2.5m following claims her allegations she was raped in parliament house were mishandled.

A trial against her alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann was aborted following juror misconduct, and the charges were subsequently dropped. Mr Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence.

In the Instagram story in question, Ms Higgins also wrote: “My boss who has publicly apologised for mishandling my rape allegation. Who has had to publicly apologise after defaming me in the workplace. Who had a whole bunch of questionable conduct during my rape trial. Who is suing my fiance for a tweet.”

The July 20 tweet saw Ms Higgins blast Senator Reynolds for suggesting it should be illegal for anyone who believes a crime has been committed to fail to report it to police, saying “instead of solving the problem, there are people who would prefer to just silence victims”.

In a submission to the now-concluded Sofronoff Inquiry, Senator Reynolds had argued that the ACT Crimes Act should be amended to deter individuals from using the media and/or Parliamentary forums in relation to an alleged criminal offence that ought properly be the subject of the criminal justice processes.

Ms Higgins, while not directly naming Senator Reynolds, posted an extract from the article on Twitter.

“Imagine being the person earnestly attempting to change the Crimes Act to make it illegal for alleged sexual assault survivors to talk about their lived experience? As opposed to, you know, reforming the justice system to actually prosecuting perpetrators,” Ms Higgins wrote.

Senator Reynolds told The Australian she commenced proceedings after she received a “wholly unsatisfactory” response from Ms Higgins lawyers following receipt of the concerns notice.

“Ms Higgins continues to use the media to make defamatory comments about my conduct notwithstanding the existence of facts and evidence to the contrary and without regard a non-disparagement clause she agreed to,” Senator Reynolds said.

“The concerns notice issued on 5 July 2023 to Ms Higgins requested, amongst other things, that she refrain from defaming me, however her conduct following receipt of that notice including her post of 20 July and the unsatisfactory response received from her lawyer evidence that she has no intention of stopping.”

Ms Higgins has deactivated her Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Brittany Higgins with her partner David Sharaz in the Maldives.

Senator Reynolds is also suing Ms Higgins’ fiance, David Sharaz, for defamation over five social media posts which she claims are false and defamatory, and have caused her, her family and her staff stress.

Senator Reynolds is demanding Mr Sharaz, a former journalist, pay damages and aggravated damages over the social media posts, and is seeking an injunction preventing the material from surfacing again.

Earlier this year, Senator Reynolds told The Australian she had been subjected to Mr Sharaz’s “highly distressing trolling” for two years.

“In light of the conclusion of the criminal trial and the resolution of the civil action involving Ms Higgins and the Commonwealth, I am now at liberty to take steps to vindicate my reputation and provide some truth to the matters the subject of these trolling comments,” she said.

In June Senator Reynolds issued a concerns notice to Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, claiming Ms Plibersek defamed her in a television interview by stating she had “covered up” Ms Higgins’ alleged rape.

In the notice, Senator Reynolds accused Ms Plibersek of making false statements throughout the Channel 7 interview, that implied she had acted inappropriately during the investigation of Ms Higgins’ allegations and had attempted to “hide the commission of a criminal offence.”