Katy Gallagher admits she knew of Brittany Higgins’ rape claim, insists she didn’t ‘weaponise’ information
The under-fire finance minister admits knowledge of Brittany Higgins’ rape claims before they were made public but insists she didn’t ‘weaponise’ the information, adamant there is ‘no issue here’.
Under-fire Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has conceded she became aware of some details of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations before they were made public, but insists she did not do anything with the information.
Speaking briefly to media in Fremantle on Saturday morning, Ms Gallagher was asked whether she would step down over the recent revelations about her early involvement.
“Why would I?,” she said.
Senator Gallagher denied misleading the Senate in an exchange in 2021 when former defence minister Linda Reynolds claimed senior Labor figures had been tipped off about the allegations before they were aired in the media.
“No one had any knowledge. How dare you! It’s all about protecting yourself,” Senator Gallagher said at the time.
Facing the media for the first time since text messages surfaced showing Ms Higgins’ boyfriend, David Sharaz, claiming to have corresponded with the senator in the days leading up to the story breaking, Senator Gallagher said she had not misled the parliament.
“I was responding to an assertion that was being made by the minister Reynolds at the time that we had known about this for weeks and had made a decision to weaponise it,” she said.
“That is not true. It was never true. I explained that to Senator Reynolds that night and she accepted that explanation.”
She said she had received only limited details from Mr Sharaz and did not take any action as a result of her interactions with him.
“Mr Sharaz provided me with information, I think we’ve seen that in the paper in the last couple of days,” she said.
“I did nothing with that information. And I was clear about that at the time.
She said Senator Reynolds had accepted her explanation at the time.
“There’s absolutely no issue here at all,” she said.
“I’ve been clear, I’ve been honest. And at all times, I’ve been guided by the bravery and courage of a young woman who chose to speak up about her workplace. And from that we have had massive changes to that workplace because of the problem.”
Ms Gallagher and foreign minister Penny Wong – who has also faced questions over what she knew about the allegations – were the two keynote speakers at a Labor Women’s Conference in Fremantle on Saturday.
Both women received rousing standing ovations from the party faithful.
Ms Gallagher told the conference there was nowhere she would rather be than in a room full of Labor women.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Ms Wong also said she only knew “some details” of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations before they were made public.
Ms Wong said she was among a number of senators who were aware of some details as early as 2020.
“I want to make clear, I did not know the full details of the allegations before the story became public,” she said.
“There are others who did know a lot of detail, including Morrison government ministers, and they have still failed to account for what they did with that information.”
Ms Wong said she was among a group of senators who had first become aware of elements of the story three years ago.
“President (Scott) Ryan, the former president of the senate, made a statement to the Senate some time ago, in which he indicated that a number of senators, including me, were aware of some details as early as 2020, when an anonymous complaint or anonymous complaints were made to presiding officers and senate committees. Those details have never been made public, including by me,” she said.
She said there were still questions about what the former government knew about the allegations at the time.
“Serious allegations were made by a Liberal staffer about an alleged rape which occurred metres from prime minister Morrison’s office,” Ms Wong said.
“I would make the point that to this day, the Australian people do not know what Mr Morrison’s office knew, and when they knew, because the report he commissioned by his former chief of staff, Mr (Phil) Gaetjens has never been made public.”
The foreign minister also called on media organisations to consider the impact on Ms Higgins from the current commentary.
“I’d ask people to recall that when the (Department of Public Prosecutions) discontinued the prosecution, they discussed and I quote, that the trial represented a significant and unacceptable risk to her life,” she said.
“In that context, I would urge everybody commenting on this to reflect upon doing so responsibly, and for those who have published her private text messages without her consent, I would ask them to reflect on their responsibilities.”
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