Alleged rapist sacked over ‘information security breach’

A senior Defence official has backed Scott Morrison’s account of the sacking of Brittany Higgins’ alleged rapist, confirming an ‘information security’ breach three days before the alleged attack.

Brittany Higgins. Picture: Getty Images

A senior Defence official has backed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s account of the sacking of Brittany Higgins’ alleged rapist, confirming an “information security” breach in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ office three days before the alleged attack.

Mr Morrison said on Tuesday that the male staffer was dismissed over “a security breach involving unauthorised access” to Senator Reynolds’ office, which followed a breach involving the mishandling of classified documents.

Defence Department associate secretary Katherine Jones said Defence had not been notified of a security breach in the office on the night of the alleged rape on March 22-23, 2019.

But she said the department had been informed of a breach of Defence information security in the office on March 19, 2019. The incident, in which confidential documents were left unsecured, was reported the following day.

Mr Morrison revealed on Tuesday that the same male staffer was involved in both incidents.

“Consequently, this was considered serious misconduct in relation to the statements of standards for ministerial staff,” he said. “So in other words, he had some form when it came to the security issues regarding that office and this was the final straw.”

A Parliament House security guard said there was no security incident on the night of Ms Higgins’ alleged rape, because both staff had been allowed to enter the building in the early hours of the morning under the conditions of their parliamentary passes.

Ms Jones said unauthorised access to the Minister’s office would not normally be reported to Defence, because it was not a Defence site.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said earlier that higher security protocols applied to ministerial offices, particularly those dealing with sensitive issues. “Going in for non-work purposes when intoxicated out of hours constitutes absolutely a security breach, managed by the ministerial office itself, which in this case has resulted in the termination of that employee,” he said.

Senator Reynolds has been on medical leave since February 24 after experiencing heart issues amid criticism over her handling of Ms Higgins’ allegations.