Katy Gallagher regrets ‘private meeting’ with Linda Reynolds on Brittany Higgins
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher insists she has been upfront with the Senate on Brittany Higgins but says she regrets meeting with Linda Reynolds in private.
The Senate was a combination of jubilation, exhaustion and tension as numerous allegations of sexual misconduct remained on Monday.
After sitting until 4am on Saturday debating the Constitutional Alteration Bill and following a swift third reading before ultimately passing before lunch, attention returned to the topic of the Brittany Higgins’ sexual assault allegations and broader issues of misconduct within Parliament House.
The Coalition began question time by again grilling Finance Minister Katy Gallagher about her involvement and knowledge of what she knew and when before media reports featuring Ms Higgins’ claims were broadcast and published.
Nationals senator Susan McDonald asked for Senator Gallagher to “correct the record” and admit that she misled the Senate.
Senator Gallagher denied the claim, saying she’s been “upfront and clear with the Senate”. But has said “all of this could have been avoided” if she had not had a private meeting with Senator Linda Reynolds – Ms Higgins’ former boss – regarding the allegations.
“I did tell Senator Reynolds at the time of our private meeting, and perhaps all this could have been avoided if that meeting wasn’t private. But it was private. It was held outside the Senate estimates room but I did say to Senator Reynolds and Senator (Anne) Ruston at the time that I had been aware of the allegations in the days leading up to them becoming public,” Senator Gallagher said.
Senator McDonald peppered Ms Gallagher with quotes from weekend media reports penned by veteran political journalists, including The Australian’s Paul Kelly and political editor Simon Benson, which all opined she had misled the Senate.
“I cannot control what other people write about this. Maybe they don’t understand it. None of them have spoken to me about it, certainly they haven’t spoken to me about it in the last few weeks, they’re writing opinion pieces or saying opinion comment. I mean, that’s up to them and good luck to them,” Senator Gallagher said.
Attempts by The Australian to contact Ms Gallagher for comment on Monday went unanswered.
“But I can say, what I was responding to that night was an allegation that I had known two weeks before the allegations that Ms Higgins made became public was that I knew about them and I made a decision to be part of making them public. That is not correct. I never did that … I was clear with Senator Reynolds and Senator Ruston, two years ago, that I did have, that I was aware, in the days leading up to them becoming public but that is two years old.”
While Gallagher faced more scrutiny on Monday, former Liberal senator David Van was not present in the chamber to take his seat on the crossbench as a newly independent representative after he quit the Liberal Party at the weekend.
Van, a Victorian senator who was elected in 2019, has been accused by at least three women, including independent senator Lidia Thorpe and former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker, of inappropriate behaviour. He denies the allegations.
He was instead ensconced in his St Kilda home on Monday photographed using his mobile phone wearing a jumper emblazoned with the Monash University logo.
His official website has also been locked and is now private.
Former Liberal David Van’s official website is now private.
— Jenna Clarke (@jennamclarke) June 19, 2023
He was also not present in parliament today. pic.twitter.com/5VKg2nIWhS
Despite not being at work on Monday, Senator Van continues to earn a base salary of more than $211,000, in addition to allowances for his phone and travel costs.
He will also be paid an extra 5.5 per cent of that base salary for his role as deputy chair of a senate standing committee that scrutinises “delegated legislation”. A position he assumed last August.
When Senator Van returns to parliament he may also be eligible for two extra staff members. An allocation similar to others on the crossbench including One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and independent Senator for the ACT David Pocock.
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