Scott Morrison backs Linda Reynolds despite ‘offensive’ slur on Brittany Higgins

Scott Morrison has attacked as ‘inappropriate and wrong’ Linda Reynolds’ reference to Brittany Higgins as a ‘lying cow’.

Linda Reynolds took two days to apologise to staff for the ‘lying cow’ comment. Picture: Sean Davey.

Scott Morrison has attacked as “inappropriate and wrong’’ Linda Reynolds’ reference to Brittany Higgins as a “lying cow’’, but he is backing the Defence Minister to remain in cabinet as her former media adviser criticised the language as “incredibly hurtful’’.

Senator Reynolds, who is on medical leave until next week, was publicly rebuked by the Prime Minister after The Australian revealed she had made the slur about Ms Higgins in front of staff members in an open part of the office on the day the ex-Liberal staffer went public about an alleged rape in Parliament House.

There are expectations within government that Senator Reynolds will return to work and her cabinet position on Monday and it will be left to the minister to decide if she then stands aside.

Ms Higgins said Senator Reynolds’ language was inexcusable and “incredibly hurtful”, with her lawyers issuing a legal demand to the minister to publicly withdraw the comments and apologise for the “malicious” remarks or face possible legal action.

“I appreciate that it has been a stressful time but that sort of behaviour and language is never excusable. It’s just further evidence of the toxic workplace culture that exists behind closed doors in Parliament House,” Ms Higgins said.

Mr Morrison spoke to Senator Reynolds on Thursday morning about her comments but would not go as far as saying she should resign, with government sources noting he was not one to sack his ministers.

Brittany Higgins.

Senator Reynolds’ “inappropriate and wrong” comment was not made about Ms Higgins’ rape allegation, he said, but because Senator Reynolds felt she had been misrepresented over the lack of support the former staffer said she had received.

“(Senator Reynolds’) comments, she said to me, related to the further commentary about levels of support provided and her frustrations about how she felt that they were doing everything they believed in their power to provide support. Clearly, over a period of time there was a very different view about that,” Mr Morrison said. “They weren’t made in a public place and nor were they intended for that. That doesn’t excuse it, not for a second. She made the ­appropriate apologies to her staff and rectified that.

“I would simply ask you, given the comment was made in a private place, that you offer the same generosity to how you perceive something you might have said and perhaps apply the same standard to Linda Reynolds who, at the time, was under significant stress. She deeply regrets it. They were offensive remarks. She should never have made them. I don’t condone them.”

In the legal letter, sent to Senator Reynolds on Thursday, Ms Higgins’ lawyer Rebekah Giles described the remark as a “distasteful character assassination”.

“Self-evidently, this demeaning and belittling statement, in which you refer to our client as a member of the animal kingdom and declare her to be untruthful, is highly defamatory of our ­client’s good character and unblemished reputation,” Ms Giles wrote.

“The cavalier manner in which those words were spoken make it plain that they were not spoken privately or in confidence.

“Our client is appalled that an apology has not been extended to her. We are instructed to demand that you issue an immediate and unequivocal public withdrawal of your comments and apology to our client for the hurt and distress caused.”

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese attacked Mr Morrison for not removing Senator Reynolds for the “lying cow” remark, saying “what do you have to do in the Morrison government to lose your job?”

Scott Morrison tours the Port of Newcastle on Thursday. Picture: Peter Lorimer.

The Australian has been told Senator Reynolds took two days to apologise to staff for the comment, delivering a mea culpa only after staff expressed concerns to superiors that the comments were inappropriate.

Ms Higgins alleges she was raped by a former colleague in Senator Reynolds’ office on March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking. She chose not to give a formal statement to the Australian Federal Police until last week, saying she feared her job would be at risk if she did so while working for the government. Coalition ministers and MPs publicly and privately said Senator Reynolds’ “lying cow” ­remark did not make her position untenable, while Labor Senate leader Penny Wong said the minister should publicly explain herself.

Coalition MPs and defence industry figures questioned Senator Reynolds’ future when she was admitted to hospital for two days after increased pressure over her handling of the alleged rape of Ms Higgins. But her parliamentary colleagues said the latest controversy was not a hanging offence.

“There’s a small group of ­people on the backbench who have a view that this (‘lying cow’ comment) is part of a larger problem of her not doing her job well,” one MP said, adding they ­believed she would survive the latest controversy.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, a former party leader, said he was “more curious than concerned” about Senator Reynolds’ remark.

“People have to have some latitude to speak in an unscripted way in their private room,” Mr Joyce said.

“Linda is most definitely under pressure but I always believe that the mark of a person is the one who gets themselves off the ropes. I believe Linda can get herself off the ropes and back into the fight and win.”

Victorian Liberal MP Katie Allen said people in high-stress jobs ­could say things that, taken out of context, did not sound good. “It’s an offensive way she’s ­expressed an opinion about something in a staff environment she believes is incorrect. I don’t think it’s a good enough reason for her to stand down,” Ms Allen said.

Queensland Liberal MP Warren Entsch said he could understand Senator Reynolds was emotional if she “genuinely ­believed she was doing the right thing” by Ms Higgins.