‘Too much to lose’: weak, wary Liberals squib push for Brittany Higgins case inquiry
The opposition’s proposal for a full inquiry into the Brittany Higgins scandal was dumped on fears it would renew scrutiny of the callous treatment of former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown.
Shadow cabinet rejected a proposal this week to demand a full inquiry into the Brittany Higgins scandal because several senior Liberal figures had “too much to lose”, multiple sources have told The Australian.
The proposal, put by legal affairs spokesman Andrew Wallace on Monday, is understood to have been voted down out of concern it would renew scrutiny on the actions of former prime minister Scott Morrison and some of his staff in the wake of Ms Higgins’ rape allegations.
Fiona Brown, former chief of staff to then Liberal minister Linda Reynolds, has previously told The Australian she was made to take the fall for the Morrison government as it sought to deflect Labor’s accusations of a cover-up – a catastrophic path she says culminated in the then-prime minister misleading parliament.
Her claims, including that no one in Mr Morrison’s office publicly supported her version of events for fear of pushing against the #MeToo movement, are likely to be raised in the legal action she is taking against the commonwealth for failing to protect her. It comes as Anthony Albanese has spent the past 10 days dodging questions about Labor’s role in the scandal, including whether he accepted the findings by two judges that claims of a cover-up by either Ms Reynolds or Ms Brown were false.
Labor’s bid to weaponise the allegations, and the Albanese government’s role in the $2.4m settlement with Ms Higgins, will feature in Ms Reynolds’s breach-of-duty claim against the commonwealth.
The Federal Court has announced it will deliver judgment on Wednesday in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation appeal against the finding by Federal Court judge Michael Lee that, on the balance of probabilities, he raped Ms Higgins.
The Australian has been told that the opposition’s proposal for an inquiry into the scandal was put to shadow cabinet towards the end of the meeting on Monday, after some senators had to return to the Senate when the bells rang for the resumption of proceedings.
One Liberal MP said it was voted down because Labor “would have unfairly and inappropriately blow-torched us”. Another Liberal said Labor would “re-weaponise a rape in Parliament House, when in fact this has nothing to do with the rape and everything to do with Labor’s role in this scandal”.
Mr Wallace would not comment on shadow cabinet discussions, telling The Australian only that he “will be exploring this issue through the Senate estimates process next week and if answers provided by the government are not fulsome or satisfactory, in Senate estimates next year”.
Sussan Ley declined to address specific questions from The Australian on whether a proposal was put to the shadow cabinet for an inquiry into the scandal, or whether she had made a decision for the Liberals to move a motion in the Senate or House of Representatives to initiate a judicial inquiry into Labor’s involvement.
The Opposition Leader also declined to state whether the Liberals would “use all avenues in Parliament to press for answers” as Mr Wallace had pledged in a media release earlier this month.
In a statement, Ms Ley said the Prime Minister needed to give “full and frank answers to questions about whether he and his senior ministers exploited this sensitive matter for political gain”.
Ms Reynolds and Ms Brown continued to be denied basic answers to basic questions by the government, Ms Ley said.
“Given Anthony Albanese was happy to make all sorts of claims about Linda Reynolds when he was opposition leader, it’s time for him to stop ducking and weaving, show leadership and directly answer questions,” she said.
However, the opposition is wary of pursuing any inquiry that might raise uncomfortable questions about the role of senior figures in the Morrison government, sources say.
Ms Brown, who was also Mr Morrison’s director of operations, has previously told The Australian her boss misled the House when he claimed, falsely, to have spoken to her about Ms Higgins’ claim that her job had been threatened in the wake of her rape allegations.
The respected public servant said no one in government came to her to ask if it was true that Ms Higgins had told her she had been raped. Instead, she said, her work colleagues in the Prime Minister’s Office ostracised her after the allegations and her work in the office was restricted.
Ms Brown accused Mr Morrison of misleading parliament in February 2021 after then opposition leader Mr Albanese asked him about Ms Higgins’ claim that Ms Brown “continually made me feel as if my ongoing employment would be jeopardised if I proceeded any further with the matter”.
Mr Morrison said he had discussed the matter with Ms Brown, but she told The Australian that at the time he gave that answer she had not had any conversation with him on the issue.
“I realised at that moment that I was collateral damage,” she said.
Ms Brown said she told many people in the Prime Minister’s Office, including chief of staff John Kunkel, that Mr Morrison had never met with her nor discussed these issues.
Asked about this conversation Mr Kunkel did not deny Ms Brown’s version and praised her “unimpeachable integrity and honesty”.
Mr Morrison told The Australian: “I understood my statement to be accurate to the House.”
Under political pressure following The Project interview, Mr Morrison asked the head of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Phil Gaetjens, to investigate which staff in his office knew about the allegation, when they became aware and what they were told.
Ms Brown was interviewed, but no recording nor verbatim notes were made. She was presented with a statutory declaration which she refused to sign.
“I felt like I was being stitched up,” she said.
The Gaetjens inquiry was suspended when Mr Lehrmann was charged and never issued a finding before the Coalition lost government.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout