Sharaz demand on Justice Lee talk: ‘Will he discuss Lehrmann case?’
Brittany Higgins’ husband David Sharaz has asked organisers of a Women in Media event if the judge will talk about the Lehrmann case ‘for which he has made his name’.
Brittany Higgins’ husband David Sharaz has written to organisers of a Women in Media event featuring Justice Michael Lee demanding to know whether the Federal Court judge will discuss the Lehrmann rape defamation case “for which he has made his name”.
Justice Lee was highly critical of Mr Sharaz in his judgment in the Lehrmann case, citing his appearance in Ms Higgins’ life as the point at which her allegation of rape by Bruce Lehrmann jumped to false claims of a political cover-up by the Liberal Party.
The distinguished judge has accepted an invitation from Women in Media to take part in a “candid conversation” with former ABC chair and Women in Media Patron Ita Buttrose at its national conference on 9 August.
“This unique session promises to offer profound insights into the intersection of media, law, and society, with a particular focus on the themes of truth and trust,” Women in Media says on its website.
The $495 per head session will “explore critical issues affecting both the media and judicial landscapes (and) offers an unparalleled opportunity for attendees to gain perspectives from both the legal bench and the media hot seat on maintaining and fostering public trust”.
“The combined expertise of Justice Lee and Ita Buttrose offers a comprehensive view of how the media and legal systems intersect and the critical role trust plays in both arenas,” Women in Media general manager Kym Middleton says in the notes for the program.
“This session is more than just an exploration of problems; it’s about empowering women in media to lead with integrity and champion the truth. Justice Lee and Ita Buttrose bring unparalleled insights that will inspire and equip attendees to contribute positively to our media landscape.”
However, Mr Sharaz appears to be alarmed that the conversation may turn to the long-running Lehrmann case over which Justice Lee presided.
“So he will not discuss the Lehrmann case for which he has made his name, and for which you’re booking him for,” Mr Sharaz demands to know.
It is understood Women in Media told Mr Sharaz that there was no expectation that Justice Lee would speak about the case, and that he was appearing to discuss the intersection of media, law and society.
A spokesperson for Women in Media told The Australian: “The content that Justice Lee chooses to share with attendees is a matter for Justice Lee. While we appreciate people might have their own views about speakers at the conference, programming decisions are a matter for Women in Media.”
Mr Sharaz was contacted for comment but had not responded at time of publication.
In his judgment in the Lehrmann defamation case, Justice Lee points repeatedly to Mr Sharaz’s involvement in the saga, finding that Lisa Wilkinson and her team from The Project “were prepared to assist in the plans of Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins to use the allegations for immediate political advantage”.
The judge notes “the lack of rigour with which Ms Higgins’s account was examined and questioned during the meeting and thereafter” and begins his discussion of Mr Sharaz’s involvement under the heading ‘The Development of the Cover-up Narrative’.
That cover-up or “victimisation” allegation was perceived by The Project team as being the most important aspect of its program and its deployment meant the account achieved much notoriety and public interest, Justice Lee noted.
“The articulation of the core aspects of this claim commenced shortly before Ms Higgins’s boyfriend, Mr Sharaz, made the necessary arrangements for Ms Higgins to tell her account.”
Mr Sharaz clearly had a political motivation, Justice Lee said, pointing to his conversations in a five-hour meeting between Wilkinson, her producer, Angus Llewellyn, and Ms Higgins.
Mr Sharaz announced he and Ms Higgins had chosen the timeline for the story to break because it was a parliamentary sitting week. “I’ve got a friend in Labor, Katy Gallagher on the Labor side, who will probe and continue it going,” he said.
Mr Sharaz took the story to Wilkinson because he felt an “affinity” with her, having briefly done work experience with her on Nine’s Today show. The tone of the interactions between Mr Sharaz and the Ten journalists was set by the first email he sent to Wilkinson in January 2021.
“Mr Sharaz could hardly have chosen a more glaring heading,” Justice Lee noted: “MeToo, Liberal Party, Project Pitch.”
Mr Sharaz wrote: “I’ve got a sensitive story surrounding a sexual assault at Parliament House; a woman who was pressured by the Liberal Party and female cabinet minister not to pursue it.”
Justice Lee said Mr Sharaz had reinforced “a conspiratorial and political theme” to the story.
One email had a “timeline” of Ms Higgins’s allegations sent to journalists selected by Mr Sharaz. Despite Ms Higgins’s claim that the document was hers, Justice Lee found that Mr Sharaz was one of the authors.
His intentions in making and pursuing his “Project Pitch” were manifest, Justice Lee said, not only from his initial assertion that this was a story all about the Liberal Party and a female minister in the context of the “MeToo” movement, but in the light of his expressed intention to liaise with an opposition frontbencher to deploy the allegations against the government in question time.
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