Former prime minister Scott Morrison to take the stand in Brittany Higgins’ defamation trial
Scott Morrison has told a court Senator Linda Reynolds’ reference to Brittany Higgins as a ‘lying cow’ was ‘outrageous’ but ‘out of character’.
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Former prime minister Scott Morrison has told a court Senator Linda Reynolds’ reference to Brittany Higgins as a “lying cow” was “outrageous”, but an out of character moment that should never have been made public.
Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz for defamation in the WA Supreme Court over posts the couple shared in 2022 and 2023 that were critical of Senator Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 by her then colleague Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann was charged with rape and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
The charge was dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.
LYING COW COMMENT ‘OUTRAGEOUS’
Mr Morrison said when he became aware of the lying cow comment, he publicly rebuffed Senator Reynolds, because it was unacceptable for a minister to call anyone a lying cow, especially a female staff member.
He said he found the statement by Senator Reynolds to be extremely out of character and it was not okay for ministers to refer to anyone like that, especially a vulnerable staff member.
“She referred to her as cow and I thought that was absolutely outrageous and I saw that as the end of that matter at that time,” he said.
“That wasn’t appropriate language to be used towards a member of staff in these circumstances.
“It was a statement completely out of character made in a private setting one would not expect to be made public.
“If all members of parliament had their comments made public, we would not have a single member serving in parliament.
“She handled it correctly, she withdrew (the remark).”
Mr Morrison said he did not have to tell the senator to apologise and did not recall asking her to do so.
He said his response, which was made public, was very clear and that the senator took the necessary steps.
He denied the comments played a role in the senator losing her ministerial position in defence, but it was her physical and mental condition at the time which led to her losing her job.
DEFENCE
During questioning by Ms Higgins’ defence, Ms Kelton said she could not recall if the media enquiry they received from Mr Dutton’s office referred to something serious or an assault.
She said she did not remember the exact words the senator used when she explained it to her, but she was being quite careful.
“The media enquiry did not contain that much detail, she said a serious incident involving two of my staff,” Ms Kelton said.
“I don’t know if I inferred from the inquiry or what she said that it might have been a sexual assault, but don’t recall her saying that.”
She agreed after the senator received questions from The Project that she appeared flushed and her mannerisms were agitated
“She looked very visibly upset and shocked by the questions,” Ms Kelton said.
“I don’t recall the nature of the conversation at that meeting.
“The majority of my conversations with the senator was that she felt her and Fiona had done the right things handling the allegations and were concerned about Ms Higgins’s wellbeing and welfare,” she said.
“She was quite shocked this was now an issue in the media.”
ALLEGATIONS MADE PUBLIC IN MEDIA
Ms Kelton told the court several weekends before Parliament resumed Senator Reynolds received a list of questions from The Project.
She recalled being at a meeting in the minister’s office where they looked at the questions and she was being advised on how to respond to producers.
Ms Kelton said on the morning of The Project interview an article was published on news.com.au that detailed the allegations of the 2019 incident and Ms Higgins’ recollections about how that matter was handled.
She said the article came out on a sitting day and recalled how a number of staff were reading the article.
“There was a lot of chatter as people were digesting what was in the media article,” she said.
“Senator Reynolds was upset... she was shocked, she looked visibly shocked and shaken.”
Ms Kelton told the court that the senator expressed to her what was in the article about the handling of the incident did not reflect her recollections.
“She appeared genuinely surprised by what was in the article,” she said.
Ms Kelton said The Project interview generated lots of media enquiries and interest, and there were a range of reactions from staff in the office.
She said some of the staff had worked for Senator Reynolds during that time and knew Fiona Brown well.
“There was a sense of unease people were concerned about Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown and how they were portrayed in that program,” she said.
SENATOR’S CONVERSATION WITH KITCHING
Ms Kelton said Senator Reynolds told her members of the opposition had found out about the incident in March 2019.
Ms Kelton had been told they were seeking to politically damage her through this information.
They had a follow up discussion and agreed to go to the Prime Minister’s office about what she had been advised.
They met with staff from the Prime Minister’s Office where the senator told them about a conversation with Kimberley Kitching.
She said the senator told them Kitching had indicated members of the opposition were seeking to damage her and she wanted information on how to handle that.
She said Mr Finklestein from the Prime Minister’s Office did not appear to be aware of the matter, and said it sounded like a privacy issue for the person involved.
SENATOR’S FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF
Senator Reynolds’s former chief of staff Alex Kelton gave evidence during her former boss’ defamation trial.
She told the court she first met Ms Higgins in 2019 after the election, then in October 2019, the senator’s office received a media enquiry.
The enquiry was sent to Peter Dutton’s office about an incident that occurred in the senator’s office in March, she said.
Ms Kelton said Senator Reynolds explained to them it was a sensitive issue and that it should be treated as a welfare issue.
Ms Kelton said she was asked as a senior woman in the office if she would be willing to speak with Ms Higgins about the media enquiry.
She went to see Ms Higgins in Senator Michaelia Cash’s office, where Ms Higgins worked at the time and spoke with her privately.
Ms Kelton recalled telling Ms Higgins she had a sensitive matter to discuss with her and that the senator wanted to give her a copy of a media enquiry she had received.
“I handed her a copy of the media enquiry, she looked visibly upset, I was concerned for her,” she said.
“She teared up and looked quite shocked, I was obviously concerned about her, I asked if she wanted a friend to sit with her or if I could do anything for her.
“She looked affected by what was in the enquiry.”
Ms Kelton recalled Ms Higgins whispered, ‘how could they know about this,’ and asked to speak with Senator Cash’s chief of staff Daniel Try.
Ms Kelton said she went and got Mr Try who sat with Ms Higgins and she left shortly after.
She went back to Senator Reynolds about her conversation and that was the extent of her involvement in that meeting.
‘FAILURE’ IN HIGGINS CLAIM
Mr Morrison told the court he was initially disappointed he was not told about the report of a rape allegation in the senator’s office.
But as events transpired, he learnt that Senator Reynolds’ chose not to do that out of respect and the confidence she entered into with Ms Higgins.
“That was a dilemma,” he said.
He said the allegation of sexual assault and the way it had been handled were two separate but very important issues.
He said it was not okay that Ms Higgins felt unsupported and that was never in dispute or an issue.
“Of course, it was not okay she felt unsupported which is why we reviewed the processes,” he said.
“I never saw that as a failure of Senator Reynolds, but a failure for each of them.”
DEFENCE QUESTION FORMER PM
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison came under intense questioning from Ms Higgins’ defence lawyer Rachel Young.
Mr Morrison said after he saw snippets of The Project interview, he took steps to review workplace processes to better support employees in the parliament.
He said it was important because they needed to make sure processes and support were available to everyone and the issues of culture were addressed.
“I took steps almost immediately for staff to undertake a review and implement what processes and support were needed to remedy any deficiencies in the workplace,” he said.
Mr Morrison said he wanted to make it clear that it was the process in place at the time that let down Ms Higgins, not the people who provided her support.
He said a review led by Stephanie Foster put in place important processes for people who found themselves in a traumatic position.
He said the initial work done by Ms Foster was tremendously important that put systems in place at parliament that were not there before.
He said serious deficiencies had let everybody down including Ms Higgins and Senator Reynolds.
Mr Morrison said workplace culture had improved during his time in parliament, but clearly not enough.
“The parliament had these issues going back a very long time,” he said.
He said another inquiry led by his office did not relate to incidents in 2019 or matters that were raised on February 15, 2021.
He also denied the inquiry related to the conduct of Senator Reynolds, but were linked to questions raised in parliament.
He said the investigation was dropped on advice from the AFP Commissioner and was not able to be concluded.
“My memory is very vague to be honest, I am seeking to give the best answer I can,” he said.
“It may have gone into the matters you said, but followed questions raised in the parliament, I undertook that to better understand responses.”
Mr Morrisons said the report could not go anywhere because of the advice they received from the AFP.
“I was asked about those matters on many occasions, you can take those answers from Hansard,” he said.
Mr Morrison told the court the purpose of the investigation was not to find facts, which was a process for the judicial system and police.
“It was not the job of the parliament or the Prime Minister’s Office or government to investigate allegations themselves, but to understand processes and the supports in place,” he said.
Mr Morrison said his government had wanted to understand how complaints could be better handled to support the person making allegations and to the people involved in trying to provide support.
He said they were the broader issues in the Jenkins report which they were seeking to address.
FEAR OF ‘FATAL OUTCOME’
Mr Morrison said it was completely and utterly false that the senator was involved in a cover-up of the allegations and the claim had no foundation.
“She was quite visibly stressed and in a highly fragile emotional state, when I went to see her I was unaware of her cardiac condition.
“It was brought to my attention with her permission sometime later, we were very fearful this could be a fatal outcome for her.
“She took sick leave, as she should, she was not capable of continuing her duties in her physical and mental state.”
Mr Morrison said he had hoped Senator Reynolds could return to her duties, but when it was not possible he appointed Peter Dutton to the role of defence minister.
He said the impact that Ms Higgins’ allegations had on the senator’s mental and physical health meant she could not continue in the high-profile role.
“She was given the government services role, which was also important, but not at the stress levels of the defence portfolio.”
MORRISON GIVES EVIDENCE
Mr Morrison said he was made aware of the alleged rape in Parliament House by his staff on February 15, 2021.
He said he directly experienced the public, parliament and media response after the allegations became public.
Mr Morrison told the court he had a series of briefings from his staff who had engaged with the matter as he prepared to face questions in the parliament.
“Within the course of that day, the 15th and days that followed, there was quite aggressive questioning and very co-ordinated questioning taking place,” he said.
Mr Morrison told the court there was one day in parliament when Senator Reynolds could not continue taking questions.
He said she took the unusual step to ask if she could step away and answer the questions at another time because of the distress and anguish she was experiencing.
“I went and saw her immediately after question time and she was in a very distressed state, I expressed my strong support for her to help her get through this,” Mr Morrison said.
“It was intending to discredit her and weaponise the issue for political purposes to discredit the senator, the government and myself.”
MORRISON TO APPEAR VIA VIDEO LINK
Speculation about whether Mr Morrison would be attending the trial in person or via video link grew after he was spotted at a Woodside conference in Perth over the weekend.
But Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett confirmed to reporters outside court the former prime minister had other commitments in Sydney and would be giving his evidence remotely.
Also taking the witness stand on Tuesday is the senator’s former media adviser Nicole Hamer.
She was socialising with Ms Higgins, Mr Lehrmann, and another colleague, Jesse Watton, after a lunch was held the Senator Reynolds on March 2, 2019.
Last week the senator told the court there was an altercation between the group which led to Ms Hamer sending a resignation letter to Senator Reynolds that she later revoked.
It was sent on the same day she was sworn in as the Minister for Defence Industry after the former minister Stephen Ciobo had resigned.
Another colleague, Alexandra Kelton, will also be giving evidence.
SCOMO’S LINK TO CASE
Mr Morrison was the prime minister at the time of Ms Higgins’ alleged rape at Parliament House and when her interview with The Project was broadcast two years later.
The former prime minister apologised in parliament to Ms Higgins and all who experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault or bullying while working in federal parliament after a review was conducted by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins in 2022.
In 2019, Senator Reynolds was promoted to the position of defence minister by Mr Morrison following the Liberal Party’s victory at the federal election.
She was later demoted from the position following Ms Higgins’ allegations.
The senator was caught out calling Ms Higgins a “lying cow”, which she has said was made in frustration about “false” allegations that were made during the interview about her mishandling the complaint.
The former prime minister publicly said the senator’s comments were offensive, inappropriate and wrong.
Mr Morrison told News Corp at the time the senator had told him her comments were about how she felt they had done everything they believed they could do to support Ms Higgins.
“Clearly, over a period of time there was a very different view about that,” he said.
“She knows those comments to have been inappropriate and wrong … And I share her view, obviously, about that.”
The senator suffered a breakdown in parliament not long after the allegations were aired after she faced intense questioning from Labor Senate colleagues during question time.
The trial continues.
Originally published as Former prime minister Scott Morrison to take the stand in Brittany Higgins’ defamation trial
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