‘It’s a difficult place to come back to’: Brittany Higgins back in Perth for Reynolds mediation

Brittany Higgins has returned to Perth for the first time since her brief stint working in the home state of her former boss, WA Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds, in an attempt to resolve the defamation row that has pitted the pair against one another.

The ex-Liberal staffer, her fiance David Sharaz and the senator had been ordered by a judge to appear in person at a mediation hearing in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Tuesday to discuss the matter behind closed doors and stave off the need for a trial.

Brittany Higgins (centre) arrives at the Perth Supreme Court alongside lawyers Leon Zwier and Teresa Ward for a mediation session with former boss Linda Reynolds.Credit: Trevor Collens.

Higgins arrived shortly after 9.30am alongside Sharaz, both of whom were flanked by lawyers after making the 14,000-kilometre journey from their new home in the south of France.

Outside court, Higgins said she believed everyone was eager to resolve their differences in good faith, but she had mixed emotions about her return to WA’s capital.

“It’s a difficult place to come back to,” she said.

“It’s beautiful, but just personally it’s hard being back in Perth.

“I think everyone is acting in good faith trying to get an outcome.”

Reynolds arrived just minutes later alongside husband Robert Reid and lawyer Martin Bennett, declining to be drawn on the lawsuit and whether it had contributed to the decision to call time on her political career.

Higgins’ trip to Perth is her first since she worked in the state in the lead-up to the federal election in 2019, several months after she claimed fellow staffer Bruce Lehrmann raped her in the then-cabinet minister’s parliamentary office.

A criminal trial against Lehrmann, who has maintained his innocence throughout, was aborted due to juror misconduct.

The charge was dropped and a retrial was abandoned over fears for Higgins’ mental health.

Former defence minister Linda Reynolds arrives at court flanked by her husband and lawyer. Credit: Trevor Collens

The mediation hearing has effectively locked down the eighth floor of the David Malcolm Justice Centre, a move understood to be unprecedented.

Members of the media and public were refused access to the level by security and the judge’s associate.

The parties remained there at time of publication, even through the court’s scheduled lunch break.

Tuesday’s mediation will be followed by a public status conference on Wednesday.

The long-awaited peace talks came just hours after Justice Marcus Solomon intervened to oversee the hearing alongside registrar Danielle Davies, a move which precludes him from overseeing the trial scheduled for July.

Solomon has been vocal in his preference to avoid yet another high-profile defamation trial, fearing the stoush would come at a great human cost.

The legal row began in January 2023, when Reynolds launched legal action against Sharaz, claiming the former press gallery journalist published five social media posts that were falsely defamatory of her.

David Sharaz, partner of Brittany Higgins, arrives at court in Perth.Credit: Trevor Collens

The former defence minister has sought damages, as well as aggravated damages, and a court order preventing the material from being published again.

Reynolds’ defamation suit against Higgins centred around two social media posts made to Instagram and Twitter in July 2023 in which Higgins accused Reynolds of using the press to harass her.

Reynolds demanded damages for defamation and claimed the posts constituted a breach of a non-disparagement clause buried in the deed of settlement and release the pair signed in March 2021.

Both Higgins and Sharaz defended their respective cases, which have been heard together due to their significant overlap.

Dates have been set aside for a six-week trial beginning on July 24 in the event mediation was unsuccessful.

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