Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison will give evidence to the Western Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday via video link.
Mr Morrison was Coalition leader in 2019 when Ms Higgins, a Liberal staffer, was raped by colleague Bruce Lehrmann inside Linda Reynolds’ ministerial suite in Parliament House.
Ms Reynolds was then defence industry minister.
The Coalition was still in government in February 2021 when Ms Higgins went public with her rape allegations in a News Corp online article and in a television interview on The Project.
Her claims were a disaster for the Liberal Party – Ms Reynolds was grilled about the situation for a week during question time, to the point where she had a complete breakdown and nearly died from a heart condition, the court heard.
She was accused of trying to cover up the rape, of failing to support Ms Higgins and of forcing her to choose between going to the police and her political career.
Ms Reynolds strongly denies the allegations but did not adequately defend herself at the time because she did not want to betray Ms Higgins’ trust.
Nor did he believe that a criminal charge should be litigated under the protection of parliamentary privilege.
In court last week, Ms Reynolds said she left the Senate on the final day of questioning and collapsed – her knees buckled, she had terrible pain in her chest – and Mr Morrison comforted her.
(Pictured below: Linda Reynolds with Scott Morrison)
A month later, in March 2021, it was revealed that Ms Reynolds called Ms Higgins a “lying cow” in an open part of her office, in front of staff, while watching The Project broadcast.
Ms Reynolds said she was referring to Ms Higgins’s allegations against her, rather than the rape itself.
Mr Morrison condemned her comment and removed her from the defence portfolio.
On 25 March 2021, Morrison appeared on A Current Affair and was questioned about Higgins’ rape allegations by former presenter Tracy Grimshaw.
That interview will be brought up in court on Tuesday.
About a year later, in February 2022, Morrison stood up in Parliament and apologised to Higgins. By this time, Lehrmann had been charged with rape and was due to stand trial two months later.
He said: “I’m sorry. We’re sorry. I apologize to Mrs Higgins for the terrible things that happened here.
‘The place that should have been a place of safety and contribution turned out to be a nightmare.
“I’m sorry for much more than that. I’m sorry for all those who came before Ms. Higgins.
“And she enjoyed it just as much, but she had the courage to speak up, and here we are.”
The court will resume at 10.30am local time, 12.30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.
(Pictured below: Brittany Higgins in Parliament, watching Scott Morrison’s apology in 2022)
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