A pair of high-profile defamation cases pitting Liberal senator Linda Reynolds against her former political aide Brittany Higgins and her fiancé are likely to go to trial after mediation talks were unsuccessful.
The former defense minister, who plans to retire from politics at the next election, is suing Higgins and David Sharaz over a series of social media posts which she says have damaged her reputation.
Senator Reynolds said she was disappointed the talks did not resolve the matter “for all those who have been harmed and hurt by this saga over the last three years”.
David Sharaz is pictured with Brittany Higgins outside the Washington Supreme Court in March.
Linda Reynolds is pictured with her lawyer Martin Bennett outside court in March.
“I think it is time for the truth to come out, as Judge Lee…found in this matter…for all parties to accept all of his conclusions and for all of us to find a way to move forward,” he told the journalists abroad. Washington Supreme Court in Perth on Tuesday.
“This has caused irreparable harm to too many people.”
Arriving at court for talks, Senator Reynolds said it was time for her opponents to “admit they were wrong.”
Senator Reynolds also said Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus should accept Judge Lee’s findings in the Federal Court.
Judge Lee’s judgment in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson concluded that, considering the probabilities, he raped Ms Higgins, but the claim of political cover-up “was objectively short on facts but long on speculation “.
The parties in the WA case went to closed-door mediation in March, but it was also unsuccessful.
Sharaz tweeted in April that he would no longer fight the case because he could not afford the legal costs associated with going to trial in July.
Senator Reynolds is suing him over tweets he made and a comment on Facebook in 2022.
One defamatory allegation leveled against Sharaz’s tweets was that Senator Reynolds pressured Higgins not to make a genuine complaint to the police about being raped in his ministerial office.
Other alleged accusations were that the senator “is a hypocrite in her advocacy for women’s interests and empowerment,” interfered in Lehrmann’s trial, and intimidated Ms. Higgins.
Ms Higgins is accused of posting defamatory material on her Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
Lehrmann has always denied the sexual assault allegation. His trial was aborted due to jury misconduct and Ms Higgins’ mental health was cited as a reason for not retrialing.