Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has welcomed Brittany Higgins’ expression that she “regrets” the harm caused to Senator Linda Reynolds and has called for further scrutiny of the government’s handling of the 2 .4 million dollars from the former political staffer.
In a landmark Federal Court ruling last week, Judge Michael Lee found that Higgins was raped by her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann.
In dismissing Lehrmann’s defamation suit against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, Judge Lee found, under the civil standard on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann had sexually assaulted Ms. Higgins inside the office of her then-boss, Senator Reynolds, in Parliament in March 2019. .
Higgins, speaking for the first time about the sentencing, issued a statement via social media on Saturday night.
He thanked Judge Lee for taking a “trauma-informed approach” to his trial and said he looked forward to moving on with his life.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton welcomed Brittany Higgins’ expression that she was “sorry” for the harm caused to Senator Linda Reynolds and called for further scrutiny of the Government’s handling of the 2.4 million compensation payment. million dollars from the former political staffer.
In dismissing Lehrmann’s defamation suit against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, Judge Lee found, under the civil standard on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann had sexually assaulted Ms. Higgins inside the office of her then-boss, Senator Reynolds, in Parliament in March 2019.
He also offered an olive branch to Senator Reynolds, who is currently bringing defamation action against Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz.
Judge Lee, in his judgment, dismissed claims of political cover-up made during the broadcast of The Project and found that Senator Reynolds had wanted the police to be called.
He described the allegations as “without reasonable basis,” causing “a lot of collateral damage.”
It also found that Fiona Brown, the chief of staff in Senator Reynolds’ office at the time, had done “every effort to reassure Ms Higgins and had supported her and helped her contact the police”.
In her statement, Ms Higgins said she did not agree with “all of Judge Lee’s conclusions” but did “respect his observations about the many people scarred and harmed by my rape”.
“Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown were also injured and I am sorry for that as well,” Higgins said in his statement.
‘My perceptions and feelings about what happened in the days and weeks after my rape are different to theirs.
‘I deeply regret that we have not yet found common ground.
“I hope we can resolve our differences with a better understanding of each other’s experience.”
He also offered an olive branch to Senator Reynolds, who is currently pursuing a defamation lawsuit against Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz.
On Sunday, Dutton told ABC’s Insiders that Higgins’ statement was “polite.”
On Sunday, Dutton told ABC’s Insiders that Higgins’ statement was “polite.”
“I don’t think any workplace should be unsafe for women, or even for men, and there have been a lot of changes in Parliament, which is a good thing,” Mr Dutton said.
He added that he thought Senator Reynolds should be offered a full apology, although he noted: “That is a celebration for the court and for the parties.”
Dutton has previously said he supported calls for details of Higgins’ $2.4 million Commonwealth dollar compensation payment to be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Documents released by the Federal Court during Lehrmann’s defamation trial revealed that Ms Higgins received $2,445,000 from the government after settling her personal injury claim with the Commonwealth following mediation.
The settlement and release deed revealed that Ms. Higgins was awarded $400,000 for pain, distress and humiliation, $1.48 million for loss of income, $220,000 for medical expenses, $100,000 for “past and future domestic assistance” and $245,000. dollars for his legal costs.
In her claim, Ms Higgins said she was a victim of sexual assault and associated physical injuries, psychiatric injuries, that she was subjected to bullying and harassment and that the Commonwealth had failed to provide her with adequate support.
Senator Reynolds has previously expressed concerns about the speed of the process, as well as claiming that she was denied the opportunity to participate in mediation.
Dutton said the problem was not with the actions of Higgins and his lawyers during the payment.
Brittany Higgins offered an olive branch to Senator Linda Reynolds and Fiona Brown in her statement.
“I don’t think the issue regarding payment is on Brittany’s side,” Mr Dutton said.
‘I think it’s on the government’s side and others have pointed it out.
“If it is inappropriate for Katy Gallagher and others to try to eke out an alleged sexual assault in the first place, it reflects poorly on Katy Gallagher, but also on others.”
Ms Gallagher was not involved in Ms Higgins’ payment. But the opposition has attacked her with questions about her knowledge of her accusations before they were broadcast publicly.
Lehrmann faced a trial in the ACT Supreme Court in late 2022 after pleading not guilty to a charge of sexual intercourse without consent.
Her trial was abandoned due to jury misconduct and the Director of Public Prosecutions abandoned the trial due to concerns for Ms Higgins’ welfare, leading to the charge being dropped.