Barnaby Joyce has lashed out at the Albanian government after forcing a minister to admit that no military veteran has received as much compensation as Brittany Higgins for injuries or disability since the Labor Party took office.
Higgins, a former political staffer, was awarded $2.4 million in compensation from the federal government in December 2022, ten days after the ACT’s top prosecutor dropped a sexual assault charge against Bruce Lehrmann.
She sued over the way she was allegedly treated by her former bosses, Coalition senators Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash, after she revealed her rape allegations to them.
His allegations have never been proven in court, but the Labor government settled his claim after just one day of mediation, and the amount of compensation he received was only revealed in a defamation case before the Federal Court last year.
That prompted Joyce to attack Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh with four questions in Parliament about the sums wounded and disabled former soldiers have received in compensation.
Joyce asked Keogh whether any veterans with physical or mental injuries had made successful claims for an amount close to Ms Higgins’ $2.4 million payment in the 18 months since Labor took office in 2022.
On Wednesday, Joyce told WhatsNew2Day Australia: “The idea that you can go to a meeting and walk out a few hours later with more than $2.4 million is just incredible.”
Barnaby Joyce attacks the Albanian government for paying compensation
Brittany Higgins, pictured center, was paid $2.4 million for her alleged rape in Parliament.
“Many veterans find it incredibly infuriating that such a quick payment for such a large amount can be made for a supposed event in Parliament, while they wait years and don’t receive an amount equivalent to something like that.”
He said some of those veterans include those who have been on active duty and have crippling and life-changing injuries.
“What service men and women have told me time and time again is that the government demonstrates that it can act quickly when it wants to,” he continued.
‘Why is working in Parliament different from serving our nation in uniform on the battlefields?’
In December, Mr Joyce had asked: ‘For each month, how many veterans or dependents have received compensation since the current government took office? How many veterans or dependents received compensation or other forms of payments totaling at least $2.3 million?
«In each case, what was the period from the presentation of the claim to the approval of payment? Without asking for personally identifiable information, what injuries, conditions or circumstances does each payment relate to?
Mr. Keogh’s office responded to those questions on February 14, 12 days after the response was expected.
It revealed that “no veteran or dependent has received compensation totaling $2.3 million or more” between June 1, 2022 and December 31, 2023.
Barnaby Joyce asked Veterans Affairs’ Matt Keogh (pictured with his wife, Annabel) if any former servicemen or women received a payment worth $2.3 million.
The number of military veterans’ compensation claims between June 2022 and December 2023 was also listed. In that period, 4,170 veterans received defense-related compensation and 64,934 veterans received military rehabilitation compensation.
There were also between 77,967 and 77,025 veterans per quarter who received a biweekly disability compensation pension.
In December 2022 alone, the month Ms. Higgins’ $2.4 million claim was settled, there were 169 veterans receiving defense-related compensation and 3,145 veterans receiving military rehabilitation compensation.
Joyce had also asked, if any diggers received a payment similar to Ms Higgins, what their injuries and circumstances were, and what the approval deadline was.
However, those questions were not applicable because no veteran has received that much.
According to Ms. Higgins’ settlement agreement, her $2.445 million payment included $1.48 million to cover loss of earning capacity; $400,000 for pain, anguish and humiliation; $220,000 for medical expenses; $100,000 for past and future household assistance; and $245,000 for her legal costs.
Senator Reynolds and Senator Cash were banned from taking part in mediation talks, despite Mrs Higgins claiming they did not support her after her alleged rape.
Linda Reynolds (pictured with her partner) was not invited to Brittany Higgins’ mediation session in December 2022.
Ms Higgins was forced to disclose the value of her payout in the Federal Court, while being questioned in alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
Mr. Lehrmann denies the allegations.
Higgins wrongly told the court that the total payment was worth $2.3 million, but that she personally received about $1.9 million after attorney fees and taxes, even though the compensation payments They are not subject to tax.
However, the settlement deed showed the total amount was worth $2.445 million, which is about $145,000 more than she said.
After her payout, Higgins rented on the Gold Coast for a year with her fiancé David Sharaz, before buying a house in the south of France and moving permanently.
Higgins had alleged that Lehrmann raped her in Senator Reynolds’ office in Parliament in March 2019.
He made his allegations public in an interview with Wilkinson on The Project in February 2021.
Lehrmann was not named in the broadcast, but claims that colleagues and friends were able to identify him as the alleged rapist.
His defamation case was heard before Judge Michael Lee for about a month at the Federal Court in December.
One of the network and Wilkinson’s key arguments was a truth defense, meaning they attempted to prove that Lehrmann raped Higgins based on a balance of probabilities.
Judge Lee will hand down his decision on Monday.