An attempt at peace talks to avert a costly defamation trial brought by Liberal senator Linda Reynolds against her former staffer Brittany Higgins has failed after Ms Higgins allegedly again took to social media to critique her former employer.
Senator Reynolds’s case centres on social media posts by Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz last year, which she maintains damaged her reputation.
On Wednesday, the WA Supreme Court heard Ms Higgins allegedly posted, “I won’t stay silent so you can stay comfortable” on social media about the same time as a mediation session in Perth, which Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz flew in from France to attend.
Senator Reynolds’s lawyer, high-profile defamation specialist Martin Bennett, indicated that the matter would be added to an amended statement of claim for further aggravated damages.
‘Concerted plan’ to attack Senator Reynolds
Mr Bennett also indicated they would allege Ms Higgins made a “concerted plan” with her partner, Mr Sharaz, to “attack his client”, with the alleged support of some members of the media.
Mr Bennett suggested details of a five-hour recorded pre-interview between Channel 10 reporter Lisa Wilkinson, her producer Angus Llewellyn, Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz — conducted prior to a program that made public Ms Higgins’s allegations she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 — could form part of the evidence in Senator Reynolds’s case.
A transcript of that interview was tendered in a separate Federal Court defamation case brought by Ms Higgins’s former colleague Bruce Lehrmann against Channel 10 and Ms Wilkinson.
Mr Lehrmann was charged with raping Ms Higgins but the trial was abandoned in late 2022 due to juror misconduct, with no adverse findings against him.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied that he raped Ms Higgins.
Wednesday’s direction hearing in the Supreme Court heard argument on whether Senator Reynolds’s cases against Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins would be run separately or together to try to alleviate “the stress of litigation” given the main players were “individuals and not media organisations” with extensive funds.
Mr Bennett flagged up to 20 witnesses could be called including former parliamentary colleagues of Senator Reynolds, friends and doctors who “observed the impact on her”.
Mr Bennett also indicated he would call witnesses to give evidence that would contradict suggestions Ms Higgins felt “isolated and ostracised” during her involvement in the election campaign in Western Australia, which took place immediately after she alleged she was raped.
“People campaigning beside her have very different recollections of that,” Mr Bennett told the court.
The trial is set for July.
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