The defamation trial between Australian Senator Linda Reynolds and her former staffer Brittany Higgins has drawn in a who's who of Australian politics and media, with over 20 witnesses giving evidence over five weeks in Perth. The case centres on social media posts Reynolds claims damaged her reputation, but it has reignited scrutiny of Higgins' alleged rape at Parliament House in 2019 and the subsequent fallout.
Reynolds' lawyer, Martin Bennett, alleged that Higgins and her husband David Sharaz created a 'fictional story of political cover-up' to cast the senator as a villain. He claimed they courted journalists Lisa Wilkinson and Samantha Maiden with a 'fairytale' while Higgins was still working for another Liberal senator. Higgins' lawyer, Rachael Young, countered that there was no evidence of an orchestrated conspiracy by two young professionals.
Higgins is relying on a defence of truth, arguing she felt unsupported by Reynolds after the alleged rape and was made to choose between her career or working remotely. The court also heard that Higgins and Sharaz allegedly provided a 'dossier' to Labor politicians ahead of her televised interview. Reynolds, meanwhile, testified that Labor senators Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher led a grilling that caused her physical and emotional breakdown, and she linked the saga to the death of her friend, Senator Kimberley Kitching.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison told the court he believed Reynolds had done everything possible to support Higgins, and that the political attacks were coordinated and aggressive. The trial continues to examine whether Reynolds called Higgins a 'lying cow' – a comment later leaked to the media – and whether she leaked confidential documents to a columnist, as alleged by Higgins' legal team.
