After four days on the stand for giving evidence and for cross-examination, Higgins has been excused from court.
The audio tapes from the secretly recorded conversation between Brittany Higgins, Michaelia Cash and Daniel Try are still unable to be played in court at this stage.
Although Higgins gave her consent before the court for the tape to be played as she thought it was “important for everyone to hear”, Bruce Lehrmann’s barrister, Steve Whybrow SC, has been unable to get consent from Try, as per the relevant legislation.
She also declared she would not let her alleged rapist become a “millionaire” for “being a rapist”.
Women’s Agenda is covering the Lehrmann v Network Ten defamation trial as it happens, with former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann accusing Lisa Wilkinson and The Project of defamation. The case is in reference to an interview between Wilkinson and Brittany Higgins, who accused Lehrmann of raping her inside Parliament House in March 2019.
Here are the final moments from today’s hearing.
Content warning: This article contains references to rape and sexual assault.
Michaelia Cash was “lying”
Whybrow was questioning Brittany Higgins over the conversation between herself, her former employer Michaelia Cash and the Senator’s chief-of-staff, Daniel Try.
Although Higgins’ evidence was that the pair knew of the alleged sexual assault in 2019, when Higgins began working in the Senator’s office, the conversation that she recorded contradicted this claim.
Higgins told the court Cash and Try were “feigning” not knowing about the alleged rape over the phone.
“Yeah, she was lying,” Higgins said.
Daniel Try has been uncontactable, Whybrow told the court, and therefore the recording cannot be played and tendered as evidence.
The criminal trial
Going into the criminal trial in October 2022, Higgins was already a public figure and a leader in a widespread women’s movement in the country.
This was a point of contention raised by Whybrow during cross-examination.
Whybrow: “You had become the figurehead of a movement?”
Higgins: “Accidentally, yes.”
Whybrow: “You had a book deal?”
Higgins: “Yes.”
…
Whybrow: “I suggest you had a lot to lose if Mr Lehrmann was found not guilty?”
Higgins: “Statistically, that was going to happen… but I would go through with it again tomorrow.”
Higgins made a speech after the jury of the criminal trial was dismissed, after a juror was found to have misconducted. This speech was played before the court.
In his cross-examination, Whybrow questioned Higgins on why she made statements that were “untrue” in that speech, which Higgins responded by saying it was what she “believed at the time”.
Higgins, outside court after the jury was dismissed: “My life has been publicly scrutisnised, open for the world to see. His was not.”
In the speech, Higgins talked about how the media was reporting the criminal trial as “the Higgins trial”.
“I don’t blame you,” she said, “because it was very clear who has been on trial.”
Whybrow suggested to Higgins that she made that speech because it was “designed to blow up a retrial”.
Higgins: “Wow, um, no. Not at all.”
Whybrow: “You made it clear that you didn’t think that Mr Lehrmann should have a presumption of innocence.”
Higgins: “I don’t know – I didn’t think he had a right to my body. But here we are.”
Civil proceedings
In a statement on social media, some time after the criminal trial, Higgins wrote that she would be willing to give evidence in civil proceedings.
Whybrow questioned this decision in the final moments of the cross-examination, to which Higgins replied:
“I would not let my rapist become a millionaire for being a rapist. So now I’m here.”
Whybrow finished his cross examination of Higgins by asking about a settlement with the Commonwealth of $1.9 million, according to Higgins. The Commonwealth conceded they had failed to deliver duty of care to Higgins while she was on trial.
After four days, the cross examination of Higgins has concluded. There will be no re-examination by Dr Matt Collins KC, Network Ten’s lawyer, and Sue Chrysanthou SC, Wilkinson’s lawyer.
Court will resume tomorrow morning, where witnesses including Nikki Hamer, Lauren Gain and Alex Humphries are expected to be cross-examined.
If you are concerned about your behaviour, or about someone using violence, call Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
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In an emergency call 000.