Court proceedings have wrapped up for the week for the Lehrmann v Network Ten defamation trial, with the cross examination of Brittany Higgins expected to pick up again on Tuesday morning.
Questioning from Steve Whybrow SC, Lehrmann’s lawyer, revealed a phone call between Higgins and her former employer Senator Michaelia Cash was secretly recorded by Higgins, which she said was for her own “legal protection”.
The 15-minute audio was not played in court today. Wilkinson’s lawyer and the legal team from Network Ten said Higgins will need legal advice before she gives her consent for the court to hear the recording as evidence.
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’s what we learned in today’s proceedings.
Content warning: This article contains references to rape and sexual assault.
Impact on politics
When court reconvened after a longer than usual break at 12:30pm, Whybrow referred to evidence from the five-hour conversation between Higgins, Wilkinson and The Project producer, Angus Llewellyn, in January 2021.
In the recording, the group discussed when the interview would likely go to air. All three agreed to run the story before a parliamentary sitting week, which would be followed by the Senate estimates.
Higgins denied that the decision to run the story in February 2021 – before a sitting week and before the March Senate estimates, as discussed with the Network Ten journalists – had anything to do with impacting election outcomes.
Whybrow asked Higgins if she was “seriously contending” that one of her motivations of going to the media was to negatively impact the Liberal party.
Higgins: “It was not about the Liberal party. It was about women in politics.”
Michaelia Cash and the secret recording
Higgins has given evidence – in the criminal trial last year and in this week’s hearing of the defamation trial – that Senator Michaelia Cash was informed of the alleged rape when Higgins commenced her employment in her ministerial office in 2019.
However, Senator Cash, as well as her chief-of-staff, Daniel Try, have denied knowing about the alleged rape in 2019.
Whybrow suggested that Higgins “never went” to Senator Michaelia Cash or Daniel Try about the alleged incident, which Higgins said was “completely incorrect”. She said Senator Cash, Try and other members of the Liberal party “had to know” about it – it was an “optics thing”, she said.
Later, Whybrow attempted to play a 15-minute audio file of a phone call between Senator Cash and Higgins, covertly recorded by Higgins. She said she recorded it for her own “legal protection”.
Before it was played, however, Justice Michael Lee raised questions surrounding the legality of submitting a secret recording as evidence without consent of the parties involved, as per the relevant legislation.
Whilst Whybrow said he had obtained consent from Senator Cash to tender the recording as evidence and to play it in court, Network Ten’s lawyer, Dr Matt Collins KC, and Wilkinson’s lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC, said Higgins should receive legal advice before giving her consent to play the recording.
The court will return to the audio next Tuesday once Higgins receives advice.
The picture of the bruise
Over the last few days, Whybrow has been asking Higgins about the picture of the bruise on her leg, which she said she obtained either from falling up the stairs at the club or from Lehrmann allegedly sexually assaulting her on the night of 22 March 2019.
Today, he asked about the image she gave to The Project. He revealed to the court today that the image she provided was a screenshot, taken before she met with Wilkinson and Llewellyn in January 2021.
Whybrow suggested that Higgins did this intentionally so there would be no “metadata” attached to the provided image, which perhaps revealed the bruise was not obtained on the night of the alleged rape. Higgins denied this suggestion.
Court will resume next Tuesday at 10:10am.
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