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Senator Linda Reynolds ‘cast as villain’ in fictional tale of political cover-up, court told
It was a story of an alleged rape in the halls of Parliament House and a covert cover-up, and like all “fairytales”, WA Senator Linda Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett told the Supreme Court, it needed a villain.
“In 2020, Ms Higgins and her then-partner David Sharaz cast Senator Reynolds in that role for their fictional story involving allegations of a political cover-up of the rape,” he said.
“And the fictional story involved allegations of ill-treatment, ostracisation, bullying, harassment, and threatening conduct by Senator Reynolds and her then-chief of staff Fiona Brown.
“She was cast in the strongest, most critical light, and none of it [the cover-up] was true.”
Higgins and Sharaz, a former press gallery journalist, have both rejected claims they devised a plan to deliver the story and manipulate the media.
But Bennett said the correspondence obtained by subpoena unmistakably showed that plan and how it was conceived, with journalists Samantha Maiden and Lisa Wilkinson handpicked to drop the bombshell during a parliamentary sitting week to maximise the impact.
He referred to the recording of a pre-interview briefing with Wilkinson and her producer at The Project in which Sharaz claimed Higgins had said making Linda Reynolds’ life difficult would be the “best-case scenario”.
He told the court a bundle of documents entitled ‘The Dossier’ was distributed to the media and Labor Party senators featuring a timeline of the alleged events alongside a list of contacts.
And in a note on her phone dated May 23, 2020, the court was told Higgins documented ‘Anatomy of a political sex scandal’ as a thesis idea.
“The fact that she was raped was traumatic and terrible, but it needed something more to gain the attention of the media. It was a tale that needed a villain, and she cast Linda Reynolds in that role,” Bennett said.
“There is a level of sophistication in this planning.”
Bennett repeatedly insisted the defamation suit against Higgins on Friday by affirming the case was not about her alleged rape by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in 2019 — a claim Lehrmann denies.
Reynolds watched on from the front row of the public gallery as Bennett pored over the personal injury claim Higgins threatened to launch against the former defence minister, WA Senator Michaelia Cash and the Commonwealth in 2021 over its handling of the rape allegation, culminating in a $2.4 million settlement.
Bennett told the court Reynolds was sidelined in the dispute, which was being handled on her behalf by federal government solicitors, and that its prompt settlement and the media coverage that followed implied guilt — specifically, an article published by Maiden on the day the deed was penned.
“This is a confidential mediation that the ink is still drying on,” Bennett said.
“Any person in Australia reading this would think the allegations made by Higgins were so true, so damning and so correct against Reynolds that the Commonwealth paid millions in damages on proceedings not yet filed.
“The claims made by Ms Higgins were false, and Senator Reynolds was denied the time and appropriate funding to defend the actions of herself and her staff.”
The court was shown more than a dozen photographs from Higgins’ brief stint on the campaign trail in Perth ahead of the 2019 federal election, a six-week period during which she claims she was ostracised and shut in a hotel room seven days a week.
But Bennett said the evidence suggested otherwise, with photographs, social media posts and correspondence tendered as evidence showing Higgins door-knocking, fine dining, and rubbing shoulders with senior figures within the party, from Morrison to former Indigenous Affairs minister Ken Wyatt.
“She doesn’t appear to be anything other than a young, vivacious, door-knocker campaigning,” he said.
Reynolds smiled at her partner Robert Reid as photographs flashed for the public gallery documenting her federal election campaign.
That album included photographs showing Higgins sitting alongside Reynolds’ at her birthday dinner, celebrating her re-election and visiting her home for a post-campaign debrief and text messages in which Higgins told a former boyfriend she and Reynolds had “a solid chat”.
“It’s event, after event, after event, all of which could have been provided to the Commonwealth to confirm the statements by Ms Higgins [in the compensation claim] were palpably false,” Bennett said.
Bennett laid bare Reynolds’ response and that of her team to the security breach by Lehrmann and Higgins in entering the minister’s office after hours in March 2019 and the rape allegation that later surfaced.
“Senator Reynolds was protective of Higgins. She told [chief of staff] Fiona Brown to speak to the Australian Federal Police,” he said.
“To her credit, Brown said no, that it was Brittany’s choice. What else could they do in this situation?”
The trial comes more than a year after Reynolds made good on her threat to sue Higgins for defamation over several social media posts accusing her of harassment, claiming they damaged her reputation, brought her into public hatred and caused her distress and embarrassment.
The former defence minister was already locked in an almost identical defamation row with Sharaz, who bowed out after declaring he did not have the financial means to take it to trial.
According to court documents filed by Reynolds’ legal team, the posts implied the former minister had engaged in misconduct, inadequately supported Higgins and wanted to silence victims of sexual assault.
Higgins has fiercely defended the action on the basis her posts were substantially true.
The former staffer insists Reynolds mishandled her rape complaint and weaponised the media to pursue a campaign against her, including by leaking confidential government emails to journalists.
Reynolds is expected to spend several days in the witness box before her high-profile colleagues take the stand, including former Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Senator Cash.
Higgins, who recently revealed she and Sharaz were expecting their first child, will spend up to one week on the stand.
Outside court, Reynolds told the media she was confident “the truth will be told”.
“It’s well and truly time for the truth.”
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Jesinta Burton – is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in civil courts, business and urban development.Connect via X or email.