Former WA senator awarded $315,000 in bitter defamation showdown with Brittany Higgins

Former defence minister Linda Reynolds has succeeded in her defamation case against her ex-staffer Brittany Higgins, in one of the most closely watched legal battles to flow from the Parliament House rape saga.

Justice Paul Tottle delivered his decision in the WA Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, after a bruising five weeks last year that laid bare years of political, personal and legal fallout.

Tottle found a suite of social media posts in 2022 and 2023 from Higgins and her co-defendent husband David Sharaz had been defamatory of Reynolds, and the couple had not successfully established a truth defence. However, a claim regarding further tweets posted in 2023 was covered by a defence of honest opinion, fair comment and qualified privilege.

A claim alleging Higgins and Sharaz engaged in a conspiracy to damage Reynolds’ reputation when going public with the former Liberal staffer’s allegations of rape by colleague Bruce Lehrmann at Canberra’s Parliament House was also dismissed.

Reynolds was awarded a total of $315,000 in damages relating to the defamatory social media posts.

The case originated after Higgins alleged she was raped by Lehrmann inside Reynolds’ ministerial office in Canberra’s Parliament House in March, 2019.

Lehrmann was charged, but the criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct. In April, the Federal Court in a separate defamation trial determined on the civil standard that Lehrmann had raped Higgins. Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence and is currently appealing the Federal Court ruling.

Reynolds later sued Higgins over three social media posts she called “carefully curated press releases” and which she claimed painted her as a minister who harassed Higgins, mishandled her rape allegation, and sought to silence sexual assault survivors.

The former minister accused Higgins and Sharaz of planning an “unprovoked attack underpinned by visceral hatred”, handpicking journalists and aiding her political opponents.

Higgins defended the posts as partially true and relevant to public interest. She argued Reynolds’ reputation was damaged years earlier when the scandal first erupted in 2021.

Reynolds is seeking half-a-million dollars in damages and a gag order to stop Higgins from further “damaging” commentary.

Tottle will decide whether Higgins’ posts carried the defamatory meanings Reynolds alleged, if Higgins proved the posts were truthful or protected by public interest privilege and how much damage, if any, the posts caused.

The court will also rule on whether Higgins breached a 2021 settlement deed and whether a gag order should be imposed to stop her commenting further.

Sharaz also faced claims over a 2022 tweet but chose not to defend the case. Damages against him will be assessed separately.

During the hearing last August, Reynolds’ barrister Martin Bennett had told the court Higgins and Sharaz deliberately cast Reynolds as the villain in a political “fairytale”.

Higgins’ barrister, Rachael Young, SC, claimed the posts were protected by qualified privilege and were justified as fair comment and honest opinion.

Higgins, who was pregnant at the time of the hearing, called one witness and did not take the stand herself, citing medical reasons.

Reynolds called 23 witnesses, including former Prime Minister Scott Morrison who defended her version of events and claimed her removal from Defence was due to her ill-health and not punishment.

Whichever way it goes, the decision will mark a defining moment in a saga that has gripped Australia for more than four years.

Reynolds has since retired from Parliament, with her term expiring in June.

Higgins and Sharaz are new parents of a five-month-old boy after moving back home to Australia following time spent living in France.

The pair both work at Sydney-based public relations agency Third Hemisphere.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.