Lawyers for Brittany Higgins have asked a court to excuse her from giving evidence in the defamation case brought against her by Senator Linda Reynolds.
Senator Reynolds is suing her former staffer Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz over a number of social media posts the pair made in 2022 and 2023.
The posts were critical of Senator Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was raped in Parliament House in 2019 by her then colleague Mr Lehrmann.
He was charged with rape and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
The charge was dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.
Mr Lehrmann lost a subsequent civil defamation case in April this year when the Federal Court determined, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins at Parliament House. He is appealing this decision.
Lawyers for Brittany Higgins told the WA Supreme Court they are not obliged to call the former political staffer to give oral evidence in the long-running trial against her.
Ms Young said they did not need to call Ms Higgins into the proceedings for her to win the case.
Lawyers for Brittany Higgins (pictured) told the WA Supreme Court they are not obliged to call the former political staffer to give oral evidence in the long-running trial against her
Senator Linda Reynolds returned to Canberra on Monday as her defamation trial against her former staffer back in Perth continued
The court was also told Ms Higgins’ medical state, similar to Ms Brown’s, would mean she could be excused from giving evidence.
Ms Higgins is currently pregnant and living in France. She was initially listed to spend a week giving evidence in the case.
SENATOR MAY HAVE STRUGGLED IN NEXT ELECTION
Selection committee of Liberal Party WA chairman Jeremy Buxton told the court on Monday that when a senator made themselves a story it usually went against them, and the Senator would have “struggled” to get her name on the ballot for the next election.
Mr Buxton was giving evidence about whether allegations made by Ms Higgins could have potentially jeopardised the senator from running again for the Liberal Party.
He said even if the issue was not a criminal matter, if serving members were seen to have messed up it worked against them.
He said there were cases in the past where senators had been demoted within the Liberal Party in WA.
Mr Buxton told the court while he did not discuss the matter with his Liberal Party colleagues, he said there could have been an adverse feeling among some of them.
He said some people may have judged the senator more harshly as a woman who did not support a young female colleague.
“It would have put her at a disadvantage to other colleagues who did not have to answer those questions,” he said.
“She would have been struggling to get the third position (on the ballot paper.
Ms Higgins’ lawyers Rachael Young and Kate Pedersen. Picture: NewsWire / Sharon Smith
SENATOR’S HEALTH IMPROVED IN 2022
Senator Reynolds’ GP in Canberra, Dr Antonio Di Dio, gave evidence in the senator’s defamation case which has now entered its third week.
Dr Di Dio first saw Senator Reynolds at Parliament House on February 23, 2021, saying she was very anxious and stressed.
“I was asked to see her because of her acute anxiety,” he said.
Dr Di Dio said the senator was experiencing chest pain so he arranged an urgent referral to Canberra Hospital.
He said there was some concern that she would be seen with urgency so he arranged for a local cardiologist to see her.
When he saw her again five days later, her blood pressure had returned to normal, he told the court.
He also referred her to a clinical psychologist and psychiatrist because he was concerned about her high levels of anxiety and the profound effect it was having on her at the time.
He said it was causing her great distress.
Liberal Party elder Jeremy Buxton leaves the Supreme Court in Perth
While being questioned by defence lawyer Kate Pedersen, Dr Dio said the senator’s mental health improved in 2022.
Dr Di Dio told the court there was no doubt the senator was far better than the “awful acute period from when we first met”.
“She was still on a significant amount of medication, but there are notes in the record that she was stable and self-caring and looking after herself,” he said.
Dr Di Dio said reports he received about the senator’s heart condition after she was hospitalised would not be enough to tell if you a person was at risk of dying.
HUGE CALL LOOMS ON FIONA BROWN EVIDENCE
On Monday, Justice Tottle will decide if the senator’s former chief of staff Fiona Brown will have to give evidence during the trial in person.
Ms Brown’s senior counsel Dominique Hogan-Doran provided the court last week a confidential report and medical certificate requesting that Ms Brown be excused from giving evidence in court.
It is anticipated Ms Brown may be able to give her evidence in the form of a written statement.
Ms Higgins’ lawyer Rachel Young said they had no difficulty with the order being proposed by Ms Brown and did not want to cause her distress by calling her to court to give evidence.
Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett
She said as long as what they had been told by Ms Brown’s lawyers was consistent and accurate with what was provided to the court then they would not oppose Ms Brown being released.
Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett said he did not anticipate an argument and agreed a suppression order should be imposed.
He also told the court they may move through the witness list earlier than expected which could result in Ms Higgins giving her evidence earlier than August 26.
But that is likely to be opposed by her defence team and Justice Tottle who said it might be difficult for her logistically.
The trial continues.