You can listen to the Front on your smart speaker every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play the news from the Australian. From the Australian, here's what's on the Front. I'm Claire Harvey. It's Wednesday, August fourteen. A law firm that tried to fight the deportation of a domestic violence offender has been slated by the tribunal hearing immigration claims. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal said the law firm had attempted to manipulate the tribunal with lies about
the man's case. That's an exclusive live now at the Australian dot com dot you. Scott Morrison has entered the Brittany Higgins defamation trial, and the former Prime Minister says his former minister Linda Reynolds should never have called Higgins a lying cow. Today all the action from the Supreme Court. Brittney Higgins was one of the most junior staffers in the government of Scott Morrison, but she had probably the biggest impact. I have listened to Britain.
Jenny and I spoke last night and she said to me, you have to think about this as a father first, what would you want to happen if it were our girls. Jenny has a way of clarifying things.
In the days after Brittaney Higgins went public in February twenty twenty one with her claim to have been raped two years earlier in the office of her boss, Senator Linda Reynolds, her story became the only story in Canberra.
On What day did the minister first become aware of allegations of rape made by her former staff member.
What action did the minister take.
As a result, What was the reason for his employment ended? And did he resign or was he sacked?
Labor pushed Linda Reynolds hard on what she'd done to help Higgins after discovering the young woman was claiming to have been raped by a fellow staffer, Bruce Lammon, on the sofa in Reynolds's own ministerial suite. Reynolds said she did everything she could to assist Higgins, but wanted her to get professional.
Help on her couch in her ministerial office.
What action did the minister take as a result.
The alleged rapist has been described as the Minister's favorite. Did the minister consider it odd that her favorite go to person would resign on the spot for a security breach without a conversation with her.
So much has happened since then. The Morrison government was turfed out. In twenty twenty two, Bruce Lammon was found by the Federal Court to have, on the balance of probabilities raped Brittney Higgins, of finding Lehman has always denied
and which he's appealing. And now Linda Reynolds is suing Brittaney Higgins and her husband David Charraz not over the rape claim, but over social media posts in which she says they accused her of being a hypocrite and a boss who did nothing to help her vulnerable young employee.
This is from a current Australian senator who continues to harass me through the media and in the Parliament instead of solving the problem. There are people who would prefer to just silence victims.
There is a very real chance Linda Reynolds will be called to court this year to answer questions on her involvement in Britain. Higgins feeling pressured by her office not to continue with a complaint to police.
Higgins and Shiraz are mounting a truth defense in the defamation case, being heard in the WA Supreme Court. They're seeking to demonstrate that Linda Reynolds really did fail in her duty of care to Higgins. Between Higgins's version of events and Reynolds, there are some small differences, like exactly when Higgins told her bosses she believed she'd been raped, and there are enormous gulfs like Higgins's claims she was
told to stop talking about the rape. I would try and raise it, and I would try and bring it up.
Then it was always it always sort of came back to sort of being a mere issue, and I say, if you can't deal with it, then you can leave.
Higgins says she was told she could drop the matter or give up her job. She said it was crystal clear this was a political problem for the government. Linda Reynolds says that is one hundred p sent untrue. She sacked Bruce Lammon the day she found out he'd entered Parliament with Higgins after hours. Reynolds says she did everything to encourage Higgins to go to the police and to
support her when Higgins decided not to go ahead. Here's some of what Reynolds told the court in the trial's opening days we've used a voice actor.
I had no reason then or now to doubt her memories of rape, but everything else she said I knew wasn't true. What had I missed for her to now think that was all true?
Talking about the social posts, Reynolds said, I just.
Felt like one of those punching clowns at the fairground. You get punched down and you have to get up smiling. Then you get punched down again, and punched down again, and punched down again.
Enter Scott Morrison.
I consider Linda a good friend and a very trustworthy colleague.
That's a voice actor bringing you the former PM's words from the court where he's been called by barristers for Linda Reynolds. He said he had I had no idea back in twenty nineteen that there was an allegation of rape.
Had the matter been brought to my attention in twenty nineteen, a process would have followed to understand what had occurred and what the deficiencies were and how we may have dealt with it at that time.
Rachel Young, sc BARRISTIFFA. Reynolds asked Morrison whether he was disappointed Reynolds didn't tell him about the alleged rape at the time.
Yes, initially I was, but as events transpired, Senator Reynolds chose not to do that out of respect for the confidence they'd entered into with Miss Higgins. So that was a dilemma.
Morrison said this about Brittany Higgins feeling she was not supported.
I stress I never saw that as a failing of Senator Reynolds. I saw that as a failure of the process to support each of them in what was a highly sensitive, vulnerable and difficult situation.
He described the Labour Party's intense questioning of Reynolds in Parliament like this.
There was quite aggressive questioning and very coordinated questioning taking place. I went and saw her immediately after question time and she was in a very distressed state. I expressed my strong support for her to help her get through this. It was intending to discredit her and weaponize the issue for political purposes, to discredit the Senator, the government and myself.
In March twenty twenty one, The Australian broke an exclusive in her ministerial office, Linda Reynolds called Brittany Higgins a lying cow. Reynolds has told this trial she was talking about Higgins's claim that Reynolds had mishandled the allegations. Reynolds says she wasn't denying Higgins's claim to have been raped. Reynolds gave a ten thousand dollars donation to a women's
shelter after Higgins threatened to sue over the remark. In the witness box on Tuesday, Scott Morrison was cross examined by Rachel Young, sc council for Higgins, about that we've used voice actors.
A minister calling anyone a cow, particularly female.
Was unacceptable, particularly in respect to a rape complainant.
Oh host of things. But I found this statement by miss Reynolds to be particularly out of character. It's not okay for ministers to speak this way about anyone. She referred to her as a cow, and that was absolutely outrageous and one shouldn't do that. And she apologized, and I thought that was the end of that.
Did you tell Senator Reynolds to apologize?
I didn't have to.
Did you tell her to apologize?
I didn't have to.
Young wanted to know if Morrison considered standing Reynolds down.
It was a statement completely out of character, made in a private setting. One would not expect to be made public. If all members of Parliament had their comments made public, we would not have a single member serving in Parliament.
Morrison described his meeting with Britney Higgins in April twenty twenty one, and he seemed bemused about the topics that interested Higgins.
I do know Miss Higgins seemed very agitated around the arbitrary nature of dismissal when staff members are accused of something and ministers dismissed them. That's essentially what happened. Another member of staff involved in these matters was dismissed.
He's talking about Bruce Lahman, who was told to pack up his stuff as soon as Senator Reynolds became aware he'd entered Parliament after hours.
I was surprised this seemed dominant in her mind, but that's what she wanted.
To focus on, Morrison said. As the situation unfolded, he realized he'd have to move Reynolds out of the Critical Defense portfolio because her mental health had been so seriously affected.
She was quite visibly stressed and in a highly fragile emotional state. When I went to see her, I was unaware of her cardiac condition. It was brought to my attention with her permission sometime later. I remember for a period there we were very fearful that Senator Reynolds that this could be a fatal outcome for her. She took sick leave as she should. She was not capable of
continuing her duties in her physical and mental state. I appointed an acting Minister with the hope and intention that Reynolds would be able to continue to serve in that role. She was given the Government Services role, which was also important, but not at the stress levels of the Defense portfolio.
In March twenty twenty one, Peter Dutton took over the Defense portfolio. Morrison said he believed Higgins's claim of rape had been used to attack the government, saying he'd seen it.
Was intended to discredit her. It was the weaponizing of this issue for political purposes to discredit both Senator Reynolds and the government and by extinction myself.
Morrison said. Britney higgins suggestion in the Project interview that Reynolds or the government had tried to cover up the rape.
Was completely and utterly false.
Coming up, Scott Morrison makes it clear he's not going to take the blame the big stories in this giant drama are always broken by the Australian. Join us subscribers for a lot less than the cost of a coffee a day at the Australian AU. We'll be back after this break. In cross examination, Rachel Young, sc Council for Brittany Higgins asked Scott Morrison whether the review of workplace culture he initiated in twenty twenty one was just a stunt. Morrison denied that.
It was important because we needed to make sure that the processes and supports that were available to everyone who could be potentially having to deal with the situation like this were adequate. The public nature of this was not the motive. The issue was the motive, and the need to deal with it was the motive.
Young began grilling Morrison about one of the lines of inquiry. Morrison said he didn't think the questions were relevant.
It doesn't relate to the conduct of Senator Reynolds.
The judge weighed in, Sorry, mister Morrison, you don't have a choice unless there's an objection to the question, and there hasn't been. I would be grateful if you could answer. Young asked Morrison whether the review found Parliament's processes for handling serious allegations were inadequate.
Well, yes, I think that has probably been the case for a very long time, and the culture in Parliament had improved, but clearly not enough.
Scott Morrison has always made it clear in this matter he's not going to take the blame. In February twenty twenty one, he told the Parliament he'd spoken to Fiona Brown, who was Linda Reynolds chief of staff at the time of the twenty nineteen incident.
I have had these conversations, mister Speaker with the member of staff members of my I said, there'd been many conversations. I'm happy to indicate that I've had conversations about the support provided by the member of my staff. Now, she missed speaker was working as the chief of staff to the midst of the defense industry at the time. Now I have discussed that matters with her and the support provided, and she indeed.
As the implication was that Brown had been reprimanded last week in court, Linda Reynolds said Scott Morrison had been very sympathetic to her.
Scott came in, he'd come straight over from question time. He talked with me He was incredibly compassionate. He was sharing with me just how difficult it was for him being accused of covering up a rape, and how difficult it was for his girls.
But Fiona Brown has previously told The Australian Morrison in fact, never had a real conversation with her about the scandal. Brown insists to this day Brittany Higgins never expressly told her I was raped. She took Higgins to the police office in Parliament and when Higgins said she didn't want to pursue a complaint, Brown left it at that. We've used a voice actor to bring you Fiona Brown's words.
She's describing Morrison's conduct in February twenty twenty one, by which time Brown was working in Morrison's office.
I remember him coming back after question time on that Thursday, and for the first time he said how are you. He has never sat down or even walked by and had a proper discussion with me after the issue exploded. The most discussion I ever had with him was in that moment. That was the extent of it, A two minute conversation, Hi, Fiona, how are you? I said, Oh, it's pretty tough, and I apologized to him. I said, I'm sorry they're using me to get to you. I'm
really sorry about that. But she never never told me. And then the only thing he says in relation to this matter ever is we've spoken. That's it. We've spoken, haven't we, and then he walked off.
Brown said, when she read what Morrison had said in parliament about her, that was it.
I realized at that moment that I was collateral damage. I was devastated. I felt grubby.
Thanks for joining us on the front. Keep up with live updates from this trial at the Australian dot Com Dot You