The Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has sent a formal defamation complaint to David Sharaz, the partner of former government staffer Brittany Higgins, over tweets her lawyers claim caused damage that “cannot be underestimated”.
Lawyers for the Reynolds have threatened to take the case to Western Australia’s supreme court as they pursue an apology and damages from the journalist, claiming he made “inaccurate and professionally damaging” criticisms of her online.
Reynolds was a cabinet minister and Higgins’s boss at the time the staffer claimed she was raped by colleague Bruce Lehrmann on a couch inside the minister’s Parliament House office in 2019. Higgins has been highly critical of Reynolds’s response to the allegations, claiming she felt pressure from the then minister not to pursue a police complaint.
Lehrmann was charged but a trial was aborted late last year due to juror misconduct. Prosecutors later dropped charges against Lehrmann, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins’s health.
Lawyers for Reynolds, Perth firm Bennett, sent a concerns notice on 6 January to Sharaz, who lives in Queensland, under Western Australia’s Defamation Act. It raises concerns about two tweets, published to Sharaz’s Twitter account in January and December 2022, which reference Reynolds.
The senator’s lawyers claim the tweets carried defamatory imputations that the senator bullied and continues to bully Higgins, that she interfered with the investigation and trial of criminal proceedings, and that she leaked privileged material regarding the compensation claim settled between Higgins and the federal government.
Her lawyers state that those imputations are “false, without basis and constitute serious defamations of my client”.
“The damage this has caused and continues to cause my client cannot be underestimated,” the notice reads.
It also notes Sharaz’s tweets were reported by several media outlets. The notice seeks an apology and retraction of the tweets, payment of Reynolds’ legal costs, and an “appropriate sum” of compensation.
“From 1 July 2022, the maximum award of damages for non-economic loss arising from a defamatory publication is $443,000,” the notice reads.
It notes that Reynolds reserves her right to commence defamation proceedings in WA’s supreme court, and threatens an application for an injunction to prevent Sharaz publishing further tweets about the senator.
Court documents show Reynolds has complained about tweets on 27 January 2022 and 4 December 2022.
Reynolds is seeking damages including aggravated damages and an injunction restraining Sharaz from publishing further defamatory material or “words substantially similar thereto”, the documents show.
She has also claimed “interest on damages... at the rate of 6% from the date of publication to the date of judgment”.
Sharaz is understood to be represented by Leon Zwier of Sydney firm Arnold Bloch Leibler.
Sharaz and Reynolds were contacted for comment. An Arnold Bloch Leibler spokesperson declined to comment.
It’s understood Sharaz does not plan to settle the case.
Reynolds, who gave evidence during Lehrmann’s trial, was accused of attempting to “coach” defence lawyers during the cross-examination of Higgins and inappropriately seeking to obtain transcripts of her evidence prior to coming to court.
In 2021 Reynolds apologised to Brittany Higgins for calling her “a lying cow”, in comments made privately but subsequently publicly reported, and agreed to pay legal costs and make a donation to a sexual assault charity as part of a confidential settlement.
