Scott Morrison has appeared in a defamation trial to testify about what he knew, and when, of the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office in Canberra in 2019.
Senator Linda Reynolds is suing Higgins over a series of social media posts containing alleged mistruths that Reynolds believes damaged her reputation.
Morrison tuned into the hearing in the Western Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday via a video link from Sydney.
How did we get here?
Morrison was first revealed as a potential witness for Reynolds two months ago, when lawyers for the two sides discussed the timing of the trial and who would be called on to testify.
According to ABC News, Reynolds told reporters after that hearing she had appreciated the support she received from colleagues: “I’ve been particularly grateful in recent times for the support from Scott Morrison and from many other witnesses in this trial in terms of the impact this has had on me and many other people as well.”
What does Morrison have to do with it?
Morrison was prime minister at the time of Higgins’ alleged rape, and remained in that position when news of the allegations broke.
A lawyer for Reynolds, Martin Bennett, said ahead of Tuesday’s hearing that Morrison’s evidence would be “significant”, and that it would address the “degree of confidence” the then prime minister had in Reynolds and how he was “forced to replace her as minister due to her ill health”, according to ABC News.
What did Morrison say?
Morrison told the court on Tuesday he learnt of what had happened in 2021, after Higgins’ allegations about Senator Reynolds’ mishandling of the incident became public.
“I undertook a series of briefings … through my staff … and sought to bring myself up to date as I prepared to face questions in the Parliament,” he told the court.
He agreed Reynolds was “attacked” in the aftermath, and said the reaction to the allegations appeared to be “aggressive” and “coordinated”.
“It was intending to discredit her,” he said. “It was the weaponising of this issue for political purposes to discredit both Senator Reynolds … and the government, and by extension myself.”
Asked what was alleged during the attack, Morrison said: “[That] the government was involved in the cover-up of this issue, which was completely and utterly false, without any foundation.”
How did Reynolds react?
Morrison said he was distressed to see Reynolds experiencing physical and mental symptoms following a question time session after the news broke.
“She was sitting in the whip’s office in a very distressed state … I provided her comfort as a friend but also as her prime minister and leader, and expressed my strong support for her,” Morrison said.
“She was quite visibly, physically stressed and in a highly fragile emotional state at that point.
“I was unaware of her cardiac condition. This was brought to my attention with her permission sometime later and that only deepened my concern.
“I remember for a period there we were very fearful for Senator Reynolds this could be a fatal outcome for her.”
What’s next in the trial?
More evidence will follow, including planned testimony by Higgins, later this month.
Meanwhile, Bruce Lehrmann, Higgins’ alleged rapist and another former employee of Reynolds, is appealing a verdict in a different defamation suit, brought by him in 2023 against Network 10.
In April, a judge in that trial wrote in his verdict that Lehrmann had, on the balance of probablities, raped Higgins.
The rape allegation was previously the subject of a criminal trial, which was derailed by juror misconduct before the charge was dropped. Lehrmann maintains his innocence.
— With AAP
