Former staffer Brittany Higgins will no longer be called to take the witness stand in WA Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against her in an 11th-hour bombshell underpinned by concerns for her health.
On Monday, Higgins’ lawyer Rachael Young, SC, told the WA Supreme Court the 29-year-old would no longer be called to take the witness stand, referring to top-secret documents concerning her medical state.
WA Senator Linda Reynolds has taken defamation action against Brittany Higgins.Credit: Holly Thompson/ Supplied
Higgins, who is expecting her first child with husband David Sharaz, had been due to travel to Perth from her new home in the south of France to give evidence over five days from August 26.
But Young SC told the court the defence no longer considered that necessary.
Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett told the court he would be taking the day to consider the development and how it may affect the rest of the trial.
The former defence minister has been pursuing Higgins for damages, as well as aggravated damages, over a series of social media posts from 2023 that she claims accused her of mishandling her rape allegation and attempting to silence victims of sexual assault.
Higgins is defending the action on the basis the substance of the posts was true.
Higgins had been due to give sworn testimony on what unfolded in the days after Higgins’ alleged rape by Bruce Lehrmann in the former defence minister’s office after a night out on March 23, 2019.
Lehrmann denies the claim and his 2022 criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
Source Agencies
