KEY POINTS:
- Linda Reynolds has threatened her former staffer Brittany Higgins.
- Higgins says the notice was related to an Instagram story she posted.
- Reynolds was Higgins' employer at the time she alleged she was raped.
This article contains references to sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has threatened to sue her former staffer Brittany Higgins over an Instagram post.
Reynolds was the defence industry minister in 2019, when Higgins alleges she was raped by her colleague, Bruce Lehrmann, inside Parliament House.
Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence and consistently The criminal case was discontinued after last year after juror misconduct without making any findings against him. Prosecutors , citing fears the impact could harm Higgins' life.
Linda Reynolds was Higgins' boss at the time of the alleged rape. Source: AAP
"I’ve just received a concerns notice from [Linda Reynolds] threatening defamation over an Instagram story. I’m considering my legal options," Higgins said on Twitter.
A statement from Reynolds' office on Thursday read: "Yesterday my lawyers sent a concerns notice to Ms Brittany Higgins.
"That was a private communication, which she has chosen to make public. Ever since Ms Higgins first made her allegations of rape public, I have been the target of unwarranted criticism and abuse.
"Despite her repeated defamation of my character, until now I have not taken any action against her personally - even though I considered her words to breach our previous settlement agreement.
"Yesterday Ms Higgins made yet another defamatory post about me. I have had enough. I will not tolerate being defamed by her or anybody."
What's the background?
Reynolds has repeatedly flagged an intention to refer the circumstances surrounding a compensation payout Higgins received from the Commonwealth following the rape trial to t (NACC).
The NACC revealed on Wednesday it had received over 300 referrals for investigation since it started operating on 1 July, including 60 which it said related to "matters well publicised in the media". It did not reveal whether Reynolds' proposed claim had officially been referred.
On Monday, Higgins posted an Instagram story depicting two news articles related to Reynolds' comments on the referral.
"This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop. These are just headlines from today. This is from a current Australian senator who continues to harass me through the media and in the parliament. My former boss who has publicly apologised for mishandling my rape allegation," she captioned the picture.
It is not clear whether that was the post at the centre of Reynolds' defamation threat.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has denied misleading parliament. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
What's behind the potential referral?
Reynolds had intimated she would report Higgins' payout from the Commonwealth, after allegations Finance Minister Katy Gallagher had misled Parliament over her knowledge about the allegation.
The Finance Department, which Gallagher now heads, settled Higgins' claim that she was medically unfit for work shortly after the criminal trial was aborted.
Reynolds described the process as “unusually swift” and said it raised “serious questions” about how the money was allocated.
In Opposition, Gallagher told Senate estimates in 2021 that "no one had any knowledge" of Higgins' rape allegation before it was published in the media.
But that claim was thrown into doubt after leaked text messages between Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, showing Sharaz telling Higgins he had informed Gallagher of the allegation in the days before it became public.
Gallagher denied misleading Parliament, saying her comments were a response to a claim that Labor members had known about the allegation for weeks prior to its publication.
She said she was shocked by the Coalition's "clear implication that I was responsible or had some involvement with making that story public”.
“I was provided with information in the days before the allegations were first reported and I did nothing with that information. Absolutely nothing. I was asked to keep it to myself and I did," she told Parliament.
This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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