Reynolds vs Higgins Day 9: Doubt over Reynolds’ former chief of staff Fiona Brown’s fitness to give evidence

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Reynolds vs Higgins Day 9: Doubt over Reynolds’ former chief of staff Fiona Brown’s fitness to give evidence

Major doubts remain about whether Fiona Brown —the former chief of staff to Linda Reynolds who became deeply embroiled in the Brittany Higgins scandal — will be called to give evidence in the Senator’s bombshell defamation trial.

As the trial pitting the WA politician against her former junior staffer continued, their former colleague Nicky Hamer was called to give evidence about what she remembered of Ms Higgins on the campaign trail in 2019 — just weeks after she says she was ****** in Parliament House.

It was also revealed that a medical report regarding Ms Brown’s current fitness to give evidence is now being pondered by both legal teams, which may mean her being excused from another courtroom grilling.

Earlier hearings, and other proceedings, have heard the impact on Ms Brown of Ms Higgins’ allegations — which include her involvement in handling the complaint from 2019 onwards — has been devastating.

She was deemed well enough to give evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case, but the live stream of that testimony was delayed from broadcast after that court was told it may induce panic attacks.

It is that evidence that Ms Reynolds’ barrister Martin Bennett said they may apply to have included in this trial if she can’t give fresh evidence herself.

“We need to evaluate the report to determine the likelihood of being in a position to call Ms Brown next week, alternatively to apply under the Evidence Act to admit material Ms Brown has given another proceeding,” Mr Bennett said.

Camera IconLinda Reynolds’ former chief of staff Fiona Brown. Credit: MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE

Also tendered into the court were the witness statements of Ms Reynolds’ parents, Laith and Jan Reynolds, after it was agreed they did not have to give their evidence in person.

Mr Bennett said that was not because they didn’t want to.

“Can I say it took a level of persuasion to persuade Senator Reynolds parents, they should give signed a statement rather than attend in person to give their evidence,

“They very much desired to publicly give their evidence (but) it would put a strain on, particularly on Mrs Reynolds to do so.”

During her evidence, Ms Hamer — former media advisor to the senator — was quizzed about the night those allegations aired on The Project, and the overhearing of her boss calling Miss Higgins a “lying cow” even before the episode had concluded.

Ms Hamer said she not only heard the senator accuse Ms Higgins of lying on that night, she heard her say it again on an afternoon a few days later when she returned to the office distressed.

She said she then became involved in drafting media statements apologising for the comments, and explaining how the former defence minister reached a relatively rapid settlement with Ms Higgins, which resulted in a $10,000 payment to a charity.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconNicky Hamer said she overheard Linda Reynolds calling Brittany Higgins a “lying cow”. Credit: BIANCA DE MARCHI/AAPIMAGE

Under cross-examination, Ms Hamer agreed that her junior colleague had needed several ***** days during the 2019 election campaign, but was not told why.

She also said she did not ask Ms Higgins whether she was OK during that time, and was not aware that anyone else in the team did.

“A colleague told you that she needed some time off,” she said.

Ms Hamer’s evidence lasted just over an hour — avoiding a question not asked about a belief held at one time by Senator Reynolds that it had been her that leaked the “lying cow” reference to the media.

And when she left the court, Ms Hamer avoided the waiting cameras by using a side door reserved for workers in the building.

In evidence on Tuesday, former prime minister Scott Morrison told the court he first learnt about the allegation Brittany Higgins was ****** through The Project — telling a court he thought it was “absolutely outrageous” for a minister to call a vulnerable female staff member a “lying cow”.

Mr Morrison made the comments during his evidence in the defamation trial between his former defence minister senator Linda Reynolds and Ms Higgins on Tuesday.

During questioning by Ms Higgins’ defence lawyer, Mr Morrison told the court he publicly rebuffed the senator’s “lying cow” comment because it was unacceptable for a minister to make the comment about anyone.

Mr Morrison found Senator Reynolds’ comment extremely out of character.

Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz over social media posts the couple made in 2022 and 2023.

The posts were critical of Senator Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was ****** in Parliament House in 2019 by her then colleague Mr Lehrmann.

He was charged with ***** and faced trial in 2022, but the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.

The charge was dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to maintain his innocence.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconBrittany Higgins and her husband David Sharaz. Credit: News Corp Australia

Mr Morrison told the court during his evidence that he first found out about Ms Higgins’ allegations through The Project.

While Mr Morrison said he was initially disappointed he had not been told about the incident in the senator’s office, he later learnt that Senator Reynolds chose not to tell out of confidence she entered into with Ms Higgins.

“That was the dilemma,” he said.

Mr Morrison told the court that allegations of ******* ******** and the way it had been handled were two separate but very important issues.

After learning about the incident, he ordered reviews into workplace processes and culture at Parliament House to improve practices that were in place.

He said it was not OK that Ms Higgins felt unsupported and that was never in dispute or an issue.

“I never saw that as a ******** of Senator Reynolds but a ******** for each of them,” he said.

Last week, the senator told the court there was an altercation between the group that led to Ms Hamer sending a resignation letter to Senator Reynolds that she later revoked.

It happened on the day Senator Reynolds was sworn in as the minister for defence industry after Steven Ciobo resigned.

With AAP

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Reynolds #Higgins #Day #Doubt #Reynolds #chief #staff #Fiona #Browns #fitness #give #evidence

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up