Defamation

A judge has rejected a top orthopaedic surgeon’s bid to uncover the names of 13 sources who gave information to a Nine journalist, preferring the public interest in protecting the sources’ identities and noting their fears of reprisals by the Sydney surgeon. 

A judge has refused a bid by the ACT Police Chief to intervene on behalf of the AFP in Shane Drumgold SC legal challenge to the findings of an inquiry into the prosecution of Brittany Higgins’ assault claims against Bruce Lehrmann, but has allowed six police officers to be joined to defend the findings.

The judge overseeing Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson has rejected a bid by the former chief of staff to then defence minister Linda Reynolds to avoid giving evidence on the basis of “harm it may cause to her health conditions”. 

The former chief of staff for MP Linda Reynolds has denied that Brittany Higgins disclosed an alleged sexual assault to her in March 2019.

A Queensland MP known to Brittany Higgins has told a court that the former Liberal staffer told him that a  colleague had raped her, just days after she was allegedly assaulted by Bruce Lehrmann.

Network Ten journalist Lisa Wilkinson has been accused of bias towards former defence minister Linda Reynolds because of a message she sent hours before an episode of The Project aired in which Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped in Parliament House, in which she said the senator was “lying through her teeth”.

Bruce Lehrmann will not call Brittany Higgins back to the witness box in his defamation trial against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilksinon to give evidence on a secret recording of a conversation between her fiancé and solicitor.

A judge overseeing the trial in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson has asked to see the legal advice Wilkinson received before giving her Logies acceptance speech last year, saying it was “inconceivable” any lawyer would have approved it.

The Project producer Angus Llewellyn has testified that Bruce Lehrmann was given a reasonable chance to respond to rape allegations made by Brittany Higgins, and dismissed as “ridiculous” the suggestion that he indicated to Higgins and her partner David Sharaz that he was going to “do a number” on Lehrmann. 

The judge overseeing the trial in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten intervened on Wednesday during cross-examination of The Project producer Angus Llewellyn, apparently dissatisfied with Llewellyn’s response when asked whether he believed Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz had a “political agenda”.