Ex-PM ensnared in legal battle over Higgins scandal
Former prime minister Scott Morrison is among dozens of people wanted by government lawyers defending against Brittany Higgins’ compensation claim from her former boss.
The former Liberal leader is ensnared in the case of Fiona Brown, who claims she made false statements to parliament after the Higgins rape scandal broke in 2021.
Ms Brown, a former employee in Mr Morrison’s office, is suing the Commonwealth for damages, saying the government silenced her from responding to accusations about its handling of Ms Higgins’ allegations.
He took up a leadership role in the prime minister’s office in February 2021 and was private secretary to then senator Linda Reynolds in 2019 when Ms Higgins said a Reynolds staffer raped her in Parliament House.
His case returned to Federal Court on Monday after Judge Nye Perram ordered mediation in late April or early May after the Commonwealth presented its defense.
The federal government’s lawyer, Matthew Minucci, asked for more time to prepare the document, saying his client needed to contact the 32 people named in Brown’s case, including Mr. Morrison.
Ms Brown’s amended statement of claim was filed in late November.
Judge Perram agreed to hold two separate hearings on the matter, the first of which would discuss the government’s liability for the alleged failures and the amount of damages it would have to pay.
If the government cannot successfully defend the case, a second hearing on penalties will be held.
In the 106-page court filing, Ms Brown claims she was suspended from leadership meetings and that the then prime minister refused to speak to her after the scandal broke in early 2021.
Labor then used question period to probe Mr Morrison about claims that Ms Brown did not support Ms Higgins, prompting the prime minister to say: “I have had those conversations with a member of staff.”
“I discussed these issues with him and the support provided at that time in the messages sent to him,” he said in his address to parliament.
Mr Morrison claims he then had a brief conversation with Ms Brown for the first and only time.
“We talked, didn’t we?” He is alleged to have said.
Ms Brown “surprised” replied “yes” and Mr Morrison left, the application said.
The application stated that “(Ms Brown) complained that she felt frightened, intimidated and upset by Prime Minister Morrison.”
The former prime minister has been contacted for comment.
The former aide also accuses Morrison and his senior advisers of preventing Higgins from personally responding to the false allegations.
Ms Higgins’ appearance on Network Ten’s The Project involved identifying Ms Brown by name and accusing her of abuse over the mishandling of the rape, the documents show.
What contradicted Ms Higgins’ claim was an alleged text message to Ms Brown thanking her for her support immediately after the rape.
Ms. Brown, who is suing under the Fair Work Act, claims the federal government scapegoated and sidelined her, causing her such psychological injury that she attempted suicide.
In an earlier Federal Court case, Judge Michael Lee found Ms Higgins had shown compassion and honesty in her handling of her complaint but had been unfairly maligned as a callous apparatchik trying to cover up a crime.
Judge Lee’s finding that, on the balance of probabilities, Bruce Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins was confirmed by the Federal Court in December.
Lehrmann’s criminal trial was derailed by juror misconduct.
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