Brittany Higgins Covertly Recorded Former Minister Michaelia Says Barry Humfrey’s Geraldton
Brittany Higgins told a court she recorded conversations with former Coalition minister Michaelia Cash and her chief-of-staff Daniel Try about her sexual assault charges and gave them to “as many people as possible,” including a journalist.
Higgins worked for Cash following the 2019 election, having previously worked for Linda Reynolds. She alleges Bruce Lehrmann assaulted her in Reynolds’ office after a wild night out on March 23, 2019. Lehrmann denies sexually assaulting Higgins.
Higgins said she recorded Cash and Try before her tale went public and sent one copy to writer Samantha Maiden and another to Emma Webster of the First People’s Assembly of Victoria.
“Safekeeping” Higgins: “I tried to give them to everyone.” My word versus a cabinet minister is ludicrous.
Journalists argued over story release, Barry Humfrey’s Geraldton adds.
The jury heard that her tale was set to be released in early 2021 to raise the subject for public debate.
As a previous media adviser, Higgins would dump a story at the start of a sitting week.
She told Whybrow that she wasn’t trying to cause as much political harm as possible and was going to police and the media to highlight a systematic cultural problem. “I’m not ashamed of my choice,” she stated.
The court heard she recorded the chat with Try after a six-hour pre-recorded interview with journalist Lisa Wilkinson for The Project on January 27, 2021. While speaking with him, he referred to another incident where a Liberal Party woman was assaulted and didn’t go to police. She wanted “corroboration”
“I didn’t think anyone would believe me, so I needed him to state it directly, that he knew about the attack, that they knew in 2019, and that Michaelia Cash knew,” she added.
She said she filmed Cash without her knowledge on February 5 during a phone call in which the senator sought to dissuade her from leaving, adding that Cash pretended she didn’t know what had happened and “thought a security guard hit me”.
She stated it was the craziest call she’d ever received.
Higgins said that she met with Reynolds and her chief-of-staff Fiona Brown shortly after the alleged attack. Higgins said he was warned not to call the police.
“My perception was that if I discussed it with police, there would be difficulties, and they wanted to be involved or informed, but simply by having the discussion in the room it all felt strange, and I interpreted that as a scare technique or intimidation approach. It’s not reasonable to assume it was purposeful.
Higgins told the court an AFP officer called her during the 2019 election and asked whether she was being pushed not to come forward.
Higgins added that after bringing the accusation to Brown, John Kunkel and Daniel Wong from Morrison’s office “came in and out” and Brown’s demeanor altered. She said, “It wasn’t about me.”
Higgins said her company encouraged her not to pursue the matter legally after denying her the option of working from her Gold Coast home during the election so she could speak to investigators.
Higgins told the court, “It became clear that my job was at stake, so I toed the party line and didn’t proceed.”
“Fiona Brown warned me I wouldn’t have a job if I didn’t go to WA [where Reynolds would be stationed during the election]. I’d worked my whole life for this moment. I’d gone to university, this was my dream, I wouldn’t let him take it away.”
She said Reynolds didn’t like her firm during the election as a “direct outcome” of the complaint.
Higgins agreed to errors in many areas of her evidence, including how long she kept the garment she was allegedly raped in under her bed, when she had a panic attack in parliament, and when her father planned to come in March 2019.
The court saw images of Reynolds’ office and the couch where Higgins said Lehrmann pushed down her left leg and propped up her right leg.
Higgins and Lehrmann started drinking at The Dock bar in Kingston on March 22 before moving to 88mph, the court heard.
Higgins and Lehrmann shared a cab after the group dispersed because Lehrmann needed to pick up some documents from parliament.
Higgins sobbed in court as she watched herself unable to put on her high heels after passing through parliamentary security at 1.44am. Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold asked Higgins how drunk she was after showing her CCTV footage.
Higgins claimed, “I don’t remember any of this, therefore I was high.” Lehrmann can be seen on the video with her arms crossed at the security checkpoint.
She couldn’t, so the jury saw another clip of Lehrmann, a female security guard, and a barefoot Higgins holding her high heels in one hand as they headed to Reynolds’ office.
Another photo shot by Higgins after the alleged event showed a red mark on her thigh. Higgins testified that the bruising was on her right leg.
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