Tanya Plibersek has declined to say whether or not Brittany Higgins’ $3 million payout needs to be referred to the anti-corruption fee.
Environment Minister and National MP Barnaby Joyce spoke to Natalie Barr on Channel Seven’s Sunrise Monday morning, the place Ms Plibersek dodged questions concerning the fee.
“I am confident that the payment has been made completely correctly with all the usual checks and balances you would do in such circumstances,” she stated.
Barr once more tried to get a extra detailed reply from the Secretary of the Environment, however she refused to dig any additional.
“I’m not going to comment further,” Ms Plibersek stated.
Previously, the pair have been requested in the event that they felt Mr Lehrmann deserved his personal pay after the previous Liberal Party staffer stated throughout Sunday’s 7News Spotlight interview that he might by no means work once more as a result of allegation towards him.
Ms Higgins has accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her in Parliament House after an evening out with colleagues in 2019. Mr Lehrmann has all the time denied the allegation.
“I have no opinion on it and I’m not going to comment on it at all,” Ms Plibersek instructed Barr bluntly in response to the query.
Tanya Plibersek has declined to reply questions from Sunrise host Nat Barr about Brittany Higgins’ payout
Barr pressed her and requested, “Not at all?”
“No,” she stated.
Mr Joyce responded by talking out about compensation for Australian battle veterans, which he insinuated was extra necessary than ‘two people in Parliament’.
Barr then requested whether or not Ms. Higgins’ compensation fee needs to be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission after former Defense Secretary Linda Reynolds indicated her intention to boost it with the federal ICAC.
Mr Joyce acknowledged that it was ‘completely plausible’ as there have been ‘many questions to be answered’ and Ms Reynolds, together with many others, needed solutions.
Ms Plibersek gave solely a curt reply to the heated query, with the surroundings minister brushing apart requires an inquiry and revealing why Labor already supported the payout.
It comes after Ms Reynolds claimed that Ms Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson had a set her because the “perfect villain” on The Project, when the previous staffer first went public along with her rape allegations in February 2021.
Ms Higgins (pictured) has accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her in Parliament House after an evening out with colleagues in 2019. Mr Lehrmann has all the time denied the allegation
Barr once more tried to get a extra detailed reply from the surroundings minister, however she refused to elaborate on questions concerning the fee.
Senator Reynolds made her explosive claims on 7News Spotlight throughout her first-ever televised interview about Ms. Higgins’ sexual abuse allegations towards Mr. Lehrmann – who was additionally interviewed.
“I was the perfect villain,” stated Ms. Reynolds.
“While none of it—this is the irony of it—none of it was absolutely true.
“Every good story like this needs a villain, how that was set up with Mrs. Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson.”
In March 2019, within the days following the alleged rape, Ms Higgins did meet with Ms Reynolds and her former chief of employees Fiona Brown.
The assembly was scheduled to deal with a safety breach precipitated when Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann entered the protection suite within the early hours of the morning – the night time of the alleged assault.
Ms Higgins has beforehand stated she revealed her alleged rape to her bosses at that assembly, however Ms Reynolds claims that was not the case in any respect – saying on Sunday night she solely realized of an alleged assault about an hour in the past. week later.
She additionally stated Ms. Higgins by no means used the phrase “rape” of their conversations.
Speaking of the interview with The Project, Ms Reynolds stated the claims towards her ‘hurt’.
Linda Reynolds stated Ms Higgins (pictured collectively entrance left) unnecessarily made her the ‘bad guy’ of the story in her interview with Wilkinson, accusing her of overlaying up the alleged incident.
“It more than hurt, it completely devastated me, the allegations that were aired about me, you can’t think of anything worse or a worse allegation from any woman that you covered up the rape of a young woman in your own office.”
She stated it was worse as a result of, whereas Mr. Lehrmann was fired after the safety breach, she gave Ms. Higgins one other likelihood.
Brittany noticed that after which went in and she or he was rightfully involved about her job.
“We made it clear that she had acted wrongly, but if she wanted to keep her job, she could.
“I definitely gave her a second chance. She was bright, politically aware, just the person we wanted here.’
Ms Reynolds also referred to a taped conversation between Ms Higgins, her now fiancé David Sharaz, Wilkinson and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn in January 2021 – about two weeks before the episode of The Project aired.
During that five-hour chat, Wilkinson let loose on Ms. Reynolds — referring to her as “that damn woman” and skim aloud their non-public conversations.
Mrs. Reynolds stated, “A woman I’ve never met… Where does this hatred come from? It’s visceral… I’ve never met Lisa.”
Mr Lehrmann additionally stated he’s contemplating additional authorized motion after the fallout from the trial – which could possibly be price round $6 million.
Mr Lehrmann prompt he may sue for about $6 million as a result of ‘I will never work again’
CCTV footage exhibits Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins coming into Ms Reynolds’ workplace on the night time in query
“It’s going to have to be a multi-million dollar claim because I have to consider that I may never work again,” he stated.
‘After being smeared and tossed for two or three years now.
‘I am innocent. If we could have had a fair trial and a trial at all, I am fully convinced that it… would have resulted in a not guilty verdict for me.”
He wouldn’t say precisely what quantity he was searching for, however when presenter Liam Bartlett prompt about $6 million, Mr. Lehrmann: “Yes.”
Mr Lehrmann is at the moment suing Channel 10, Lisa Wilkinson and the ABC in a joint defamation declare, which he stated he “will not back down”.
Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer, Steven Whybrow, was additionally interviewed and spoke primarily concerning the conduct of ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold.
The Spotlight interview comes virtually every week after the findings of a committee of inquiry have been handed over by ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr – within the type of a prolonged report of almost 900 pages.
The inquiry, chaired by former Judge Walter Sofronoff, examined how his trial within the ACT Supreme Court final October was dealt with by police and Mr Drumgold.
Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer, Steven Whybrow (pictured), was additionally interviewed and spoke primarily concerning the conduct of ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold.
Mr Sofronoff discovered that the chief prosecutor had “knowingly lied” to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and had “lost objectivity and failed to act with honesty and detachment as required by his role”.
Mr Drumgold resigned as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions final week after the inquiry into the dealing with of Mr Lehrmann’s rape case produced a number of damaging findings towards him, which he has refuted.
Mr Whybrow stated he believes his shopper was not given a good trial, saying the Sofronoff report confirmed there was ‘a loss of objectivity’ within the case towards his shopper.
“According to the Sofronoff report and my experience, Bruce has not received a fair trial,” stated Mr Whybrow.
“Things happened, there was a near, I don’t know how to explain it, but we were against it from the beginning and this case… it was hard.”