A woman who was with Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins on the night Ms Higgins was allegedly raped has told the Federal Court she saw the pair kiss and touch each other at a nightclub before they went to Parliament House in the early hours of the morning.
Key points:
- Bruce Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over coverage of Brittany Higgins's rape allegation
- Lawyers for Mr Lehrmann have suggested he quickly became identified as the alleged rapist following the broadcast
- Witnesses who were with the pair on the night in question have given evidence to the defamation trial
Lauren Gain worked in the Department of Defence at the time and on Wednesday provided evidence to Mr Lehrmann's defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
He is suing over an interview with Ms Higgins on The Project, in which she alleged she was raped at Parliament House in 2019.
Mr Lehrmann's criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court was aborted, and plans for a re-trial were abandoned, leaving no findings against him.
Ms Gain and another political staffer, Austin Wenke, went with Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann to 88mph — a nightclub in central Canberra — on the night in question, after they had previously been at a function at a different venue.
She told the court the pair were sitting quite close together at the nightclub, and were "quite touchy" with each other.
"I remember his hands on her thighs and her hands on his thighs," Ms Gain said.
"I remember them kissing, and I remember her taking selfies of the two of them."
Mr Lehrmann has previously told the court he was verbally flirtatious, but had no physical contact with Ms Higgins.
Ms Gain also told the court she remembered Ms Higgins falling over in the nightclub.
"I remember her being on the ground and I remember Bruce helping her to her feet and back into the booth," she said.
Bruce Lehrmann's identity as alleged rapist 'open secret' among staffers
Mr Wenke also testified to the court on Wednesday, where he was questioned about whether he knew Ms Higgins's allegations referred to Mr Lehrmann when her accusations were aired publicly in February 2021.
While Mr Lehrmann was not named in the broadcast of The Project, he claims he was identifiable by other details.
A story had also been published by news.com.au earlier in the day by reporter Samantha Maiden.
Mr Wenke told the court he had become aware throughout the day of who the man alleged to have raped Ms Higgins was.
"I don't recall thinking of anybody else," he said.
Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow suggested Mr Lehrmann's identity was "an open secret" among staffers at Parliament House.
"It's probably a fair conclusion," Mr Wenke replied.
Court heard Bruce Lehrmann thought Brittany Higgins was 'good-looking'
Meanwhile, two former staffers for Senator Linda Reynolds — for whom both Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann worked — have given differing accounts over a gathering the pair attended in the weeks prior to the alleged rape.
Former media adviser Nikki Hamer told the court she invited Ms Higgins to Canberra's Kingston Hotel the day Senator Reynolds was sworn in as the then minister for Defence Industry.
"Bruce made a comment about Brittany being good looking and asked me if I knew her," Ms Hamer said.
"He asked me to see if she was free to pop down to the pub."
The court heard that later, when Ms Higgins went to leave, Mr Lehrmann tried to persuade her to stay.
"Bruce took her phone away as a bit of play I guess, to kind of stop her being able to book her Uber," Ms Hamer said.
She said after Ms Higgins left, Mr Lehrmann told Ms Hamer she had overreacted to the interaction.
"[He said] something along the lines of me always being a feminist and feeling like I have to go and defend women," Ms Hamer told the court.
But another former adviser who was present at the gathering, Jesse Wotton, told the court he did not recall anyone taking Ms Higgins's phone.
"Mr Lehrmann asked her to stay for a drink, I did the same, we both said it a further time," he said.
The trial continues on Thursday, and is expected to hear from Ms Higgins's close friend Ben Dillaway, to who she disclosed the alleged rape in the days after, and the Parliament House security guards who saw the pair arrive on the night of the alleged rape.
Media settlements with Bruce Lehrmann made public
Documents released by the Federal Court late on Wednesday also revealed that Mr Lehrmann received more than $400,000 in settlements over a defamation claim from News Life Media and the ABC.
Mr Lehrmann's initial defamation case had also included a claim against News Life Media — the parent company of news.com.au — and the ABC.
News Life Media settled with Mr Lehrmann in May and on the first day of Mr Lehrmann's defamation hearings, the ABC also settled with Mr Lehrmann.
The details of those settlements have now come to light after the Federal Court ordered the documents be produced.
News Life Media paid Mr Lehrmann $295,000 for his legal costs in a claim over articles written by journalist Samantha Maiden about Ms Higgins's claim she was raped at Parliament House.
Maiden was the first to run a story with Ms Higgins's allegation — published the same day the interview with The Project aired — although Mr Lehrmann was also not named in the story.
Maiden's stories remain online with an editor's note, which says that the criminal charge against Mr Lehrmann for sexual assault was dropped and news.com.au does not suggest that Mr Lehrmann was guilty of that charge.
The documents filed with the court also show the ABC agreed to pay $150,000 in legal fees as part of its settlement with Mr Lehrmann over the broadcast of a speech by Brittany Higgins at the National Press Club.
That was after Mr Lehrmann had been charged, but before his criminal trial had begun.
The vast bulk of the settlement — $143,000 — accounts for legal fees incurred by Mr Lehrmann, while the remaining $7,000 covers the costs of lawyers acting for ABC journalist Laura Tingle, in connection with her compliance with a subpoena in the case.
The ABC has also agreed not to re-publish the video of the speech on YouTube, and has published a statement on its corrections and clarifications page.
"Bruce Lehrmann commenced defamation proceedings against the ABC, claiming that the broadcast of the National Press Club address accused him of sexually assaulting Ms Higgins," the statement reads.
"The ABC notes that a criminal charge of sexual assault brought against Mr Lehrmann in the ACT was later dropped.
"The ABC does not suggest Mr Lehrmann was guilty of that charge."
The deed confirms the ABC has made no admission of liability.