Questions surrounding former Liberal Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ “recanting” of evidence given to the A.C.T. Supreme Court in the Lehrmann trial remain unanswered.
*CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape
*Also listen to the audio version of this article on Spotify HERE.
So does the question of whether or not Reynolds misled the Federal Parliament on the matter.
We’ve heard little from Reynolds since her spectacular backtrack during the Channel 7 program, Spotlight, which aired in August 2023, regarding her sworn testimony in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in Reynolds’ office in Parliament House in March 2019.
Lehrmann denies the charge and his trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
Reynolds told the court she did not know of any sexual element in the events that occurred in her office, specifically, that she was unaware of Ms Higgins’ allegation that Lehrmann “had been on top” of her.
Reynolds said she believed she spoke the truth during the trial and had only become aware after the trial was aborted of her then chief of staff Fiona Brown’s evidence to the contrary.
As reported by Samantha Maiden on news.com.au:
During the trial, Ms Brown confirmed she was aware by Friday that Ms Higgins had told her in a meeting, “I remember him on top of me”.
Ms Brown also told the Supreme Court that she informed Senator Reynolds what Ms Higgins had said before their 1 April meeting with Ms Higgins in her ministerial suite.
Ms Reynolds has denied this under oath and in parliament.
Reynolds' lawyers, Bennett, indicated in a statement to news.com.au, that the Senator had given evidence 'to the best of her recollection’ :
Since the trial, Senator Reynolds has had the opportunity to discuss the matter with Ms Brown, which has prompted our client’s recall of further information...
Having reflected further on this issue and with the benefit of discussing with Ms Brown, Senator Reynolds now recalls this conversation and, therefore, during the Spotlight interview, Senator Reynolds relayed this point to Liam Bartlett.
The contradictions in the two women’s testimonies were startling and went to the heart of the rape allegation. Brown’s evidence supported Higgins’ narrative, whilst Reynolds’ denial of knowledge of any “sexual element” appeared to confirm Lehrmann’s account and damage Higgins’ credibility.
This was the contradiction the jury faced that could well have contributed to its inability to reach a verdict before the trial was aborted.
Considering the outcome of the trial may well have been determined by Reynolds’ failure to recall this vital detail, the announcement of her recovered memory of the conversation with Brown appears cavalier.
According to the Criminal Defence Lawyers Australia website, in the A.C.T.:
It will be considered “aggravated perjury” where the person gives a false statement, while being under oath, in order to procure the person’s or someone else’s conviction for, or acquittal of, an offence.
It provides that the court may also find a person guilty of aggravated perjury, even if the person is reckless about whether the statement is false, rather than actually knowing it was.
We are unaware if Reynolds has done anything other than confess her memory lapse on Sunday night television or if any appropriate scrutiny has followed.
Are we to accept that a witness, particularly one of such standing as a minister of the Crown, herself a legislator, can announce to the media that she is recanting vital sworn testimony in a criminal trial, without so much as a murmur of protest from anyone?
Will Reynolds be required to inform Parliament as to whether she misled it, with her denial that she knew of the alleged “sexual element” in the events in her office that night?
Will Reynolds be required to explain why, if she was unaware of an alleged “sexual element” or allegations of a crime being committed against Higgins, she advised that Ms Higgins go to the police?
These questions need answers.
But first of all, they need someone with standing in the matter to ask them.
If you would like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
*This article is also available on audio here:
Dr Jennifer Wilson is an IA columnist, a psychotherapist and an academic. You can follow Jennifer on Twitter @NoPlaceForSheep.
Related Articles
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
Support independent journalism Subscribe to IA.
