Brittany Higgins’ former superior is set to engage in a legal battle against the federal government, concerning allegations that it failed to offer her the necessary protection following her shocking claims of being raped within Parliament House.
Fiona Brown, who served as chief-of-staff to then-defense minister Linda Reynolds in 2019, became a central figure when Higgins accused her colleague, Bruce Lehrmann, of raping her in Reynolds’ office.
Federal Court Justice Michael Lee noted that Brown demonstrated compassion and integrity in responding to Higgins’ complaint. However, he also observed that she was unjustly portrayed as a heartless political operative attempting to conceal a crime.
Should the trial move forward, it will occur a full eight years after Higgins confided in Brown about waking up semi-naked in their boss’s office, a revelation that deeply shocked Brown when Higgins later described Lehrmann being on top of her, according to Justice Lee’s findings.
In his ruling, Justice Lee determined that Lehrmann was so determined to have sexual relations with Higgins that he disregarded whether she was consenting, revealing a disturbing disregard for her autonomy.
He ruled that Lehrmann had been so “hell-bent” on having sex with Higgins that he didn’t care whether she was consenting.
Lehrmann has long denied raping Higgins. A criminal trial was abandoned in 2022 with no findings made against him.
His defamation lawsuit against Network 10 resulted in a finding to the lesser civil standard of the balance of probabilities that Higgins was proven to be a victim of sexual assault.
“Having escaped the lions’ den, Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Justice Lee quipped.
