{"id":316436,"date":"2025-11-14T11:18:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T01:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=316436"},"modified":"2025-11-14T11:18:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T01:18:47","slug":"secret-documents-reveal-alleged-labor-plot-behind-2-4-million-brittany-higgins-payout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=316436","title":{"rendered":"Secret documents reveal alleged Labor plot behind $2.4 million Brittany Higgins payout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Previously secret documents have revealed the alleged tactics Labor used which denied Linda Reynolds of her defence against Brittany Higgins’ claims of a political cover-up, which ultimately resulted in Ms Higgins receiving a $2.4 million Commonwealth payout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Australian, the cache of documents show Commonwealth lawyers allegedly ignored Ms Reynolds’ instructions and failed to provide the former senator with crucial information about the settlement process.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms Reynolds has taken the Commonwealth and law firm HWL Ebsworth to court over the controversial settlement, which was awarded to Ms Higgins in 2022 following just a single day of mediation, saying she was forcibly excluded from negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former senator also alleges Ms Higgins’ claims of a political cover-up of her rape claim against Bruce Lehrmann were false and should not have been used as the basis for the multimillion dollar payout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two separate defamation rulings, one from Justice Michael Lee and another from Justice Paul Tottle, found Ms Higgins’ cover-up claims lacked merit.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Ms Reynolds alleges Ms Higgins’ claims of a political cover-up of her rape claim against Bruce Lehrmann were false and should not have been used as the basis for the multimillion dollar payout. Picture: Colin Murty<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details of the settlement had been largely shrouded in secrecy, with Ms Reynolds having been denied access to the agreement until Justice Lee ordered its disclosure last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest trove of documents came via discovery in Ms Reynolds’ defamation suit against Ms Higgins in Western Australia’s Supreme Court, where Justice Tottle awarded the former senator more than $340,00 in damages and interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sky News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Previously secret documents have surfaced showing the alleged tactics Labor used which denied Linda Reynolds of her defence against Brittany Higgins’ claims of a political cover-up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":315899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,999,35],"tags":[10839,9035,11339],"class_list":["post-316436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-australia-politics","category-breaking-news","tag-australian-labor-party","tag-brittany-higgins","tag-linda-reynolds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t