$135k for a tweet: Linda Reynolds wins defamation case against Brittany Higgins
Former West Australian senator Linda Reynolds has won her defamation case against Brittany Higgins, with a Supreme Court judge finding some social media posts made by former political staffer were untrue, designed to discredit and “actuated by malice”.
Reynolds sued Higgins for defamation in the wake of the latter’s 2019 rape in Reynold’s ministerial office in Parliament House in Canberra. An earlier court case found that “on the balance of probablities”, Bruce Lehrmann raped Higgins.
Linda Reynolds in her Senate days
Reynolds was subsequently portrayed by Higgins as involved in a cover up of the rape allegation, which Reynolds denied vehemently and took Higgins to court over.
In a lengthy judgment, WA Supreme Court Justice Paul Tottle found that Higgins’ allegation that Reynolds had pressured her into not proceeding with a complaint to the police was untrue. Justice Tottle awarded Reynolds a total of $315,000 in damages (with an additional $26,000 in interest), including $135,000 for a single tweet sent in January 2022.
The judge described one particular Instagram story post as “gratuitous” and malicious.
“The defendant and Mr [David] Sharaz [Higgin’s partner] took advantage of the ‘Empowering women’ [Instagram] story to discredit [Reynolds] in a manner that was quite gratuitous,” the judge wrote in his findings. “In effect, the publication of the tweet was actuated by malice … the purpose of the tweet was to remind people of the defendant’s untrue allegation the plaintiff had pressured the defendant not to proceed with a complaint to the police. I accept features of the tweet and the circumstances in which it was made aggravated the feelings of anger, depression and frustration described by the plaintiff in her evidence.”
Justice Tottle also found that Higgins had successfully defended some aspects of the case. Tweets she made in July 2023 about Reynolds were defamatory, but were defensible because they were matters of opinion and made in the context of discussing a matter of public interest. A claim of conspiracy was also dimissed.
While the judge made no ruling on costs, saying he would hear from the parties, it is probable that given Reynolds largely proved her case, Higgins will be left to bear the legal costs of both parties. These will almost certainly overshadow the damages awarded.
Today, former Senator Reynolds received justice.
One day, I hope her former chief of staff Fiona Brown does as well.
What both these women have been put through is a national disgrace.
The suggestions/allegations made against the former senator and her chief of staff was, is, and always has been, a totally separate issue to one’s position on the Higgins/ Lehrmann rape allegations.
This whole torrid affair has cost Australia two fine and dedicated public servants in Reynolds and Brown.
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