Category Archives: Law (Australia)

The defamation trial gripping Australia: Bruce Lehrmann, Brittany Higgins and the witnesses so far

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An allegation of rape, fiercely denied, in a ministerial office is being interrogated by weeks of testimony and cross-examination in a defamation trial brought by the accused

It has become one of Australia’s most convoluted and damaging political sagas, polarising the public.

An allegation of rape, fiercely denied, in a ministerial office in Parliament House has been discussed in news reports, interviews, speeches, and reams of commentary. It was examined in an aborted criminal trial, covered in four separate inquiries and now the first of several related civil cases is again calling witnesses and poring over evidence.

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Australia’s freedom of information system ‘dysfunctional and broken’, inquiry finds

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Senate panel’s Labor members disagree with report, saying opposition-led probe failed to acknowledge Coalition’s ‘longstanding attempts to weaken’ FoI laws

Australia’s freedom of information regime has become “dysfunctional and broken” after years of funding and resourcing neglect and chronic backlogs caused in part by a pro-secrecy culture within the bureaucracy, a Senate committee has found.

The recent resignation of the freedom of information commissioner, who was less than 12 months into a five-year term, has also been described as a “symptom” of the troubles faced by the system designed to make federal government processes transparent.

The watchdog has been facing increasing scrutiny in recent years as a result of an ever-growing backlog of requests to review FoI decisions, hampered by bureaucratic and legislative roadblocks.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: lipreader allowed to testify about what Lehrmann, Brittany Higgins and others said in bar CCTV footage

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Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court of Australia for defamation. Follow the latest news and updates from the trial today

Before the lunch break Justice Lee is hearing legal argument about the admissibility of evidence from two experts called by the defence.

One is a lip-reading expert based in the UK who has watched the CCTV footage from the Dock and interpreted what the subjects were saying.

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Linda Reynolds sues ACT government and former chief prosecutor

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Liberal senator says widely reported letter by Shane Drumgold to AFP caused significant ‘loss and damage’

Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has launched another high-profile defamation action, this time against the ACT government and former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold.

A writ lodged in the West Australian supreme court on Monday says Drumgold sent a letter accusing the senator of “disturbing conduct” during Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial.

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Offshore oil regulator ‘avoiding scrutiny’ over approval for Woodside blasting and drilling

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Environmental lawyers concerned Nopsema has not published its reasons for approving work at Scarborough gas development

Environmental lawyers have raised concern the offshore petroleum regulator is attempting to avoid scrutiny by not publishing its reasons for approving seismic blasting and drilling for a major fossil fuel development in northern Western Australia.

The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) granted approval for seismic testing and drilling of up to 10 wells for Woodside’s $16.5bn Scarborough gas development last Friday.

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‘Unacceptable risk’ test to determine if freed migrants go back to detention under proposed law

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Labor hopes to push new laws through parliament this week to allow courts to order the re-detention of migrants or refugees freed after the landmark NZYQ high court ruling

People freed from immigration detention will be re-detained if a court agrees they pose an unacceptably high risk of committing a “serious violent or sexual offence” under proposed new Australian laws.

After a landmark high court ruling that indefinite immigration detention was unconstitutional, the Australian government will this week seek urgent passage of a proposal to allow some of the released migrants or refugees to be re-detained for up to three years at a time.

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Brittany Higgins wore dress she was allegedly raped in to Liberal function weeks later to ‘reclaim it’, court hears

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Former Liberal staffer tells federal court defamation trial she initially thought she could ‘disassociate’ from the alleged rape

Brittany Higgins has told a court she wore the white dress she was allegedly raped in six weeks later to a Liberal function in an attempt to “reclaim it” and “disassociate it from the rape”.

But what was once her “favourite” pencil dress that she “used to wear all the time” was not reclaimed and was never worn again, Higgins told the federal court on Friday.

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Stage set for national cabinet clash over GST – as it happened

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The NSW Australian Paramedics Association will take part in a 12-hour strike today, from 7am to 7pm, despite the threat of legal action.

Members will still attend emergency “lights and sirens” jobs as part of an ongoing pay dispute.

We want to assure the public that emergencies will still be attended to, with our focus intensifying on life-threatening cases.

Our decision to limit responses to non-emergency jobs enhances our capacity to manage critical cases.

Facing potential legal repercussions and a substantial fine of up to $20,000 per day, our commitment remains firm.

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Lehrmann proceedings day seven – as it happened

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Brittany Higgins says she does not count Linda Reynolds and her chief of staff Fiona Brown as villains in her story.

“Fiona Brown was just following instructions and I’ve never blamed her and I don’t blame her,” Higgins said.

“Linda Reynolds avoided me in my view, and did not meet her duty of care. I felt unsupported. I felt unsupported by both of them, but I don’t count them as villains in this story. I just don’t think they did the right thing by me.”

Higgins said her experience damaged her relationship with the Liberal party and she revealed she is no longer a Liberal.

She denied a suggestion from Whybrow that she leaked her story to the media in order to damage the Liberal party ahead of the election.

“I had no intention of impacting the election, but I did want to change the culture in Parliament House,” Higgins said.

“I was angry at the culture of Parliament House and I was hurt by the Liberal party, but I was still a Liberal.

“No longer, but I was still for a really long time.”

• an earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the election referred to as being in 2019

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Leading brands misled consumers about ‘premium’ dishwashing tablets, Australian court finds

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Procter & Gamble, maker of 30-Minute Miracle and Fairy, and Finish Ultimate Plus manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser engaged in misleading conduct, the federal court ruled

Two big names in the highly competitive Australian dishwashing tablet market violated consumer law with unscientific claims that their premium products were better than others in their own range, a court has found.

Procter & Gamble, the maker of 30-Minute Miracle and Fairy dishwashing tablets, was found to have engaged in misleading conduct, making representations that were liable to give consumers the wrong impression.

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Australia politics live: Albanese says Israel-Hamas war protest at Melbourne hotel ‘beyond contempt’

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Chalmers: ‘We are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation’

Is Jim Chalmers confident that interest rates could fall from next year?

My job is to focus on this fight against inflation. And we saw overnight from the OECD, we saw from Deloitte Access Economics, we saw in the Bureau of Statistics data which came out yesterday, that we are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation and that will determine the future directory trajectory of interest rates

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Telehealth consultations for voluntary assisted dying are illegal under Australian law, court finds

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Federal court rules that the definition of ‘suicide’ under criminal law applies to VAD

Telehealth consultations about voluntary assisted dying are illegal, the federal court has ruled in a judgment on an aspect of law that has long been considered a grey area.

The ruling means doctors might face criminal charges for conducting such consultations, as sections of the Commonwealth Criminal Code make it an offence to use a carriage service such as a telephone, videoconference call, or email to counsel or incite someone to suicide.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: Brittany Higgins tells court accusation she lied about rape to keep job is ‘insulting’ and ‘incorrect’

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A warning for readers: this blog contains graphic details of allegations of sexual assault. Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson in the federal court of Australia over allegations Higgins was raped by a Liberal staffer in Parliament House. Follow the latest news and updates

Higgins questioned about sequence of events

Steve Whybrow SC asked Higgins: “I’m suggesting to you that you alter and evolve your evidence as you find that extra information. Do you accept that?”

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live: Brittany Higgins tells court of her alleged rape by Lehrmann at Parliament House

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A warning for readers: this blog contains graphic details of allegations of sexual assault.
Lehrmann has sued Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, alleging they have defamed him. Follow the latest news from the federal court today

Bruce Lehrmann has arrived at court this morning:

He is now present in the courtroom as Brittany Higgins gives her evidence – sitting in the front row in the furthest seat from the witness box.

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Lehrmann proceedings day five – as it happened

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Bruce Lehrmann has admitted his rent was paid by the Seven Network for his interview on the Spotlight program.

Lehrmann agreed under cross-examination that Seven had paid his rent for 12 months as part of the deal.

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Immigration detention: Rohingya refugee NZYQ given sex offender counselling sessions in ‘very special deal’

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Commonwealth warned lack of counselling would weaken its case as advocates say those still in immigration detention cannot access similar programs

The Rohingya refugee who overturned indefinite detention in the high court was given 52 counselling sessions for sex offenders, but only after a judge warned failure to provide it would weaken the commonwealth’s case against him.

One advocate labelled it a “very special deal”, complaining that those still in immigration detention, as well as the 92 other people released as a result of the high court’s decision, do not have access to similar programs.

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Bruce Lehrmann tells court he did not have sex with Brittany Higgins while she was ‘semi-conscious or passed out’

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At defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, Lehrmann says two later emails he sent Higgins failed to mention evening because it was ‘uneventful’

Bruce Lehrmann has denied during his defamation trial having sexual intercourse with Brittany Higgins while she was “semi-conscious or passed out” on a couch in Parliament House.

At Lehrmann’s civil case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, Matt Collins KC for Ten put a series of propositions to him about what happened between 1.48am and 2.30am on 23 March 2019.

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Lies, whisky and an after-hours visit: Bruce Lehrmann admits he didn’t tell police truth during defamation trial cross examination

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Former Liberal staffer also tells defamation trial that he didn’t tell Brittany Higgins he was leaving office because he ‘wasn’t even sure she was still there’

Bruce Lehrmann said he must have been “mistaken” when he told the Australian Federal Police he did not have any alcohol in his office – and under cross-examination he conceded he had multiple bottles of whisky and gin at the time.

The former Liberal staffer also admitted telling three different stories – including two that were lies – about the reason for his after-hours visit to Parliament House but denied sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins after they entered the ministerial office together.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). The crisis support service Lifeline is at 13 11 14.

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Immigration detention: Rohingya refugee NZYQ freed after high court case did not show remorse for raping 10-year-old

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Psychologist noted ‘risk factors’ for possible reoffending including ‘attitudes’ stemming from his own childhood abuse, court documents reveal

The plaintiff who overturned the legality of indefinite immigration detention in the high court was found to be owed protection because he experienced forced labour and his brother was abducted and killed in Myanmar.

Previously unreported details of the stateless Rohingya refugee, known as NZYQ, were contained in court documents published on Tuesday, including that the judge did not find he had shown remorse in relation to his conviction for the rape of a 10-year-old boy, despite pleading guilty. The documents also show a psychologist had noted “risk factors” for possible reoffending including “attitudes” stemming from his own childhood abuse.

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Labor and Coalition team up to retrospectively authorise ‘unlawful’ use of material gathered by Australian agency

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Bill authorises previous uses of coercive powers, removing legal question mark that had dogged Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission

Labor and the Coalition teamed up to pass a bill retrospectively authorising potentially “unlawful” use of material gathered in special investigations by Australia’s most secretive law enforcement agency.

The bill is the third attempt to cure a long-running legal defect in the powers of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to conduct special investigations and operations.

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