A blockbuster defamation trial brought by Senator Linda Reynolds against Brittany Higgins, over a series of social media posts, has entered its final days. In a blistering final submission, Ms Higgins' lawyer described the Senator as an unreliable witness whose testimony was gratuitous and self-serving, while also reminding the court of the heavy burden her client was carrying as a victim of crime.
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00:00Throughout this lengthy trial, Brittany Higgins' lawyer has given little away.
00:06I'm sorry, I'm not going to comment.
00:08Can you say when Brittany Higgins will appear here in court?
00:12Rachel Young SC reserving her powder for her closing address in the fifth and final week.
00:17The trial's heard competing versions of events about what happened in the aftermath of Miss Higgins' allegation
00:22she was raped inside Parliament House in 2019.
00:25In a scathing address, Miss Higgins' lawyer questioned the reliability of Senator Reynolds' evidence
00:30describing it as gratuitous and self-serving at times.
00:33Suggesting Senator Reynolds did not always believe Miss Higgins had been raped.
00:37She told the court Miss Higgins only went public with her ordeal for altruistic reasons
00:42motivated to make a profound and lasting impact on the way in which gendered violence
00:46and safety issues are addressed in Australian workplaces.
00:49She also questioned Senator Reynolds' decision to leak confidential documents
00:53about a $2.4 million Commonwealth settlement paid to Miss Higgins
00:57saying it didn't reflect well on the Senator that she took that step
01:00ten days after a decision was taken not to proceed with a second criminal trial
01:05against Miss Higgins' alleged rapist due to concerns over her mental health.
01:08Senator Reynolds claims Miss Higgins and her now-husband David Shiraz
01:12weaponised her rape allegation in 2021 media interviews to attack her and the Liberal Government.
01:17But Miss Young has questioned the Senator's dogged focus on this alleged politicisation.
01:22She says it has no relevance to the actual posts made by Miss Higgins in 2023 that she's being sued for.
01:28Senator Reynolds' lawyer will begin his summation tomorrow
01:31with a decision unlikely for a number of months.