Senator Linda Reynolds’ former acting chief of staff Fiona Brown was working in Parliament House at the time Ms Higgins was allegedly raped by Bruce Lehrmann in March 2019.

Ms Brown gave evidence of meetings with Ms Higgins after a security incident in which the junior media adviser and Lehrmann entered Parliament House in the early hours of a Saturday.

In the week afterwards, Ms Higgins disclosed to Ms Brown that she had woken up to find Lehrmann on top of her, the Federal Court heard during a defamation trial on Tuesday.

In the aftermath of this, Senator Reynolds and then-special minister of state Alex Hawke insisted that Ms Brown notify the police about what had happened rather than waiting for Ms Higgins to make a complaint, Justice Michael Lee was told.

“You were concerned that this was covering themselves, that’s all they were worried about?” barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC said.

“Yes,” Ms Brown replied.

She told the court she pushed back against the request, saying that Ms Higgins needed to make a personal choice about whether a formal complaint should be filed.

There were also the lives of two 23-year-olds to consider, she told the court.

“You just can’t walk into a cop shop and do something like that,” Ms Brown said.

Ms Chrysanthou is representing journalist Lisa Wilkinson, who is being sued alongside broadcaster Network Ten for defamation.

Lehrmann says the alleged rape never occurred and that a February 2021 interview on The Project with Ms Higgins destroyed his reputation.

Ms Higgins claims she was sexually assaulted by her fellow Liberal staffer while she was intoxicated on Senator Reynolds’ couch on March 23, 2019.

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehmann
Lehrmann was dismissed because he had been warned after an earlier security breach, the court heard. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
In her evidence, Ms Brown insisted Ms Higgins never made a direct allegation of assault during meetings in the week after the pair were spotted entering Parliament House after hours.

She said she was “blindsided” by a claim that Lehrmann had been on top of Ms Higgins but added she had not been informed of any allegations that something criminal had occurred.

Ms Brown was also told to provide Ms Higgins with information about Parliament House’s employee assistance program and the national domestic violence and sexual assault hotline.

Lehrmann was dismissed after the incident, but that was because he had already been warned after an earlier security breach in which he left a classified document unattended on a desk.

Ms Higgins was not terminated as there had been no previous problems with her behaviour, the court heard.

“She was fairly new, so it was taken on that basis,” Ms Brown said.

Lehrmann’s trial in the ACT Supreme Court charged with raping Ms Higgins was derailed by juror misconduct.

Prosecutors did not seek a second trial, citing concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health.

He has been charged with allegedly raping another woman twice in Toowoomba in October 2021 and remains before Queensland courts.

He has not yet entered a plea but lawyers have indicated he denies that allegation.

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