Bruce Lehrmann has filed defamation proceedings against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation over its broadcast of an address to the National Press Club by Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame, sources have told Guardian Australia.
Lehrmann filed the case in the federal court on Wednesday, though the court is yet to release any details about the nature of his claim against the ABC. The ABC is the third media outlet he has now sued.
Lehrmann had previously threatened to sue the ABC over the live broadcast of Higgins’ and Tame’s press club address.
Lehrmann sent a concerns notice to the ABC in February and gave the broadcaster 28 days to remove the press club address from its YouTube channel. That deadline was later modified to give the ABC more time to remove the video.
Multiple sources have confirmed to Guardian Australia that the defamation proceedings lodged against the ABC relates to the press club address, which still appears on the broadcaster’s YouTube channel. No documents have been released by the court.
Lehrmann is already suing both Network Ten and a News Corp subsidiary over initial interviews with Higgins in February 2021. That case, also before the federal court, requires Lehrmann to convince the court that he should be allowed to sue outside the usual 12-month time limit on defamation proceedings.
He has argued he delayed bringing the proceedings due to legal advice, the prospect and then reality of criminal proceedings, and his mental health.
Justice Michael Lee has reserved his decision after a hearing last month.
Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to an allegation that he raped Higgins in the office of their then boss, cabinet minister Linda Reynolds. The trial against him was aborted due to juror misconduct and prosecutors declined to proceed with a retrial due to fears for Higgins’ mental health.
The ABC declined to comment.
