A former Liberal Party staffer accused of raping a colleague inside Parliament House told police he wanted to die after he heard about the allegation from a journalist.
Bruce Lehrmann is on trial before an ACT Supreme Court jury, charged with raping Brittany Higgins in March 2019.
He has pleaded not guilty and denies that any sexual activity took place.
Earlier this week, the court was shown video of Mr Lehrmann's interview with police, two years after the alleged assault.
The court suppressed public reporting of much of this week's hearings to prevent it from influencing Ms Higgins's evidence, which she finished giving today.
Ms Higgins had been unable to attend court for most of the week.
In the police interview, recorded in April 2021, Mr Lehrmann remained calm and spoke in a measured tone until officers asked him to recount the moment he learned Ms Higgins had accused him of rape.
'"Oh, I … I was ready to go," he said.
He clarified that he was talking about his death, and had ensured that his mother would receive any superannuation or other payouts.
"[I] lined it up so mum would get my super," he said.
Mr Lehrmann said he discovered from a journalist that he was the person Ms Higgins had accused publicly, without naming him.
"It was a very tough fortnight," he told police.
'It was such an innocuous night'
Mr Lehmann began the interview by flatly denying he had raped Ms Higgins.
"Obviously, I reject that allegation because it simply didn't happen," he told police.
When asked how he was feeling, he said he had been nervous and distressed in the weeks since learning of the allegations.
He described the evening of the alleged assault, two years earlier, as a normal outing with parliamentary colleagues.
"It was such an innocuous night … not an unusual night," he said.
"I didn't perceive people to be [so] drunk [that] they couldn't handle themselves.
"My intention hadn't been to have a big night, so I acted normally — like, my intention was to return [to Parliament House]."
Mr Lehrmann said the group began drinking at The Dock, a pub in inner-suburban Kingston, before moving to the nightclub 88mph in Canberra's CBD.
"We went in and had a boogie. It's good music there," he told police.
"I really enjoy 88 … It's a favourite of mine."
He told police he and Ms Higgins then returned to Parliament House, saying he had needed to pick up his keys.
He said he offered to share his Uber lift with Ms Higgins because she had indicated that she needed to go to the office, too.
"I thought I was being a gentleman," he told police.
Mr Lehrmann says he did not interact with Ms Higgins in office
In the 2021 interview, Mr Lehrmann told police he did not believe Ms Higgins had been particularly drunk.
He noticed she had been unable to put her shoes on after passing security, but said he thought that was because they were high heels.
"She was taking a while to put her shoes back on, whatever," he said.
"Nothing in my mind said that I needed to be looking after her — because she signed in herself and did all of that."
Mr Lehrmann told police a security guard took them to the office of their boss, the then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds.
He said he entered and turned left towards his desk, while Ms Higgins turned right and went to a different part of the office.
He said he worked on a briefing for Parliament's question time, and did not check on her again before leaving the office.
Mr Lehrmann feared security breach would jeopardise career
Mr Lehrmann then discussed with police what happened in the following week.
He said Senator Reynolds's then chief of staff, Fiona Brown, told him that his late-night entry into the minister's office had been regarded as a security breach.
His entry was investigated and he eventually lost his job.
In his 2021 interview, Mr Lehrmann said his main concern at the time had been that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) might become involved in the investigation.
He feared the consequences because he was looking for work in the security sector.
"I was more concerned that the AFP would be involved with a security breach. I thought 'crap!'" he said.
Mr Lehrmann's trial has run for two weeks and hearings are expected to continue for another week.
