The leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton, has claimed it is “absolutely reasonable” for the Coalition to question whether Labor “conspired to seek political advantage out of an alleged sexual assault” after the release of Brittany Higgins’ text messgages.
Dutton offered that defence of his tactics on Wednesday at a conference ahead of the second question time this week where the Coalition targeted the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, over her knowledge of Higgins’ allegation before it was aired publicly.
In parliament, Labor senators urged the Coalition to consider whether probing Gallagher’s relationship with Higgins’ partner, David Sharaz, was “ethical” and warned that release of Higgins’ text messages could prevent alleged victims and survivors of sexual assault speaking out.
Dutton was challenged by an attender of the Local Government Association conference in Canberra that the Coalition’s tactics “are doing more harm than good for those impacted”.
He responded by noting that Labor had “asked something like 45 questions in parliament in relation to the same issue” last year.
After a minor breakout with two Liberals backing an inquiry into how Higgins’ texts became public, Dutton clarified that he shares the attorney general’s view that the Australian Federal Police should investigate the leak.
Lawyers for Network Ten have confirmed they asked the AFP to investigate “a suspected contempt of court in relation to material produced under an AFP warrant and a subpoena issued in the ACT supreme court which appears to have been disclosed to the media”.
“We have a system of legal practice in our country, that is a very important principle in relation to the way in which courts operate,” Dutton said.
“I share the view in relation to the leaking of the information that’s been published in the papers. The matter, as the attorney general pointed out yesterday, has been referred to the AFP for investigation.”
A Cr asked Dutton to lay off Brittany Higgins - here is his response, which actually sparked some applause. pic.twitter.com/BOtWMASOwh
— Stephen Mayne (@MayneReport) June 14, 2023
Dutton said he takes sexual assault “very seriously” and that someone accused of the crime should be tried by judge and jury with “guilt found according to our system of law” which “shouldn’t be subverted by any process”.
“In terms of our questioning of the government, a key democratic element of our system of government in a Westminster system is to hold the government to account.
“The questions we’re asking at the moment in relation to whether the government conspired to seek political advantage out of an alleged sexual assault are absolutely reasonable for us to ask in question time.
“It doesn’t demean the allegation of sexual assault, it doesn’t seek to second guess the court process that has taken place in ACT. It doesn’t seek [to prove] innocence or guilt of any party in this matter, it seeks to hold the government to account for their [handling].”
Bruce Lehrmann was charged with the alleged sexual assault of Higgins but vehemently denied the allegations and maintained his innocence.
An initial trial was aborted last year due to jury misconduct and prosecutors dropped the charges against Lehrmann amid concerns about the impact a second trial could have on Higgins’ mental health.
In House of Representatives question time, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, continued to back Gallagher’s account that she did not mislead the Senate when she said “no one had any knowledge” of Higgins’ allegation.
Albanese explained that she had been responding to a suggestion she had known weeks before and was somehow responsible for the matter becoming public.
In Senate question time, Gallagher urged Coalition senators to consider “how this debate and the ongoing coverage of it is impacting on all the women out there”.
Gallagher stared down cries of “hypocrite” and interjections comparing her treatment of the allegation with “the consideration you had for Senator [Linda] Reynolds” when Labor probed the Coalition’s handling of the complaint in 2021.
Gallagher maintained that she told no one about the complaint before it aired. “It wasn’t my story. It was Ms Higgins’ story,” Gallagher said. “I don’t intend to breach that confidence now, and I didn’t then.”
The Liberal senator Sarah Henderson referred to some of the leaked texts between Higgins and Sharaz, where he described Gallagher as a “friend” and asked about reports that Gallagher was invited to Sharaz’s first wedding.
Gallagher said she did not recall being invited until it was reported but after checking, she could confirm she had declined that invitation.
“I’m not responsible for how people describe their relationship with me,” she said.
After question time, Labor senator Anne Urquhart said that Higgins has the right to not have her name “drawn through the mud here, every single day”.
Urquhart noted that Gallagher, the minister for women, had been “contacted by women’s organisations about the effect on those women to now have the courage to stand up and to speak out”.
“What this says is how they will be treated in this country if they do. So I would say be responsible and consider your actions.”
“And what you’re doing is continually putting a lid on them and telling them to shut up.”
