Former Defence Minister Linda Reynolds says her 'fight for truth' is over after winning a defamation case against Brittany Higgins, and is urging the Albanese Government to take responsibility for years of reputational damage.
Reynolds had claimed a series of social media posts made by Higgins and partner David Sharaz in 2022 and 2023 caused her health issues, damaged her reputation and stymied her career.
In August, the WA Supreme Court awarded Reynolds $315,000 in damages plus $26,000 in interest, and Higgins was ordered to pay 80 per cent of her legal fees, which, combined with her own legal bills, amounts to an estimated $2 million, following a decision from Justice Paul Tottle.
Reynolds told The Australian she had 'no choice but to stand and fight' after what she described as a 'huge and monstrous lie' that destroyed her career.
'I believe the truth matters,' Reynolds said in a video published by the outlet.
'It's about fighting for the truth because the allegations about me, Fiona, Michaela, Scott Morrison and all of our staffs was a lie, so for me it was about the truth.
'We've now had three court cases and with Justice Tottle's judgement the truth is now binding on Brittany, on David and on journalists - it is binding.
'So I feel the fight for the truth after five years is now out there.'
Reynolds has also called for justice for her former chief of staff Fiona Brown, who was named in Higgins' allegations.
Brown was the senior staffer who supported Higgins after the alleged assault and arranged meetings with police.
'Fiona did everything right. Three courts have now found she did everything right. She is a compassionate, capable, competent woman who has been so badly damaged,' Reynolds said.
'It is very clear how damaged she has been - from my perspective justice for Fiona would look like an apology and financial compensation because Fiona did everything right. She is a compassionate, capable woman who did everything right.'
Reynolds also revealed why she took on the lengthy defamation battle.
'I have spent my entire adult life serving my nation, 35 years in the army, 11 years in the Senate, and I have served because I believe in our democracy, I believe in our country.'
'When these things it's a bit like the movie the Matrix - you have a red pill and a blue pill - the red pill is that you just get defeated and you walk away and say this is too much.'
'Or you decide to stand and fight and for me the choice, it wasn't really a choice, I had to stand up and fight because it was not just for me, it was for so many other people who have been damaged by these lies.'
Despite the ruling, Reynolds warns little has changed in Parliament.
Reynolds has previously called for a parliamentary inquiry into whether senior Labor senators misled Parliament and weaponised Higgins' claims under privilege.
'They talk the talk, but when it comes to coalition women and their political enemies, they will use parliamentary privilege to do exactly the opposite.'
'What Labor did to me in the Parliament would be completely illegal in any other workplace.'
She specifically named Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher, alleging they used privilege to amplify untested allegations and create political damage.
Speaking in parliament in 2021, Senator Wong and Senator Gallagher explicitly accused Scott Morrison's government of engaging in a cover-up of Ms Higgins' rape accusation.
'We know minister Reynolds was aware and made it feel like a political problem to fix, made Ms Higgins feel like she had to choose between justice or her job,' Senator Wong said in a February 2021 Senate statement.
'We know that, at best, Mr Morrison runs a government where the culture is "don't ask, don't tell" when it comes to serious criminal allegations. At worst, Mr Morrison himself is part of the cover-up.'
Gallagher said: 'By withholding information, what she is continuing is the cover-up that has been under way for two years which has been the cause of much trauma to Ms Higgins. It's the cover-up often that is as traumatic as other elements of a serious crime like this because it compounds the trauma'
Wong disputed the claims the assault allegation was weaponised.
Gallagher said it was untrue that Labor had 'made a decision to weaponise it' as asserted by Reynolds.
Higgins and her husband David Sharaz are facing imminent bankruptcy following Reynolds' win.
Before going to trial, Ms Higgins had offered to pay Reynolds $200,000 as a contribution to her legal costs, with her parents to pick up the tab, but the sum was rejected.
The ex-political staffer apologised to Reynolds following the former Defence Minister's five-week defamation trial victory in September 2024.
The trial centred on a tweet Ms Higgins and her husband published in January 2022.
Justice Paul Tottle found Ms Higgins’ social media posts were defamatory as they implied Reynolds engaged in a campaign of harassment, mishandled her rape allegation and engaged in questionable conduct during Bruce Lehrmann’s aborted rape trial.
Ms Higgins alleges Lehrmann, her former co-worker, raped her in the senator’s ministerial suite - a claim he has always denied.
His criminal trial was aborted due to juror misconduct.
A Federal Court judge overseeing a defamation case Lehrmann launched against Network Ten found Ms Higgins was raped in the Parliament House office, on the balance of probabilities.
Lehrmann is appealing that finding.