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 T192.5)). As to (b), that might have been Ms Brown's view and is no doubt correct, but what mattered was the perception of Ms Higgins.

612 The lack of merit in the suggested motive, to my mind, is somewhat different. First, although she would not want to be peremptorily terminated, as her contemporaneous messages reproduced below make clear, she well understood she was to be unemployed very soon and had no long-term job security. Secondly, even if one can point to it being somehow in Ms Higgins' interests to suggest her work colleague behaved inappropriately towards her, to invent a rape allegation in such circumstances would not only be malevolent, but one would expect it be done by being definitive and clear about the allegation, and not responding to the incident in the traumatic, halting way evident in Ms Higgins' 2019 actions (consistent with the actions of a sexual assault victim dealing with trauma); nor thirdly, would it explain her evolving and evidently candid contemporaneous exchanges with those in whom she decided to confide in the process of confirming her initial instinct not to press her complaint.

VThe Role of Implied Admissions and Consciousness of Guilt

613 I have referred to many lies of Mr Lehrmann but the lies that presently matter are those lies that relate to an issue material to the question as whether sexual intercourse without consent took place as alleged. Only three seem to me to matter and they do not include such things as his various lies told to Ms Brown and in his response to the show cause letter, which are also consistent with him trying to downplay any security breach aspect of the incident, which could lead to his dismissal.

614 As to the first, until he got into the witness box in this civil case there was no need for Mr Lehrmann to recount what happened. As I observed in the limitation judgment, notwithstanding Mr Lehrmann had the privilege to refuse to answer any question on the ground of self-incrimination, after retaining legal advice, he gave his account of no sex taking place to the AFP and subsequently, his then legal representative, Mr John Korn, made a statement that Mr Lehrmann "absolutely and unequivocally denies that any form of sexual activity took place at all" (Ex R98).

615 I am conscious that counsel for Mr Lehrmann submitted that it was the "gamble of [Mr Lehrmann's] life to assert there had been no sex" if he "had no idea whether any forensic evidence existed". But this assumes a sophistication and rationality in Mr Lehrmann's Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 369