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 860 The lack of follow-up on these important topics reflected a general absence of detachment and investigative rigour. I should add, however, that I accept this suboptimal approach was at least partly well-intentioned.

861 From the time of the first interview, Mr Llewellyn concluded that Ms Higgins was traumatised and was acutely conscious of her mental health (Llewellyn (at [127])). Notwithstanding that he was the one supposed to be bearing the load of investigating, Mr Llewellyn considered "an important part of [his] job is duty of care for the talent" and providing Ms Higgins "with help and support through the process" (Llewellyn (at [219])). Indeed, as the EP of The Project was to observe, Mr Llewellyn was "very proactive about protecting Ms Higgins' wellbeing during this process" (Bendall (at [80])) and this appeared to be a predominant concern which led to dealing with her through Mr Sharaz and to be hesitant in pressing her. As Network Ten accepted, from "the outset, the production team was concerned about Ms Higgins' welfare … [and] Mr Llewellyn and Ms Wilkinson immediately identified her as a very vulnerable and traumatised individual. It was for this reason, it was submitted, they used Mr Sharaz "as a buffer to minimise the stress caused by the production process to Ms Higgins" (see Ex R214). This might be all understandable from a human point of view, but in this case, it reflected the immediate assumption that Ms Higgins was telling the truth, and this was part of the reason why there was no proper examination and testing of her account.

VSeeking Comment

862 Mr Bendall gave evidence of discussions with Mr Llewellyn, Mr Meakin and Mr Farley about seeking comment from people in relation to this story. He said that he thought it was important that the Project team went to affected, or potentially affected, persons for comment (Bendall (at [55])).

863 Mr Llewellyn gave evidence-in-chief that he "was aware that we were only airing one person's experience in the Higgins Segment" (Llewellyn (at [324])) and that it was "crucial to seek comment from any person affected by a feature story in the sense that they are the subject of any allegations (whether named or not) or otherwise mentioned in a material way in the story" (Llewellyn (at [321])). He also said he decided to seek Mr Lehrmann's comments on the allegations even though he was not named "because I thought it was the Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 369