Page:Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment).pdf/296

 1043 Senior counsel for Ms Wilkinson, relying on these events, said in closing submissions that I ought not assume people watch the Logies, and that there was no evidence that anyone in Canberra who would have been in the jury pool did watch them (T2283.23–26) and then, presumably more seriously, submitted (T2284.25):

We say, your Honour, in light of the history of the matter, and the fact that my client had said such things about Ms Higgins in the past, it is – it was a drop in the ocean, having regard to everything else that was online about Mr Lehrmann, the Press Club speech, the Prime Minister’s speech in Parliament, Mr Albanese - - -

1044 I accept that senior politicians used the protection of absolute privilege to make representations which had the effect of endorsing the credibility of a complainant and prejudging that a "terrible" thing had taken place, despite an upcoming jury trial of an Australian citizen entitled to the presumption of innocence. To similar effect, senior counsel for Ms Wilkinson also cross-examined on a report of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (Ex R54), of 30 November 2021, which notwithstanding Mr Lehrmann had been charged three and half months earlier and was scheduled to stand trial in 2022, stated in the Commissioner's Foreword:

The global #MeToo movement and associated momentum for reform has seen numerous brave women publicly sharing their experiences of workplace violence and harassment. In February 2021, Brittany Higgins courageously shared her experience.

(Emphasis added)

1045 It is beyond the scope of these reasons to characterise these public comments while a criminal trial in relation to the complainant's allegations was pending, but however one describes them, they did not later give members of the media, including Network Ten, open slather to pay no regard to an accused's fundamental common law rights to a fair trial. The fact that others in positions of power made (much earlier) pre-trial comments endorsing Ms Higgins' courage and thus necessarily endorsing her credibility in making the rape allegation may, however, be relevant to the extent of aggravation caused by the Logies speech, in that Ms Wilkinson says she merely repeated what had been said by others in public positions and so any incremental aggravation to Mr Lehrmann was minor, a matter to which I will return.

1046 Ms Wilkinson then makes the following submissions: Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Trial Judgment) [2024] FCA 369