LEFT: Prime MInister Scott "Hawaii" Morrison; RIGHT: Brittany Higgins alleges that she was raped by a Liberal staff member in the parliamentary office of Defence Minister Senator Linda Reynolds in March 2019.
Prime Minister Scott "Hawaii" Morrison faces justified accusations of hypocrisy in his contradictory approach to allegations of sexual offences and sexual harrassment in Parliament House, and in particular, the allegation of rape levelled at a parliamentary colleague by Brittany Higgins and the allegation of long past rape levelled at Attorney General Christian Porter by a deceased woman.
The young man accused by Brittany Higgins of raping her in the office of Defence MInister Linda Reynolds in March 2019 is 26-year-old former LIberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann. He has pleaded not guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court. The case will be heard in the ACT Supreme Court in mid-2022.
I say nothing about the nature of the pending charge of rape arising from a complaint by Brittany Higgins against a parliamentary colleague because I know nothing of the facts, and consideration of supporting evidence will be the province of a jury when the case proceeds to trial.
In an apparent desperate bid to win female voter support, Scott "Hawaii" Morrison is now telling us that he proposes to address the rape allegation made by Brittany Higgins against a parliamentary colleague and claims of unhealthy attitudes, including sexual harrassment, towards female politicians and staffers in the Australian Parliament by introducing quotas for appointment of women as politicians and staffers. The absence of any logical connection between the introduction of quotas for female employment and allegations of rape and sexual harrassment in the Australian Parliament appears to be lost on this bumbling excuse for a prime minister.
In another attempt to take the heat off him and the Coalition Government, Scott "Hawaii" Morrison has initiated five parliamentary inquiries. The inquiries cover a broad range of issues, from how to improve the workplace culture for women at Parliament House to who knew what and when inside the Prime Minister's Office about the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.
The correct response to allegations of rape should be swift involvement of police, and in cases of proven serious sexual harrassment the response should be termination of employment, but not parliamentary inquiries that have a well-deserved reputation for being totally useless in producing meaningful results as well as involving denial of the presumption of innocence that can only be guaranteed in the law courts.
it was announced publicly on 26 March 2021 that Scott "Hawaii" Morrison had invited Brittany Higgins to meet with him privately at any place of her choosing. Such a meeting after Brittany Higgins had indicated publicly that she would be pursuing her rape allegation against parliamentary colleague Bruce Lehrmann is not just another appalling error of judgment by Prime Minister Morrison. It involves serious impropriety on the part of Morrison because it produces an appearance that the prime minister is taking the side of Brittany Higgins against the colleague accused by her of rape in 2019. This is more compelling evidence that Scott "Hawaii" Morrison is unfit to be prime minister of Australia.
I have mentioned above that it is inappropriate for me to address the merits of an allegation of rape from Brittany Higgins, but as a former senior Crown prosecutor in three Australian jurisdictions over 25 years, I can say with confidence that only a prime minister who is a blithering idiot would publicly invite a woman who has made a public allegation of rape to meet him privately before the case goes before a jury. The likely consequences of that prime ministerial meeting for the Liberal staffer alleged to have committed rape are grave as I will explain.
After denying the presumption of innocence of alleged war crimes to thousands of men and women who served Australia honourably against a brutal and ruthless enemy in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2016 (Item 12 above), this bumbling excuse for a prime minister chose to meet Brittany Higgins on 30 April 2021, and he was reported by ABC news to have announced publicly that “the system let her down over (her) rape allegation”.
This meeting by the prime minister before trial with a woman who has made a public allegation of rape and his public declaration that "the system let her down" were appalling errors of judgment by a man who holds the high office of prime minister. They are appalling errors of judgment because they produce an appearance that Scott “Hawaii” Morrison supports the Brittany Higgins allegation of rape against a parliamentary colleague when any such finding should be the function of a jury if the rape allegation proceeds to trial. I believe that it could be fairly argued, adapting the words of Justice Wills in R v. Parke* that Morrison has irretrievably "poisoned the fountain of justice before it begins to flow". * [1903) 2 KB 432, at page 438.
Having spent eleven years in Canberra as an army officer at Army Headquarters and senior Crown prosecutor, I would describe Canberra as a cloistered public service city, and I find it very difficult to see how Bruce Lehrmann could now receive a fair trial in Canberra on the charge of raping Brittany Higgins after the prime minister has very clearly aligned himself as a supporter of Brittany Higgins. The prejudice produced by Morrison against the accused man is so grave that I believe a nolle prosequi (abandonment of the charge) from the Crown is justified, and if necessary, application for nolle prosequi should be announced in court as justifying adjournment. If that were to be denied, I believe that a change of venue outside the Australian Capital Territory to Sydney or Melbourne is justified, and such an application is permitted by Section 63 of the Supreme Court Act of the Australian Capital Territory.
As if this case was not already extraordinary, 7News reported on 13 April 2021 (above) that Brittany Higgins had sold her "experiences inside Parliament House" to book publisher Penguin Random House Australia for an estimated $250,000 despite a trial for rape pending:
"Brittany Higgins, the former Liberal staffer who became symbolic of a movement for women’s rights in Australia, will have a memoir published. The 26-year-old on Tuesday announced she’d signed a publishing deal with Penguin Random House Australia. The deal is reportedly estimated to be worth $250,000 and comes after a three-way auction for rights.....Higgins said in a tweet that she was 'privileged' to be able to share her story."
I would be surprised if this reported book sale and the book contents do not receve some attention in the pending rape trial.
As if determined to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that he is a blithering idiot unfit to hold the high office of prime minister, Scott "Hawaii" Morrison has again apologised publicly to Brittany Higgins for a rape alleged by her to have occurred in the office of Defence Minister Senator Linda Reynolds at Parliament House Canberra in March 2019.
Speaking in parliament on 8 February, Scott "Hawaii" Morrison said:
“I’m sorry to Ms Higgins for the terrible things that took place here. And the place that should have been a place of safety and contribution turned out to be a nightmare."
Throwing hundreds of years of hard won legal precedent aside, this man who has repeatedly shown himself to be unfit to hold the office of prime minister appears determined to deny a fair trial to the man accused by Brittany Higgins of rape. Morrison has effectively and very publicly declared his belief that the accused man is guilty of rape; and thus changed the onus of proof in criminal cases, and placed upon the accused man the burden of proving his innocence.
I raised this matter here in June 2021 and was not aware of any high profile support for my view, but prominent defence barrister Robert Richter QC is now reported to have said of the prime minister's public support for Brittany Higgins :
“It seems to me that charges having been laid in relation to this specific matter, it is highly inappropriate to make commentary which prejudices the allegation. it could interfere with the course of justice if heard by potential jurors." Reported in "The Sydney Morning Herald" on 8 February 2022.
Has Scott "Hawaii" Morrison committed contempt of court by publicly announcing his acceptance as true the allegation of rape made by Brittany Higgins when this matter is scheduled to be heard by a jury in the ACT Supreme Court in mid-2022? The role of the courts is to administer justice fairly, efficiently, and with authority. Contempt of court is any conduct that interferes with the ability of the courts to perform that role, and I feel that it can be fairly argued that the prime minister's public acceptance of the truth of the rape allegation by Brittany Higgins falls within the character of contempt of court. Fortunately for Morrison, he was speaking in parliament and so can claim parliamentary privilige as protection for his appalling conduct.