This story contains allegations of sexual assault and references to suicide and may be distressing to some readers.
The Supreme Court in Canberra has heard evidence from the man accused of raping former Parliament House staffer Brittany Higgins.
This is the first time Bruce Lehrmann’s version of events has been made public.
In an interview with Australian Federal Police (AFP), played to the court, he denied raping Ms Higgins in the office of then Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds.
“I reject that allegation. It simply didn’t happen,” he told officers.
The former Liberal staffer has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent. His interview with police was played to court on Monday, but it could not be reported by media until Ms Higgins’ evidence was completed on Friday.
Former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins arrives at the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra on 6 October 2022 for a second day of testimony. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
In the April 2021 recording, he said his boss told him of the allegation, in the days following Ms Higgins’ televised interview. The office had received an email from The Australian newspaper.
“I was ready to go,” he told officers.
“That week, I’d wound up everything, I was ready to go. My single mum was going to be okay; she was going to get my super [superannuation].”
Mr Lehrmann told officers that at the time, he felt as though he could not trust anyone, nor could he confide his feelings, after learning Channel Nine Political Reporter Chris O’Keefe had footage of him seeking mental health support.
Lehrmann’s account of the night in question
Mr Lehrmann described the night of the alleged rape as a “very good” evening.
He met colleagues, including Ms Higgins, at The Dock Bar in the Canberra suburb of Kingston, where he was introduced to many Defence Department colleagues.
“I treated it like a parliamentary event … I wasn’t carrying on,” he told police.
“It was a very good night.”
He told police it was his idea for him, Ms Higgins and two others to continue onto the nightclub 88mph because “it was a favourite” of his.
The court heard he and Ms Higgins left the club for Parliament House in the early hours of Saturday 23 March because he needed to pick up his apartment keys.
He told police he thought he was “being a gentleman” by offering to share an Uber with Ms Higgins.
“Brittany also indicated she had to attend Parliament for something … I thought I was being a gentleman,” he said.
Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann arrives at the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
“I didn’t see her again… I went to my desk, my briefcase was there,” Mr Lehrmann said in the recorded interview.
“I also attended to some Question Time folders … after discussions with Defence officials [at the pub] … while it was on my mind.
“I ordered myself an Uber and I left the building though the carpark.”
Mr Lehrmann told police he did not call out to Ms Higgins when he left the office, because he did not believe she was so intoxicated that he needed to take care of her.
He told police at no point did Ms Higgins seem so “grossly intoxicated” that she “was not functioning".
Late night visits to Parliament 'incredibly common'
Mr Lehrmann told police it was “incredibly common” for people to go back to Parliament “at all hours of the night” for both socialising and work.
In the video played to the Supreme Court, he said he had been back late to Parliament on several occasions to drink with ministers and senior advisers, and he would “be surprised if a Minister’s office did not have alcohol in it".
The court has previously heard that the visit on the night of the alleged rape was considered a security breach and both Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins were called into disciplinary meetings the following Monday.
Mr Lehrmann told officers he thought it was strange this entry to Parliament was being treated as a security breach, as other late-night visits were not.
The now 27-year-old worked in Parliament House for six years.
Former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins arrives at the ACT Supreme Court in Canberra, Friday, 7 October, 2022. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Minister 'notorious' for treating staff poorly
Mr Lehrmann agreed with AFP officers that the working environment in Parliament House was “pretty ruthless".
In the recorded conversation, Mr Lehrmann described his reasons for quitting politics around the time of the alleged assault.
He said he had wanted to get out in the months since Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as prime minister.
The former Liberal staffer said the “culture was horrendous” at Parliament House and he had a “gutful” of the way that ministers treat their staff.
Mr Lehrmann singled out his previous boss, Nationals MP Bridget McKenzie, as “notorious for treating her staff poorly” - including him.
At the time of the alleged rape, Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins were both employed in Senator Linda Reynolds’ office.
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