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Network Ten will call the producer of The Project, Angus Llewellyn, and its former high-profile presenter Lisa Wilkinson to give evidence in the Federal Court as it defends a defamation suit brought against it by Bruce Lehrmann.
Llewellyn is expected to give evidence first on Tuesday, the court has heard.
Lisa Wilkinson arrives at the Federal Court on Monday.Credit: Nick Moir
Llewellyn and Wilkinson attended a five-hour meeting with Higgins and her now-fiance David Sharaz in January 2021 before recording an interview with Higgins that aired on February 15 that year.
The defamation suit
Lehrmann launched defamation proceedings against Ten and Wilkinson this year, alleging they defamed him on the network’s flagship current affairs program by suggesting he was guilty of raping Higgins in Parliament House in March 2019.
He was not named in Ten’s broadcast and a preliminary issue in the case is whether he was identified via other means.
Brittany Higgins leaving the Federal Court in Sydney with fiance David Sharaz last week.Credit: Louise Kennerley
If the court finds he was identified, Ten and Wilkinson are seeking to rely on a range of defences including truth, which would require the court to be satisfied to the civil standard – on the balance of probabilities – that he raped Higgins. In a criminal trial, a prosecutor must prove an accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Ten and Wilkinson called Higgins and several other witnesses, including her parents, to give evidence as part of their truth defence.
Qualified privilege defence
Ten is also seeking to rely on a defence of qualified privilege, which relates to publications of public interest and requires a media outlet to show it acted reasonably.
The evidence of Llewellyn and Wilkinson is directly relevant to that defence.
Ten has pleaded two different types of qualified privilege, including a specific variant that invokes the implied freedom of political communication in the Commonwealth Constitution.
UK-based lip-reader to fly to Sydney
On Friday, Justice Michael Lee ruled that Ten could tender an expert lip-reader’s report expressing an opinion on words spoken by Higgins and Lehrmann at The Dock hotel in Canberra in the hours before the alleged assault, based on an analysis of CCTV footage.
Lehrmann’s legal team unsuccessfully argued that the report should not be admitted in evidence, and they have yet to cross-examine the expert.
Bruce Lehrmann leaves the Federal Court on Friday.Credit: Nikki Short
Lee made clear that his ruling allowing the report to be admitted in evidence was not an indication of the weight he would ultimately place on the opinions expressed in it.
He said on Monday that the lip-reader, the UK-based Tim Reedy, would be required to attend court in person in Sydney for the cross-examination.
“If he’s giving evidence then he’s going to have to get on an aeroplane,” Lee said.
“I know it will cost some money, but I expect there’s been quite a bit of money already spent.”
Sexual assault charge dropped
Lehrmann has denied raping Higgins on March 23, 2019, in the office of Liberal senator and then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds, for whom they both worked as advisers.
Lehrmann’s ACT Supreme Court trial for sexual assault was aborted last year due to juror misconduct. The charge against Lehrmann was later dropped altogether owing to concerns about Higgins’ mental health.
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