Bruce Lehrmann, the former Liberal party staffer embroiled in one of Australia’s most high-profile legal cases, has cleared a major hurdle in his bid to appeal the defamation ruling against him.
The Federal Court has declined to order Lehrmann, who is now unemployed, to pay $200,000 in security as requested by Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson to cover some of the costs of the legal battle. This decision paves the way for Lehrmann to move forward with his challenge.
His legal team, headed by solicitor Zali Burrows, argued that he could not afford to pay the requested $200,000 in security for costs, as he is currently unemployed and reliant on Centrelink income. Burrows contended that the application for security was a “bullying tactic,” an accusation that Network Ten has denied.
Justice Wendy Abraham dismissed the request for Lehrmann to pay the $200,000, allowing his appeal to proceed without financial security. Furthermore, Abraham ordered Network Ten and Wilkinson to pay Lehrmann’s legal costs incurred in opposing the security application.
Lehrmann’s legal battle stems from an interview aired on Network Ten’s The Project back in 2021. The segment, hosted by Lisa Wilkinson, featured Brittany Higgins, a former parliamentary staffer who alleged that she had been raped by Lehrmann in Parliament House in 2019. Although Lehrmann was not directly named in the interview, he argued that the broadcast clearly identified him and implied he was guilty of the crime.
As a result, Lehrmann, who has always maintained his innocence, initiated defamation proceedings against both the broadcaster and Wilkinson.
Lehrmann’s defamation claim faced a significant blow in April this year when Federal Court Justice Michael Lee ruled in favour of Network Ten and Wilkinson. In a 300-plus page verdict, Justice Lee concluded that on the balance of probabilities, Lehrmann did indeed rape Higgins. The judge emphasised that the ruling was made based on the civil standard of proof, which is lower than the criminal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt.”
Justice Lee’s judgment was scathing, calling Lehrmann’s evidence unreliable and stating that he had lied during the trial. He also acknowledged that Higgins, while credible in recounting some aspects of the night in question, had made unsupported claims that affected her general credibility. He remarked, “Only one man and one woman know the truth, with certitude, of what happened,” and characterised both Lehrmann and Higgins as “unreliable historians.”
Following the ruling, Lehrmann was ordered to pay $2 million to Network Ten to cover some of its legal costs, and the network also covered some of Wilkinson’s legal expenses under an indemnity arrangement. Lehrmann has not yet paid any of these costs and is now appealing Justice Lee’s decision, but in June, he lodged a notice of appeal with the federal court.
Lehrmann also sought a stay on the enforcement of the $2 million costs order, arguing that it would likely result in his bankruptcy. Justice Abraham granted the stay, meaning the enforcement of the costs will be paused until his appeal is determined.
The original criminal trial against Lehrmann was aborted in 2022 due to juror misconduct, and no second trial was pursued owing to concerns over Brittany Higgins’ mental health.
