When an Australian judge made the unusual decision to reopen a blockbuster defamation trial brought by an alleged rapist against a media company, he declared, \u201cLet sunlight be the best disinfectant.\u201d <\/p>\n
That\u2019s how claims later described by Justice Michael Lee as \u201csordid\u201d found their way into the public sphere, giving a startling insight into the way producers from a major television network allegedly secured an interview with the former government staffer with illicit drugs, sex workers, a golf trip and expensive meals. <\/p>\n
The defamation case enthralled the Australian public when the main parties took the stand last year, and anticipation was high for a ruling on Thursday. But the arrival of a\u00a0new witness saw thousands tune in to watch the reopened case as it was broadcast live on YouTube. <\/p>\n
The origins of the story date back to 2019, when government staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in Parliament House after a night of drinking in Canberra. The man she accused of the crime, Bruce Lehrmann, vehemently denied any sexual activity took place, and in court he pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent. <\/p>\n
But the trial was abandoned in 2022 due to juror misconduct. Rather than requesting a retrial, prosecutors dropped the charges, saying more court action would pose an \u201cunacceptable risk\u201d to Higgins\u2019 health. <\/p>\n
That left Lehrmann with no means to disprove the allegations, so he took defamation action against media companies for their initial reporting of the case. <\/p>\n
Two outlets settled the claim by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs. But Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson chose to fight it using a truth defense \u2013 essentially tasking their lawyers to prove on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann did rape Higgins. <\/p>\n
Two years after the night in question, Higgins went public in 2021 with the allegation that she\u2019d been raped in Parliament House. <\/p>\n
In an exclusive interview with Ten\u2019s Lisa Wilkinson for \u201cThe Project,\u201d Higgins recalled having drinks with co-workers in March 2019, and catching an Uber with a man to Parliament House, where he allegedly raped her on a minister\u2019s couch. <\/p>\n
The story sent tremors through Australian politics and prompted an apology from then Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who promised to investigate the culture within the legislature. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Project\u201d story didn\u2019t name Lehrmann. But he claimed it included enough information to identify him as the alleged rapist.\u00a0Lehrmann couldn\u2019t pursue the defamation charge while his criminal trial was underway, so he sought permission from the court to extend the period to bring a claim, which is why it took so long to reach court. <\/p>\n
Evidence in the defamation trial was presented in late 2023, grabbing headlines as Lehrmann and Higgins accused each other in court of lying about what had happened. <\/p>\n
It was the first time Lehrmann had given court testimony \u2013 during his criminal trial, he exercised his right not to take the stand. <\/p>\n
However, the first time the Australian public heard his side of the story \u2013 in his own words, on camera \u2013 was a few months before on Seven\u2019s \u201cSpotlight\u201d program. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s light some fires,\u201d Lehrmann said, in an episode that aired in June, 2023. <\/p>\n
That interview \u2013 and the months that led up to it \u2013 was the focus of the new evidence in court this week, as former \u201cSpotlight\u201d producer Taylor Auerbach revealed stunning claims about how the production team negotiated the interview with Lehrmann. <\/p>\n
Network Ten\u2019s barrister Matthew Collins KC had argued that Auerbach\u2019s testimony was important as it spoke to Lehrmann\u2019s credibility, which\u00a0could impact the size of any payout, should he win the defamation case. <\/p>\n
Sitting in a dark suit and tie, Auerbach took frequent sips of water as he sat in court to answer questions about his role in setting up the Lehrmann interview. <\/p>\n
He said he\u2019d been assigned to be Lehrmann\u2019s \u201cbabysitter,\u201d which he took to mean establishing a rapport with him to convince him to give them the sought-after exclusive. <\/p>\n
After one dinner in January 2023, Auerbach said he and Lehrmann went to a hotel room, allegedly paid for by Seven, where he said Lehrmann produced a bag of cocaine. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe pulled that out and started to put it on a plate and then started talking to me about a prospective \u2018Spotlight\u2019 story and his desire to order prostitutes to the Meriton that night and began Googling a series of websites to try and make that happen,\u201d Auerbach told the court. <\/p>\n
The new material submitted to court included a long text message Auerbach said he sent to a senior \u201cSpotlight\u201d producer after meeting with Lehrmann\u2019s media advisor. <\/p>\n
In the message, Auerbach said a potential payment of around\u00a0200,000 Australian dollars ($132,000) had been suggested for the interview. The advisor had told him that Lehrmann was also planning to do interviews with Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan, after the Australian exclusive, Auerbach said in the text. <\/p>\n
The former television producer made other allegations in his affidavits, including that he put 10,000 Australian dollars ($6,500) on a company credit card for Thai massages for himself and Lehrmann.\u00a0He said he submitted his resignation the next day, out of guilt, but instead of being reprimanded he received a promotion and a pay raise the following week. <\/p>\n
In a statement, the Seven Network said it didn\u2019t offer Auerbach a promotion or a higher salary, nor reimburse Lehrmann for \u201cexpenditure that has allegedly been used to pay for illegal drugs or prostitutes.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cSeven has acted appropriately at all times,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n
Before they were aired in court, the claims about money spent on massages made headlines in Australian media, prompting Lehrmann to issue a statement saying the story was \u201cuntrue and rather bizarre.\u201d <\/p>\n
Auerbach countered his denials with threats of defamation action. And during the pursuit of that case, he came into contact with Wilkinson\u2019s lawyers. <\/p>\n
In his testimony, Auerbach also alleged that Lehrmann gave the Seven Network evidence from his rape trial, including extensive records of text messages and taped audio calls. <\/p>\n
Under an important legal convention, documents provided to a party for the purposes of specific proceedings cannot be used for any other purpose. <\/p>\n
Previously Lehrmann\u2019s lawyers denied that their client was the source of the material, raising the potential issue of contempt of court. <\/p>\n
However, Lehrmann\u2019s barrister, Matthew Richardson SC, played down the value of the material, saying most of the information was in the public domain anyway, and it wasn\u2019t used for any purpose. <\/p>\n
During questioning, Richardson suggested Auerbach was a disgruntled former employee who was angry about losing his job at Seven and his subsequent role with Sky News. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to suggest to you, Mr. Auerbach that you are here today to do as much damage to your former employer and former colleagues, as you possibly can?\u201d Richardson said Thursday. <\/p>\n
\u201cStrongly disagree,\u201d Auerbach replied. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re prepared to\u00a0lie in that endeavor,\u201d said Richardson. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo, sir.\u201d <\/p>\n
To support his line of questioning, Richardson played a three-minute video to the court that showed Auerbach snapping the golf clubs of a former friend and Seven co-worker. <\/p>\n
It was posted with the words, \u201cMerry Christmas, sue me,\u201d the court heard. <\/p>\n
Auerbach conceded he hated his former colleague and held him partly to blame for Seven\u2019s refusal to extend his contract. <\/p>\n
In his affidavit, Auerbach said\u00a0he had come across evidence that he believed was relevant to the case and submitted his statement to the trial at the request of Network Ten. <\/p>\n
The defamation trial is between Network Ten and Lehrmann, but the evidence heard in the last two days is being scrutinized for what it says about the state of Australia\u2019s media industry. <\/p>\n
\u201cHere Network Ten is the defendant but this week it\u2019s felt like Seven is on trial for its journalistic practices,\u201d said Sacha Molitorisz, senior lecturer in law at the Center for Media Transition at the University of Technology Sydney. <\/p>\n
Molitorisz, a former journalist,\u00a0said checkbook journalism has its place, but the allegations aired go far beyond that and show the need for a coherent code of ethics that all Australian journalists follow. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut you don\u2019t need a code of ethics to know that what the Seven journalists did crossed the line,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Margaret Simons, Honorary Principal Fellow at the Center for Advancing Journalism at the University of Melbourne, said reviews of the industry had repeatedly called for more regulation and repercussions for reporters who trample on journalistic ethics. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole saga you know, I think has been devastating for journalism in many ways,\u201d Simons said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the era of fake news, if we want people to trust journalism, we need to behave a hell of a lot better than it seems Channel Seven have done.\u201d <\/p>\n
In its statement, Seven said it was \u201cappalled by the allegations made in recent days. We do not condone the behaviors described in these allegations. They do not reflect the culture of Seven.\u201d <\/p>\n
During the trial, Justice Lee noted that none of the producers involved in the \u201cSpotlight\u201d program were members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA),\u00a0Australia\u2019s main union for journalists. <\/p>\n
The MEAA has a 12-point code of ethics that only applies to members. After a discussion about the code and its interpretation, Justice Lee said, \u201cI don\u2019t think reporting honestly is that complicated\u2026. is it? It\u2019s a bit like it\u2019s not complicated not shoplifting from Woolworths.\u201d <\/p>\n
Justice Lee retired Friday to consider the evidence, with a date still to be set for his findings. <\/p>\n\n
When an Australian judge made the unusual decision to reopen a blockbuster defamation trial brought by an alleged rapist against a media company, he declared, \u201cLet sunlight be the best disinfectant.\u201d That\u2019s how claims later described by Justice Michael Lee as \u201csordid\u201d found their way into the public sphere, giving a startling insight into the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":17688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17687","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17687"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17687\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}