BY ADELAIDE LANG for AAP with ASHLEY GEELAN
Despite being on the brink of bankruptcy as a result of court proceedings, embattled former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has lodged legal action against the head of a corruption watchdog and a federal minister.
The legal action was filed by Lehrmann personally at 9.30pm last Thursday, September 4, under the classification of a “judicial review”, which asks the court to review the legality of a governmental decision.
Lehrmann has filed proceedings against the Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Paul Brereton, and the federal Special Minister of State, Don Farrell, in an attempt to ‘collect his hat.’
The nature of the proceedings is unknown as of Monday afternoon, but Lehrmann has been contacted for comment.
Mr Farrell’s office declined to comment and the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner said it was inappropriate to comment because the proceedings were before the court.
Lehrmann entered the national consciousness after he was accused of raping his colleague, Brittany Higgins, inside Parliament House in 2019.
He has denied the claims, which remain untested in a criminal court after a 2022 trial in the ACT was abandoned because of juror misconduct.
But the Federal Court found in 2024 the allegations he raped Ms Higgins were proven on the balance of probabilities, which is a lower civil standard of proof than its criminal counterpart.
Lehrmann’s appeal against his defamation loss to Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson was heard by a panel of judges in August.
The justices reserved their decision to be delivered at a later date.
He claimed he was defamed by Ms Wilkinson’s 2021 interview with Ms Higgins on The Project, in which Ms Higgins alleged she was raped by Lehrmann in the office of Liberal Party Senator Linda Reynolds.
Justice Michael Lee found the allegations were likely true in his headline-grabbing judgment in April 2024.
“Having escaped the lions’ den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” the judge quipped at the time.
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