No winners in this case

The media release is bold: “Bruce Lehrmann has decided not to appear at the Restoring the Presumption of Innocence conference.”

So, if you had already purchased your tickets for the event, hoping to hear from the former Liberal staffer, you may be disappointed.

The organisers are going to try to find a replacement, and they say they will still discuss the Lehrmann case to ensure it still “receives appropriate attention at the conference as a powerful example of trial by media undermining the vital legal principle of the presumption of innocence”.

Trial by media is a bit of stretch, considering Bruce’s cosy relationship with the Spotlight program. It’s not like he’s had to be working a nine-tofive job to pay for his never-ending legal bills. In the real world, it is probably wise Bruce does not appear, because this week the Federal Court found on the balance of probabilities, Bruce raped Brittany Higgins.

Justice Lee announced this to the world on the court You Tube account.

It was carried by all the major television stations and the next day it was front-page news.

The headlines are shocking in their simplicity.

But will this be the end to the story, who knows?

Lehrmann may appeal, and he may be up for millions of dollars in costs.

There might be one more chapter, but as it stands today, Lehrmann’s reputation is in ruins because (in the words of Justice Lee): “Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr

Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat …” A compelling image. Almost comic. But it’s true.

Lehrmann has been in the papers more than most former Liberal staffers.

The relationship he has curated with the media, and the Spotlight program in particular, has been brought into a sharp focus.

It is now public knowledge that Bruce lived rent-free in a swanky apartment for 12 months. People on the street heard that Bruce was the beneficiary of super expensive rounds of golf, extraordinary dinners and more than $10,000 in massages.

But none of these indulgences has brought relief, and now we all know that Justice Lee believes Brittany Higgins was raped in a federal minister’s office in Parliament House, which brings us back to the start of the story again. Parliament House Canberra, the most secure building in our nation.

To be a staffer, you must have a security pass and photo identification. It is patrolled by 24-hour guards, cameras, guns and dogs all there to protect the national secrets.

But in the early hours of Saturday, March 23, 2019, a young woman entered that federal fortress barefoot. She was vulnerable and abandoned.

There is a video online of Bruce singing “I fought the law and the law won” by The Clash.

In this video, Bruce changes up the narrative.

He happily sings to the camera, “I fought the law and Bruce won”.

It’s ironic, sad. It’s pathetic. In this case, there are no winners.