Linda Reynolds ‘deeply sorry’ Brittany Higgins did not feel supported after alleged sexual assault
Linda Reynolds says she is “deeply sorry” that Brittany Higgins, her former staffer, did not feel properly supported after she was allegedly sexually assaulted on a couch in her ministerial office in March 2019.
Reynolds took a period of medical leave on 24 February amid sustained pressure over her handling of the alleged rape of her former staffer. She then extended her leave after it was revealed she had called Higgins a “lying cow” in front of staff after Higgins went public about her alleged rape and the minister’s handling of the matter.
Reynolds took medical leave on the advice of her cardiologist, and was hospitalised as a precautionary measure. The medical leave related to a preexisting heart condition.
At the time the Higgins story broke, Reynolds was Australia’s defence minister. In a March ministerial reshuffle, Scott Morrison appointed her minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and minister for government services.
In her first substantial interview since returning to work, Reynolds was reluctant to comment fully about her role in the Higgins matter.
The alleged rape of the former Liberal staffer is currently being investigated by police. The alleged perpetrator of the assault was also employed by Reynolds at the time of the incident but had his employment terminated a couple of days later.
Asked for a response to a number of public statements from Higgins that she did not feel supported in the aftermath of the alleged assault, Reynolds said: “I am deeply sorry that she felt that way because my chief of staff and I at the time genuinely wanted to provide the support that she wanted.”
Reynolds also confirmed she was cooperating with the police investigation. “All I can say is I’m currently assisting the AFP with their inquiry. I can’t say anything further, but I am talking to the AFP and providing a statement on all matters in relation to this. I simply can’t say any more.”
Higgins has said in the aftermath of the alleged assault, which happened in the run up to the 2019 election campaign, she was given the option to either go home and serve out her remaining notice period, or go to Western Australia to work with Reynolds’ electoral team.
She said she chose to go to WA because she was concerned the incident would end her career in political staffing. “I had worked my entire life to get here,” Higgins told the Ten Network in the middle of February.
“I wanted this future. I wanted to be a part of it, for my entire working life. So I went to WA. We were sort of working seven days a week. I was pretty suicidal to be honest at the time. Because you are just alone. It was really hard.”
Last Friday, Higgins met with Morrison in Sydney. The former staffer who triggered a #MeToo moment for the Australian parliament told the prime minister he needed to “show leadership” to deliver cultural change and protect political staffers against predatory behaviour in their workplace.
Morrison flagged at the end of March he would meet privately with Higgins after she made a formal complaint to the prime minister’s chief of staff, John Kunkel, asking him to examine whether government staff had backgrounded against her or her loved ones – but the meeting did not take place until last Friday.
The government has initiated an inquiry into parliamentary culture by Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins. As part of that process, Higgins wants the government to create an independent parliamentary human resources authority to deal with staff matters, with functions provided at arm’s length from government.
She is also seeking changes to the legislation governing the employment of parliamentary staff to end the currently unfettered power of parliamentarians to hire and fire staff. The former staffer also wants more transparency on the so-called “star chamber” that governs the appointment of government staff.