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Recordings of a five-hour meeting involving Brittany Higgins and journalist Lisa Wilkinson that were leaked to the media have been referred to police to investigate whether a contempt of court has been committed by passing on sensitive documents originally meant for the Bruce Lehrmann criminal trial.

That release comes as Finance Minister Katy Gallagher faces a barrage of questions over her knowledge of the sexual assault allegation in the lead-up to Higgins initially going public, following the publication of text messages indicating the Labor frontbencher was made aware in early 2021.

Recordings of a five-hour meeting involving Brittany Higgins and Lisa Wilkinson that were leaked to the media have been referred to police.Credit: Janie Barrett, Alex Ellinghausen

Thomson Geer law firm partner Marlia Saunders, who is acting for Network Ten in Lehrmann’s defamation proceedings, made a complaint to ACT Policing last Wednesday about material issued under subpoena for his criminal trial being aired in a televised interview with the Seven Network last week.

“I asked them to investigate the suspected breach of the implied undertaking given that documents produced under subpoena to the ACT Supreme Court … criminal proceedings appear to have been provided to various media organisations contrary to the implied undertaking,” Saunders said.

Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to raping Higgins in the office of then-defence minister Linda Reynolds in the early hours of March 23, 2019, in a trial that was aborted in October last year due to juror misconduct, with the proceedings being ultimately discontinued in December.

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, who dropped the case against Lehrmann, was due to return to work on Tuesday after taking leave during a public inquiry into his and others’ handling of the trial, but that leave has now been extended until June 30 at his request.

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold has had his leave extended.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Drumgold has come under fire over multiple aspects of his conduct during the case, and questions hang over his future.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the inquiry would report to the territory government by July 31.

“The government will respond accordingly once it has had time to consider the recommendations,” he said.

Network Ten, which aired Wilkinson’s interview of Higgins on The Project the day the latter went public with her allegation on February 15, 2021, produced material to the court that was never used in the trial, but has since been distributed to the media by unidentified sources.

Acting ACT DPP Anthony Williamson, SC, told Saunders in an email, released in Lehrmann’s defamation case against media outlets, that the breach of the undertaking constituted a contempt of court.

According to an email from Saunders to Williamson, the material included transcripts and recordings relating to a meeting involving Higgins and Wilkinson ahead of the recorded interview.

Williams said he did not propose to institute proceedings for contempt of court, but said Ten could do so.

ACT Policing declined to comment on Saunders’ complaint when contacted on Monday, however, Saunders said police had confirmed they had received the complaint, and also confirmed they did not provide the subpoenaed material to the Seven Network, which aired an interview with Lehrmann on June 4.

The interview with Lehrmann, who has always maintained his innocence, preceded stories in The Australian that purported to reveal text messages between Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, in early 2021, in which Sharaz said he had told Katy Gallagher of the rape allegation.

The Coalition will use Senate question time this week to pile pressure on Gallagher after she told federal parliament in June 2021 she had no knowledge of Higgins’ claim before The Project story went to air.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

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