WEBVTT - Lehrmann’s bid to throw out rape case 0:00:06.120 --> 0:00:08.520 You can listen to the Front on your smart sneaker 0:00:08.640 --> 0:00:12.760 every morning to hear the latest episode. Just say play 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:23.720 the news from the Australian. From the Australian, Here's what's 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:30.080 on the front. I'm Claire Harvey. It's Tuesday, June eighteenth. 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.760 The family of murder victim Lynnett Sims have launched an 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:38.320 impassioned defense of Lynn's law and nobody no Parole law 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.720 designed to keep her killer Chris Dawson behind bars unless 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:45.599 he reveals what he did with Lynn's remains. A campaign 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:49.360 supported by wrongly convicted women Kathleen Folbey and Lindy Chamberlain 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:51.880 is demanding a repeal of the New South Wales law. 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.240 Bud greg and Marilyn Sims say the families of homicide 0:00:55.280 --> 0:01:02.840 victims deserve certainty. Would scrap offshore wind projects in Australia. 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.440 National's leader David Little Proud says renewables must be on 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.480 rooftops where the environment can't be destroyed. It comes after 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:13.840 Labour declared an offshore wind zone twenty kilometers off the 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:19.800 Illawarra coast in New South Wales. Chinese officials have attempted 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:22.440 to block an Australian journalist at a press conference in 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:27.319 Parliament House with visiting Chinese Premier Lie Chung and Anthony Albanizi. 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:32.480 Extraordinary scenes unfolded as Australian officials physically blocked the Chinese 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:36.160 personnel from obstructing Chung, who spent nearly three years in 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:39.400 a Chinese jail and now works at Sky News Australia. 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.119 Anthony Albanezi said he didn't see what was going on. 0:01:43.760 --> 0:01:46.800 Look, I'm not aware of those issues. It's important that 0:01:46.880 --> 0:01:51.360 people be allowed to participate fully and that's what should 0:01:51.360 --> 0:01:54.240 happen in this building or anywhere else in Australia. 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.160 The visit is a big deal for Australia, with Premier 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.040 Lee saying the relationship is on the right track and 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:03.240 announcing Australian nationals will be allowed to enter China for 0:02:03.320 --> 0:02:07.640 holidays or work without needing a visa. That story is 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:13.760 live now at the Australian dot com dot Au. Bruce 0:02:13.800 --> 0:02:16.560 Lahman will fight to have sexual assault charges against him 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:20.240 thrown out of court. Media organizations were booted out of 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.920 court into Woomba on Monday when a complainant alleged Laman 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:28.519 sexually assaulted her in twenty twenty one. Today why Laman 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:39.639 is arguing, there's no case to answer. I'm buzzing this morning, 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:43.359 I since the crack of dawn. Those were the words 0:02:43.400 --> 0:02:45.880 spoken by Bruce Lahman as he made his way into 0:02:45.880 --> 0:02:48.959 the to Woomba Magistrates Court on Monday morning. They're being 0:02:49.000 --> 0:02:55.359 read by a voice actor. Hey, Bruce, what happened that night? 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:59.600 The former Liberal staffer was surrounded by a media scrum 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.240 that had descended on the Queensland City. 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:04.760 Target. 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:10.800 There's Peter Costello when you need him, Laman was referring 0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:13.920 there to a physical altercation between the former nine chairmen 0:03:14.200 --> 0:03:17.919 and a reporter from The Australian at Canberra Airport. Lea 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:20.520 Mendez was knocked to the ground while trying to question 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.919 Costello about allegations of bullying and harassment at the TV network. 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:28.400 Twenty nine year old Laman is changed with two counts 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.760 of rape relating to an incident that's alleged to have 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.720 happened in his hometown to Woomba in October twenty twenty one. 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.600 He's yet to formally enter a plea, but will defend 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:47.000 the charges. It was Lahman's first appearance in these proceedings. 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.520 He came with a silk Andrew Hawkkase who's gone in 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:53.680 with an aggressive approach. He'll be arguing the whole matter 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:58.080 should be thrown out. After what unfolded on Monday, Laws 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.520 in place in Queensland prior to October meant people accused 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.360 of sexual assault couldn't be named until a matter was 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.760 committed to trial. Committal is a process in a lower 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.040 court where the evidence is tested. If the magistrate believes 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:13.840 the case should proceed, it goes to a higher court 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:18.960 where it's heard before judge and jury. Lhman's lawyers fought 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:22.200 his identification for weeks after the law was scrapped, but 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.240 the Queensland Supreme Court allowed him to be named. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.960 A high profile person charged with two counts of rape 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.400 in the regional Queensland city of Toowoomba can finally be 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.520 named as Farmer Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lherman. 0:04:38.320 --> 0:04:41.640 Twomber Court House isn't typically known for these sorts of 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:43.040 high profile cases. 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.359 Mackenzie's got is a reporter with The Australian. She was 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:47.720 into Womba for the hearing. 0:04:48.680 --> 0:04:54.320 So the public gallery only had sixteen seats and they 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:58.719 were full almost immediately, so we had people fitting five 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.080 to a roll four We had people standing in the 0:05:01.120 --> 0:05:03.960 middle of the courtroom. At the back we had people 0:05:04.480 --> 0:05:07.480 sitting on the floor. It was quite a sight to see. 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:09.960 I don't think these courtrooms are really set up for 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:12.320 these types of notorious cases. 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:17.400 News organizations, including News Corp Australia, which publishes The Australian 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:21.000 Nine and the ABC, applied to be present while the complainant, 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:24.120 a twenty eight year old woman, gave evidence. She was 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:27.839 cross examined by Council for Lairman, giving evidence over about 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.320 an hour. A barrister for the news outlets, Jessica Goldie, 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:34.480 argued it was important for journalists to hear the complainant's 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:37.000 evidence so it could be accurately reported. 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:42.000 It's an important fundamental proposition to our legal system. This 0:05:42.080 --> 0:05:44.800 matter is a unique case which has attracted a high 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.560 degree of national interest in media coverage. There is therefore 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:50.640 a high public interest in the matter. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:56.680 But Lahirman's defense lawyer Andrewhaw and Crown Prosecutor Nicole Friedwald 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.680 both opposed the application. Both said they were concerned the 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.920 details of the complainant's evidence in chief and cross examination 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:06.560 would make it easy for her to be identified. 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:12.000 So obviously in these sort of matters. The law does 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:17.120 protect a complainant coming forward, so to encourage others to 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:22.000 come forward in these sorts of cases, our legal presentation 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:25.800 did put forward alternatives, saying we could be in a 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:29.400 separate courtroom as she gave her evidence via video link, 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:34.839 or we could be obscured from view, but both the 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:38.839 Crown and the defense were concerned about privacy and the 0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:42.560 fact that she may be identified via the evidence that 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:43.560 she was providing. 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:48.480 Magistrate Mark Howden ultimately blocked the application, meaning members of 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:51.680 the media, including Mackenzie, were sent out of the courtroom 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:53.560 while the complainant gave her evidence. 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:57.359 So it was frustrating for journalists not to be in 0:06:57.360 --> 0:07:02.600 the room as the complainant gave her evidence, but I 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:07.360 think it was largely expected. Queensland courts have lacked transparency 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:10.960 in the past and this matter does tho par for 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.880 the course of what to expect when covering these sorts 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:15.080 of cases in Queensland. 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:18.760 Magistrate Howden acknowledged the high degree of public interest in 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:22.120 this case and accepted the principle of open justice, but 0:07:22.200 --> 0:07:25.440 he said it doesn't overrule the complainant's right to privacy 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:26.920 in a proceeding like this. 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:30.480 So it was all very quick. We were in there 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.720 by two and out of there by two ten pm. Basically, 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:37.360 once we got back in the room, mister Lehman's barrister, 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.680 Andrew Hall Casey, told the court that they would be 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:44.720 making a submission to basically say there is no case 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:48.160 to move forward to trial. Mister Lehrman's defense did say 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:51.800 that the twelve page submission would have some density and 0:07:51.840 --> 0:07:55.560 it would highlight the insufficient evidence within Queensland Police's case. 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.480 Behind closed doors, the complainant laid out her allegations against 0:08:01.520 --> 0:08:05.680 Bruce Lammon. Charges were first laid in January twenty twenty three. 0:08:06.800 --> 0:08:10.200 According to police documents, the complainant heard about allegations against 0:08:10.240 --> 0:08:13.760 Bruce Lammon by Brittney Higgins that prompted the to Womber 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:16.480 woman to identify Laman as the man she had a 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:20.920 sexual encounter with in October twenty twenty one. The matter 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:23.680 heard on Monday into Woomba is unrelated to the earlier 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.560 allegation and the proceedings that have unfolded in the years since. 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:31.080 In this matter, the complainant says she met Lamman at 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.040 a strip club in twenty twenty one, where he introduced 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:39.280 himself as Bryce to Woomba is Lahman's hometown, and it's 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:42.080 believed he was staying with his mother when this incident 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:44.960 is alleged to have occurred. He was on bail at 0:08:45.000 --> 0:08:47.960 the time, having just appeared in court over an allegation 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:51.320 made by Brittaney Higgins that he raped her in Parliament 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:56.480 House in early twenty nineteen. That trial was sensationally aborted 0:08:56.600 --> 0:08:59.680 in late twenty twenty two Good Evening. 0:09:00.000 --> 0:09:02.600 In an extraordinary turn of events, the rape trial of 0:09:02.679 --> 0:09:06.319 former Liberal staff at Bruce Lherman has been aborted after 0:09:06.360 --> 0:09:10.040 a dura's misconduct was discovered by a court sheriff. 0:09:10.520 --> 0:09:14.160 That's when Bruce lamb ensued Network ten and Wilkinson for defamation. 0:09:14.880 --> 0:09:18.120 The allegation made by Brittany Higgins was found on the 0:09:18.160 --> 0:09:21.920 balance of probabilities to be true by Justice Michael Lee 0:09:22.080 --> 0:09:25.720 in the Federal court defamation proceedings brought by Laman against 0:09:25.840 --> 0:09:30.160 Network ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson. The complainant in the 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:33.320 Tawomba matter, says she had consensual sex with Laman on 0:09:33.360 --> 0:09:36.680 the night they met and twice the next morning, but 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:40.760 that he failed to use a condom despite her expectation. 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:44.320 That he do so, she says she never consented to 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:49.040 unprotected intercourse and if her allegation is proven, it's technically 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:54.400 considered rape under Queensland law. Colloquially it's called stealfing and 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:58.120 it was formally criminalized in Queensland in March as part 0:09:58.120 --> 0:10:01.360 of sweeping reforms to the way allihations of sexual assault 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:09.840 and coercive control are treated by the justice system. Coming 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:12.800 up Bruce Lamon's bid to get the whole matter thrown out. 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:23.920 We'll be back after this break. So there's still lots 0:10:23.920 --> 0:10:27.520 of unanswered questions, aren't there, Mackenzie. You haven't been allowed 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.880 to see the police brief of evidence, you haven't been 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:33.560 allowed to hear the complainant's claims about what happened that night. 0:10:34.080 --> 0:10:37.000 So what do we know about what the magistrate's going 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:39.040 to do in terms of committing this to trial or not. 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.720 The matter has been adjourned until July fourth. At that 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:48.080 time we will reconvene and the submission put forward by 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:52.040 the defense will be considered by the magistrate. The Crown 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:55.520 will have to provide its response in writing by July three, 0:10:55.960 --> 0:10:59.040 so we should at that point know whether or not 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:01.400 this matter will press scene to a jury trial. 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:06.240 Bruce Lemon appears to have depleted his funds in the 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.160 other legal actions that he's had on foot. He's now 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:12.760 representing himself in the appeal in the federal court. He's 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:16.080 got a case in this case which, if he's paying 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:19.440 those bills will already be running well into the multiple 0:11:19.480 --> 0:11:22.040 tens of thousands of dollars. How did he see him 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:23.000 on his way out of court? 0:11:23.559 --> 0:11:26.040 Those questions were put to him as he was leaving 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:29.160 by waiting journalists, but there was no response for mister 0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:33.280 Lhman at all. He just walked straight to his lawyer's car, 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:37.080 and then as they were driving off, they beat the 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:39.360 horn and waived at journalists as they walked past. 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.240 It's quite an unusual scene, isn't it. Probably not what 0:11:42.240 --> 0:11:44.640 you're expecting when you went to cover a sexual assault 0:11:44.640 --> 0:11:45.280 matter this morning. 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.760 It was a bit surprising, but we know that this 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:51.520 case was meant to be three hours, and now we're 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:54.800 going into two days. We keep getting Kervbull's thrown to us, 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:57.320 so let's just see what happens when we come back 0:11:57.400 --> 0:12:00.120 next month. Mister Lehman won't have to be in the 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:04.920 court room next time. He has been given permission to 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:09.040 appear via video link or via telephone, so I don't 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.720 expect we'll have this same sort of media circus again 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:12.160 next time. 0:12:13.600 --> 0:12:20.520 Mackenzie is a journalist with The Australian. The Reserve Bank 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.559 Board meets on Tuesday morning and is expected to hold 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:26.360 the cash rate at four point three five percent for 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:30.079 a fifth consecutive month. You can follow the decision live 0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:32.360 at Beaustralian dot com dot au.