1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Today's biggest news from The Australian. I'm Claire Harvey with 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: the Front's afternoon headlines. The Brittany Higgins sparked feud between 3 00:00:10,320 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: three of politics most senior women has taken a new twist. 4 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: Linda Reynolds, a former minister in the Morrison government, says 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,760 Speaker 1: two of Labour's star ministers, Penny Wong and Katie Gallagher, 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 1: at trying to escape responsibility for what she says was 7 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: a targeted and unfair mean girl's campaign. A court has 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,360 Speaker 1: found Higgins was raped in the ministerial office of former 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: Senator Linda Reynolds in twenty twenty one. Higgins also accused 10 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: Reynolds of failing to act when she found out about 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,879 Speaker 1: the rape, but Reynolds has always maintained she sacked the 12 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: alleged perpetrator, suggested Higgins go to the police, and had 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: the young staffer's best interests at heart. Two courts have 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: backed Reynolds's version of events, and Higgins has been ordered 15 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,720 Speaker 1: to pay Reynolds hefty defamation damages and legal bills. Now, 16 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: Reynolds is suing the Commonwealth, as is her former chief 17 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,839 Speaker 1: of staff, Fiona Brown. Reynolds is accusing the Albanese government 18 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:13,200 Speaker 1: of deliberately preventing her from properly defending herself against Higgins's allegations, 19 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: and now Reynolds says she's baffled that Wong and Gallagher 20 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:22,320 Speaker 1: want their names excluded from Reynolds's lawsuit. Reynolds has told 21 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,399 Speaker 1: The Australian I can't help but wonder why they are 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: so incredibly sensitive and what they may have to hide. 23 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:32,959 Speaker 1: Reynolds claims the Commonwealth should have known that Higgins was 24 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: making serious and damaging allegations against her, including of an 25 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: alleged attempt to cover up a rape for political purposes. 26 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 2: And the first thing that sort of awoke me was 27 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 2: I was in a pain. 28 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: My leg was kind of being crushed. 29 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:54,320 Speaker 2: The senior staff was on top of me as I 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 2: woke up. 31 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: Meda rape essentially as evidence of that, reynolds lawsuit noted 32 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: the aggressive parliamentary questioning which she says was prompted by 33 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: Higgins account by Gallagher and Wong in twenty twenty one. 34 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: My final question, Senator Reynolds, was it your decision to 35 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: send miss Higgins to Perth for the duration of the 36 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: election campaign. 37 00:02:15,080 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 2: Senator Gallagher again, that's also subject. 38 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: Please to investigation. How hands that was your final question, 39 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: Senator Gallagher, that was beneath you? Were you justage that 40 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: we put you in hospital? You just said I put 41 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: you in hospital, Senator Reynolds, Well, if so, you're the 42 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: victim order Senator Wong's nobody questions nobody takes pleasure in 43 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:44,919 Speaker 1: US Government solicitors told Reynolds lawyers they wanted the reference 44 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: to the two senators struck from her statement of claim. 45 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: Reynolds says she accepted this in order to avoid further 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: costs and delays. Opposition leader Susan Lee is appealing to 47 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 1: jen Z voters, saying she cares about the climate, despite 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: her Liberal party joining the Nationals in dumping support for 49 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: net zero greenhouse gas emissions by twenty fifty. 50 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,239 Speaker 2: It's about the right thing for our country, and most importantly, 51 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 2: it's about what's right for jen Z and millennials who 52 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 2: right now can't afford to buy home, can't pay their 53 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 2: power bills, and are looking at a government that is 54 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,960 Speaker 2: set to deliver them a worse standard of living than 55 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 2: their parents. That's just not fair, because when energy is unaffordable, 56 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 2: everything is unaffordable. 57 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: It's been a painful and damaging saga for the Coalition, 58 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: which now has to pivot its pitch to a crusade 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: to get power bills and the cost of living down 60 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: while still showing it cares about the environment. Anthony Albanezi 61 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: says Lee claimed to be a moderate who would modernize 62 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: the Liberal Party, but is instead trying to take Australia backwards. 63 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: Check out those stories live right now at the Australian 64 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:54,920 Speaker 1: dot com dot a U and come back to the 65 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: front first thing in the morning for something really fun. 66 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 1: Our close look at two critics lists of the best 67 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: TV and movies of the century. The lists prompted feelings 68 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: from our audiences, and Culture editor Melanderut joins me to 69 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: thrash out Barbie versus Parasite and Bluey Versus Succession.