Bruce Lehrmann will not record a conviction despite accepting a charge of taking and driving a Toyota Prado without consent.
A day after Lehrmann failed to overturn a defamation result in the Federal Court, while signalling intent to appeal further, the 30-year-old brought another proceeding to conclusion in Hobart Magistrates Court on Thursday.
Lehrmann was charged with stealing a car in remote Mountain River and taking a joyride in November 2024, but prosecutor Bunewat Keo advised those charges had been downgraded to driving a car without consent.
The lesser seriousness and prospect of ending the matter without conviction prompted Lehrmann, through his lawyer Zali Burrows, to plead guilty.
Magistrate Robert Webster said a 12-month good behaviour bond would apply to avoid the conviction.
The matter was heard before Mr Webster in a “contest mention” hearing, which allows participants to have frank discussions about facts and arguments and avoid long, contested trials.
Thursday’s hearing was almost wholly suppressed.
Mr Webster fumed at Lehrmann and Ms Burrows’ no-show for a similar hearing last month, threatening to arrest Lehrmann should he not be able to produce a doctor’s certificate advising of his inability to attend.
While Lehrmann did not attend court for the morning’s proceedings, his changed plea and attendance in the afternoon to accept the judgment meant the matter was not escalated to arrest.
Prior to Thursday’s hearing, Ms Burrows told waiting journalists that her client was “not in a good way”, asking for compassionate coverage.
On Wednesday, Lehrmann suffered a bruising loss in the Federal Court where he sought to restore his reputation.
The disgraced former Liberal staffer had sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for defamation over an interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project in 2021 in which she claimed she had been raped.
Justice Michael Lee found in April 2024 that Lehrmann had, on the balance of probabilities, raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 after a night out.
The finding was upheld by the full court.
Lehrmann was directed to pay $2 million in damages after his initial defamation loss, and he must now also foot the bill for the legal costs of his opponents during his unsuccessful appeal.
Ms Burrows said on Thursday that Network 10 and Ms Wilkinson had agreed to stay costs pending the outcome of their application for special leave to contest the decision in the High Court.
Ms Higgins expressed her relief at the decision in a statement on social media.
“Finally, it feels like I can breathe again,” she posted on Instagram, thanking the court for its decision.
“While on the face of it this was a defamation case against a media outlet, in reality this was once again a rape trial.
“I cannot begin to tell you how re-traumatising it is to have your rapist weaponise the legal system against you for daring to speak out.
“Sadly, this isn’t uncommon. It’s a legal tactic that is being increasingly used around the world by perpetrators in a bid to sue victim-survivors into silence as a direct response to the #MeToo movement.”
Lehrmann has always denied he sexually assaulted Ms Higgins, and a criminal case against him in 2022 was abandoned without any findings.
News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply