Senator Linda Reynolds’ parents feared she would die from illness following Brittany Higgins’ accusations about a political cover-up of her alleged rape, a defamation trial has been told.
The former defence minister is suing her former staffer Higgins over a series of social media posts containing alleged mistruths she believes damaged her reputation.
Janice and Laith Reynolds told the Perth court they were “devastated” by Higgins’ interview on Network Ten’s The Project when she said the senator mishandled the response to her alleged rape in parliament house in 2019.
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“How could anyone accuse her of such actions?” Janice Reynolds said in a witness statement to the West Australian Supreme Court on Wednesday.
“Especially galling because Lisa Wilkinson had not asked Linda for any comment, much less wanting to know her side of the story.
“It was unprofessional, to say the least.”
Janice Reynolds also wrote about her daughter’s heart problems that led to her being rushed to a Canberra hospital in the days following The Project episode in 2021 amid intense political scrutiny over Higgins’ claims.
“Laith flew over to see her,” she said.
“He told me how upset he was seeing his daughter so seriously ill and not certain she would survive.”
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Laith Reynolds recalled meeting Higgins at former minister Ken Wyatt’s home in the months after she was allegedly raped.
“It was a house-warming,” he said.
“She was very nice, appeared to be ebullient, joyful and told me she was delighted to be working with Linda.
“I found her to be a delightful young woman.”
Janice Reynolds had a similar recollection after meeting Higgins at a Liberal Party function at a hotel in Perth’s eastern suburbs.
“She knew I was Linda’s mother … She said words to the effect her job with Linda was her dream job,” she said.
“She was very excited, very upbeat, very happy and obviously thought highly of Linda.”
Higgins’ defence statement of claim says she felt “isolated, traumatised, depressed, unsupported and confused” during her time in Perth for the 2019 federal election campaign.
“The defendant did not see the (senator) often and the defendant was not offered any additional support,” it said.
The trial continues today with evidence from Senator Reynolds’ brother Andrew and the man who replaced Fiona Brown as her chief of staff, Dean Carlson.
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