1 month ago
34
A adjacent person of Senator Linda Reynolds has told the WA Supreme Court the person “could not beryllium connected her own” aft she was hospitalised pursuing Brittany Higgins’ interrogation connected The Project.
The legislator is suing Ms Higgins and her hubby David Sharaz implicit societal media posts the mates shared successful 2022 and 2023.
The posts were captious of Senator Reynolds’ handling of Ms Higgins’ allegation she was raped successful Parliament House successful 2019 by her then-colleague Mr Lehrmann.
He was charged with rape and faced proceedings successful 2022, but the proceedings was aborted owed to juror misconduct.
The complaint was dropped and Mr Lehrmann continues to support his innocence.
SENATOR HIGHLY DISTRESSED
Giving grounds connected Thursday, Denita Wawn told the tribunal aft the legislator was hospitalised their radical of friends took turns with the senator’s spouse to beryllium with her.
“I met with her successful idiosyncratic and spent sizeable clip with her due to the fact that we were of the presumption that she could not beryllium connected her ain and idiosyncratic needed to beryllium with her,” she said.
Ms Wawn told the tribunal her person was anemic and successful a precocious authorities of distress, was looping and would beryllium triggered by immoderate small thing.
She said the legislator would repeatedly effort to rationalise and reconcile the quality betwixt what she had been accused of successful 2019 and what she believed had happened.
“Up until that clip Linda was a highly resilient idiosyncratic and could bash astir thing thrown astatine her,” she said.
“My observations of her anterior to this was that she could header with anything.”
Ms Wawn said it was the archetypal clip she had seen her person successful specified distress and experiencing symptoms that rendered her peculiarly weak.
“It was devastating. We were incredibly acrophobic astir her wellbeing,” she said.
“At 1 signifier I was disquieted her bosom information meant she could perchance die.”
WEEKEND AWAY AFTER 2022 FEDERAL ELECTION
Ms Wawn told the tribunal a tiny radical of friends took a travel to Northern NSW with the Senator Reynolds aft the national predetermination successful 2022 wherever the legislator became highly distressed.
Ms Wawn told the tribunal during questioning by the defence it was the worst she seen her since The Project interview.
“Between the play from erstwhile the Project aired and the lying cattle incident, she was trying to support it unneurotic and beryllium resolute,” she said.
“It was inactive not bully astatine all, but they were the worst times she was nether acute stress.”
Ms Wawn told defence lawyer Rachel Young, during 2023 she had seen her person highly stressed and trying to support it unneurotic but not to the grade of erstwhile they were distant successful 2022.
She said they had conversations astir the legislator being connected the backbench and her vocation derailing.
“It is just to accidental that she was of the presumption arsenic a curate oregon inferior shadiness curate she had greater capableness to marque changes,” she said.
“On the backbench that effect was diluted.”
She said they had talked astir the legislator not recontesting astatine the 2025 predetermination astir 12 to 18 months anterior to her making the announcement.
SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED
Ms Wawn told the tribunal she was “shocked” and “horrified” to work stories successful the media astir the allegations made against her friend.
Ms Wawn gave grounds successful the senator’s defamation proceedings connected Thursday, confirming she has been a adjacent person of the legislator since 2002.
Ms Wawn said she archetypal became alert a communicative involving the legislator would beryllium aired connected The Project a time earlier it was broadcast.
Ms Wawn told the tribunal they were connected a locomotion erstwhile the legislator told a tiny radical of friends the amusement would beryllium astir an contented relating to a unit member, but she was work bound not to disclose the contented astatine hand.
While Ms Wawn said did not ticker the Project interview, she work astir it successful the media the adjacent day.
Ms Wawn said she reacted with daze and fearfulness and empathy for Ms Higgins, and was shocked and horrified to spot the legislator being accused of not undertaking her work arsenic an leader due to the fact that the allegations were highly uncharacteristic of her.
“She was successful daze and dealing with the fallout of the allegations,” she said.
More to come
English (US) ·