MELBOURNE, Australia – The Australian Defense Minister settled a defamation complaint on Friday and agreed to pay damages to a former aide she called a “lying cow” after the woman reported being raped in the Parliament building.
The minister, Linda Reynolds, retracted the remark made privately after former adviser Brittany Higgins’ lawyers sent a letter last week to Reynolds demanding a public apology for the “humiliating and disparaging” comment. The letter described the remark as “defamatory of our client’s good character and immaculate reputation”, according to local news.
Last week, Ms. Reynolds issued a formal apology, saying she never questioned Ms. Higgins’ account. On Friday, in a short public statement, the minister withdrew the comment that, according to her, “never had the intention” to make public.
“I didn’t mean it in the sense that it was understood,” said Reynolds.
It was not immediately clear how much Mrs. Reynolds agreed to pay for damages. In a text message, the minister’s office refused to disclose the amount. Mrs. Higgins did not immediately respond to calls or text messages asking for clarification. But she said in a statement that damages in addition to the cost of their legal fees would be donated to a charity that supports survivors of sexual violence.
Higgins said last month that she had been beaten by a co-worker in the minister’s office two years ago, while working as Reynolds’ media advisor. Mrs. Higgins said that after telling the minister and other team members what had happened, she felt she would lose her job if she reported it to the police and felt without support from Mrs. Reynolds. Since then, Ms. Higgins has made a formal complaint to the Australian police.
She also said that days after being assaulted, she was interrogated by Mrs. Reynolds in the same room.
Last week, news.com.au reported that the Defense Minister had referred to Mrs. Higgins as a “lying cow” to employees in her office after Ms. Higgins introduced herself. Some team members raised concerns at the time, and Ms. Reynolds apologized to them, saying it was a “stressful time”, according to news.com.au.
Ms. Higgins said that Ms. Reynolds’ language about her was “more evidence of the toxic workplace culture that occurs behind closed doors in Parliament”.
In response to the retraction on Friday, Ms. Higgins said in her statement: “I am pleased that the Minister withdrew her comments and accepted her apologies to me.” She added: “This has been an extremely challenging period for me and I want to reiterate that the only reason I chose to come here is to help others.”