Barnaby Joyce has lashed out at the Albanese government after he forced a minister to admit that no military veteran has received as much compensation as Brittany Higgins for injuries or impairment since Labor took office.
Ms Higgins, a former political staffer, received a $2.4million compensation payout from the Federal Government in December 2022, ten days after the ACT’s top prosecutor dropped a sexual assault charge against Bruce Lehrmann.
She sued over the way she was allegedly treated by her former bosses, Coalition senators Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash, after she disclosed her rape allegations to them.
Her allegations have never been proven in court, but the Labor government settled her claim after just one day of mediation, with the amount of compensation she received only disclosed in a defamation case in the Federal Court last year.
That prompted Mr Joyce to hit Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh with four questions in Parliament over the sums injured and impaired former soldiers have received in compensation.
Mr Joyce asked Mr Keogh whether any veterans with physical or mental injuries had made successful claims for an amount close to Ms Higgins $2.4million payment in the 18 months since Labor took office in 2022.
On Wednesday, Mr Joyce told Daily Mail : ‘The idea that you can go into a meeting and walk out a few hours later with upwards of $2.4million is just incredible.’
Barnaby Joyce has lashed out at the Albanese government over compensation payments
Brittany Higgins, pictured centre, landed a $2.4million payment over her alleged rape in Parliament House
‘A lot of veterans find it incredibly galling that a payout can be made so quickly for such a large amount for an alleged event in Parliament House, while they wait years and don’t receive an amount within sight of anything like that.’
He said some of those veterans include those who have seen active service and have crippling and life-changing wounds.
‘What’s been brought up to me over and over again by servicemen and women is that the government shows it can move quickly when it chooses to,’ he continued.
‘Why is working in Parliament House different to serving our nation in uniform on the battlefields?’
In December, Mr Joyce had asked: ‘For each month, how many veterans or dependents received compensation since the current Government took office? How many veterans or dependents received compensation or other forms of payments totalling at least $2.3 million?
‘In each case, what was the timeframe from the lodgment of the claim, to approval for payment? Without requesting identifiable personal information, to what injuries, conditions or circumstances did each payment relate?’
Mr Keogh’s office responded to those questions on February 14 – a whole 12 days after the response was due.
He revealed ‘no single veteran or dependent has received compensation totalling $2.3million or more’ between June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023.
Barnaby Joyce asked Veteran’s Affairs Matt Keogh (pictured with his wife, Annabel) whether any former service men or women received a payment worth $2.3million
The number of compensation claims by military veterans between June 2022 and December 2023 was also listed. Within that timeframe, there were 4,170 veterans receiving defence-related compensation and 64,934 veterans receiving compensation for military rehabilitation.
There were also between 77,967 and 77,025 veterans per quarter who were receiving a fortnightly disability compensation pension.
In December 2022 alone, the month Ms Higgins’ $2.4million claim was settled, there were 169 veterans on defence-related compensation and 3145 veterans who were on compensation for military rehabilitation.
Mr Joyce had also asked, in the event that any diggers did receive a payment akin to Ms Higgins, what their injuries and circumstances were, and what the timeframe of approval was.
However, those questions were not applicable because no veteran has received that much.
According to Ms Higgins’ settlement deed, her $2.445million payment included $1.48million to cover lost earning capacity; $400,000 for hurt, distress and humiliation; $220,000 for medical expenses $100,000 for past and future domestic assistance; and $245,000 for her legal costs.
Senator Reynolds and Senator Cash were barred from mediation talks, despite Ms Higgins claims that they didn’t support her in the aftermath of her alleged rape.
Linda Reynolds (pictured with her lawyer Martin Bennett) was not invited to Brittany Higgins’ mediation session in December 2022
Ms Higgins was forced to divulge the value of her payment in the Federal Court, while under cross-examination in her alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
She mistakenly told the court the whole payment was worth $2.3million but that she personally received about $1.9million after lawyer fees and taxes, even though compensation payments are not taxed.
However, the deed of settlement showed the whole amount was worth $2.445million – which is about $145,000 more that she said it was.
Following her payout, Ms Higgins rented on the Gold Coast for a year with her fiancé David Sharaz, before they bought a house in the south of France and permanently relocated.
Ms Higgins had alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her in Senator Reynolds’ office in Parliament House in March 2019. He denies the allegations.
She went public with her allegations in an interview with Wilkinson on The Project in February, 2021.
Mr Lehrmann was not named in the broadcast, but claims colleagues and friends were able to identify him as the alleged rapist.
His defamation case was heard before Justice Michael Lee over about a month in the Federal Court in December,.
One of the key arguments by the network and Wilkinson was a truth defence, which means they sought to prove Mr Lehrmann did rape Ms Higgins on a balance of probability.
Justice Lee will hand down his decision on Monday.
READ MORE: The damning wedding invite that shows just how close Brittany Higgins’ fiancé David Sharaz was with ‘old friend’ Labor minister Katy Gallagher before her department approved ‘$3million’ payout
Katy Gallagher is pictured