Former political staffer Brittany Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz have fronted up with Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds in an attempt to settle their ongoing defamation dispute.
The former defence minister is suing Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz over a series of social media posts that she says have damaged her reputation.
The couple left Australia in December to start a new life in France, with social media posts showing the Arc de Triomphe and the couple walking a dog.
But on Tuesday, they bunkered down in the David Malcolm Justice Centre in Perth for mediation talks with Senator Reynolds.
Lawyers for the parties appeared in the Western Australian Supreme Court last month, where they sorted out key dates in preparation for a trial should the mediation session fail.
Justice Marcus Solomon encouraged the parties to work together to resolve the matter before a lengthy and costly trial.
The mediation session is closed to the public and media.
Senator Reynolds is suing Mr Sharaz over tweets he made and a Facebook comment in 2022.
Among the defamatory imputations claimed against Mr Sharaz’s tweets were that Senator Reynolds pressured Ms Higgins not to proceed with a genuine complaint to police, “is a hypocrite in her advocacy for women’s interests and empowerment”, interfered in Bruce Lehrmann’s trial and bullied Ms Higgins.
Senator Reynolds claims she was also defamed by Mr Sharaz’s reply to a comment on her Facebook page that asked how she was still in politics having “destroyed” Ms Higgins.
The commenter added, “You’re a monster who deserves to be in jail”.
Mr Sharaz responded: “Thanks for reminding her. I hope she hears this every day until she dies”, the senator’s statement of claim says.
Ms Higgins is accused of posting defamatory material on two occasions on her Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Ms Higgins alleged she was raped in 2019 by Lehrmann inside Senator Reynolds’ ministerial office, where he also worked as a staffer.
Lehrmann consistently denied the allegation, and his trial in the ACT Supreme Court was derailed by juror misconduct.
Prosecutors decided not to pursue further action, citing concerns of the impact it may have on Ms Higgins’ mental health.
He has since been charged with raping another woman in Queensland and his lawyers have indicated he will plead not guilty.
