Latest / The Front / Is OnlyFans Bruce Lehrmann’s only option?

Transcript

Is OnlyFans Bruce Lehrmann’s only option? · The Front

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm Claire Harvey.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: It's Tuesday, October fifteen. King Charles hits Australia on Friday,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: but there's a dispute over whether he really holds the
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: title King of Australia. The government has agreed to pass
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: special legislation enabling the title, but it won't happen before
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: he arrives. Another Sydney restaurant owner has shared anti Semitic material,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: this time an image of an Israeli soldier in the
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: form of a pig. Those stories alive now at the
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Australian dot com dot au. Bruce Lemmon has no money
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: and the only way he could pay costs for an
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: appeal is something silly like going on only fans. That's
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: the argument made in the Federal Court on Monday by
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: a lawyer for Lamon, who comeback for an attempt to
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: clear his name today. Why Lherman says it's his right
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: to appeal.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: Having escaped the lines dead, Mister Lehman made the mistake
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: of coming back for his heat.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: After a Federal Court judge makes this joke at your expense,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: you'd think you may hesitate to go again. But Bruce
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Lahmon is back, and this time he's fighting to have
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the full bench of the Federal Court overturn Justice Michael
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: Lee's finding that, on the balance of probabilities he raped
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Brittany Higgins. He's also seeking to delay payment of the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: two million dollars Justice Lee ordered him to hand over
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: to Network Ten.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: Mister Lehman is arguably probably Australia's most hated man.
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: These are the words spoken in a Federal court on
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Monday by Zally Burrows, a barrister representing Bruce Lamman. We've
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: used a voice actor.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: He's a young man, he's got his whole life behind
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: him and he really does need his day in court
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: to basically defend this charge of being labeled a rapist.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: Even though it's on a civil standard. He's forever going
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: to be on the Internet and will be labeled a
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: rapist and people don't know the difference between a criminal
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: standard or civil standard.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: This hearing is not the appeal. It's two applications heard
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: before trial. The first is an application by the defendants
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Network ten and Lisa Wilkinson seeking security for costs. That is,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: they want the court to order Laman to put two
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars in an account. During the hearing on Monday,
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Matt Collins CAC, the barrister for Network ten, reduced that
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: figure to one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, estimating the
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: appeal would take two days to hear. But everyone agrees
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: Lamman doesn't have anything like that amount of money.
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: We don't understand there to be any controversy between the
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: parties that mister Lehman is impecunious and the effect of
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: an order for security for costs would likely be to
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: stultify the hearing of the appeal.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: In other words, that would be the end of the case.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Lahman's lawyer, Zali Burrows says that would be an unfair
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: denial of his right to appeal.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: It's a bit rich in asking him to put up
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: two hundred thousand dollars when they are one of the
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: contributors as to why he is pretty much unemployable. The
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: only shot he'd probably ever be making money is by
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: going on only fans or something silly like that.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: For his part, Bruce Lemmon is telling the court the
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: reason he is impecunious, that he is penniless is that
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: his reputation and job prospects have been destroyed by media
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: reporting about Brittany Higgins allegations. Remember, Lahman has a never
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: been convicted in a criminal court. He was charged and
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: went trial in the Act, but the trial was aborted
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: with no verdict because of Dura misconduct. The Act's Director
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: of Public Prosecutions declined to bring on another trial, saying
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Brittney Higgins's mental health was too fragile. Lahman's lawyers have
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: told the court he effectively lost his job with British
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: American Tobacco on February fifteen, twenty twenty one, the day
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: Brittney higgins allegations were first published by news dot com
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: dore U and then later that day by Network ten
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: on its show The Project, But neither Ten nor News
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: dot Com doree U named Laman. Ten is arguing that
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: it wasn't until August, when police charged him with sexual
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: assault without consent, that Lahman's name went into the public domain.
• 4:52
  Speaker 4: The substantive cause of mister Lehman's impecuniosity in our submission
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: must logically arise from the fact that he was subsequently
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: charged with rape and then named.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: In other words, says Ten, we didn't name him, so
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: we're not responsible for his lack of a job. Matt
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: Collins told the court ten served Bruce Lemmon with a
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: bankruptcy notice electronically on twenty fifth of July twenty twenty
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: four and in person by a process server who tracked
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: him down on August five. Laman's lawyer denies that. She
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: says ten unsuccessfully attempted to serve the notice on Lahman's mother.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Colin said ten doesn't have any expectation that Laman has
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: two million dollars lying around.
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: I think we are frankly all proceeding on the basis
• 5:43
  Speaker 4: that there'll never be any recovery. But that's just an
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: assumption on our part. Only when a trustee in bankruptcy
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: gets in and looks at mister Lehman's affairs will we
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: have some clarityll.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Burrows, barrister for Bruce Lahman, says Tenant tried to name
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: and shame Laman in relation to another rape charge. He
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: is now facing a claim that he raped a woman
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: into Woomba, which is yet to be heard. Laman has
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: not yet entered a plea, but he is likely to
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: defend that charge.
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: My client is on a centerlink income and he won't
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: be able to meet a security of costs order.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: Burrows noted Laerman had won settlements of around two hundred
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: thousand dollars from other publishers.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: Now, if Channel ten were making a commercial decision, you
• 6:35
  Speaker 3: would think that they would be wanting to offer something similar.
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: If this was all about money. The security of costs
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: for about two hundred thousand dollars is a bit disingenuous
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: when basically they would make that on advertising revenue just
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: reporting on these proceedings.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: She said, two hundred thousand just was not a lot
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: of money to Network ten.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: This application for security of costs is pretty much a
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: bullying tactic just to hard fisted and shut down this
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: appeal because they know my client will not be able
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: to come up with two hundred thousand dollars at all.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: Burrow said Lahman's mental health had suffered from the negative
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: publicity and that he was watching the live stream of
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: the hearing rather than showing up in person because he
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: was scared of what she called the media onslaught and
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: assault outside court.
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: The effect of all this is that it really really
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: has smashed my client.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: Lherman is making his appeal on four grounds.
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: The first two are hopeless.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Colin said three and four are extraordinarily weak, but not hopeless.
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: Mister Lhirman has had his day in court, more than
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: a day in court, twenty six days in court in
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: circumstances where factual findings went against him and no novel
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: or important questions of law arise.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Collins is also arguing that there's no public interest in
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: the continuation of the proceedings.
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: He brought the proceeding. Of course, the findings are devastating
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: to mister Lahman, but that doesn't mean that the reversal
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: of those findings serve some broader public interest. He's had
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: his day in court. He had a very expensive trial.
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: It was conducted in the full glare of the entire nation.
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: He was very ably represented, and his honor has made
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: findings at the end of the day of the kind
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: that civil courts make every day of the week.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Here's what Sukrasanthu, SC. Council for Lisa Wilkinson said about that.
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: He chose to ender the fray. He walked over the
• 8:53
  Speaker 5: line and asked this court, knowing the likelihood that my
• 8:55
  Speaker 5: client and Network ten would plead truth. Mister Lahman has
• 8:59
  Speaker 5: had his day in court. His impecuniosity did not deprive
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: him of having his day in court, and he's had it,
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: why should he get another day in court?
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: Coming up the question of whether Bruce Lammon was reckless.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: That's after the break. One of Bruce Lammon's submissions, one
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: of the two Matt Collins says are hopeless, is that
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: Justice Lee made a mistake in finding that Bruce Lammon
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: was recklessly indifferent to whether or not Brittany Higgins consented.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: So I'm satisfied that it is more likely than not
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: that mister Lehman's state of mind was such that he
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: was so intent upon gratification to be indifferent to Miss
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: Higgins's consent, and hence where head was sexual intercourse without
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: caring whether she consented. He's pursuit of gratification here one
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: way or the other, whether Miss Higgins understood or agreed
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: to what was going on.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: Lahman says this is unfair because this question of reckless
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: indifference to Higgins's consent was never put to him in
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: cross examination. Colin's on Monday took the court to a
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: part of the cross examination from November twenty twenty three,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: using this to explain why he never directly asked Laman
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: whether he obtained Higgins's consent. Here's that cross examination with
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: Matt Collins questioning Bruce Lahman. We've used voice actors.
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: Now. Did you come into the support staff area and
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: find Miss Higgins semi conscious or passed out? No, she
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: wasn't in that area. Did you enter the Minister's office
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: and find Miss Higgins on the minister's couch either semi
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: conscious or passed out.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: No.
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: I didn't enter the Minister's office during part of the
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: period between one eight am and two thirty am on
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: the twenty third of March twenty nineteen. You had sexual
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: intercourse with miss Higgins.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: I did not.
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: I put to you that you were aware that Miss
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: Higgins was either passed out or semi conscious.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: No, Doctor Collins.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: I put to you, mister Luhman, that you were approaching
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: a climax when Miss Higgins came to regaining a consciousness
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: of her surroundings. No, Doctor Collins.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Collins noted that the judge found that Higgins was either
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: unconscious or not fully aware of her surroundings, but came
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: to during the act of intercourse.
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: Did you, at any time seek Miss Higgins's consent to
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: have sexual intercourse with you. I didn't have sexual intercourse
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: with her. Well, answer my question, did you at any
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: time seek her consent to have sexual inter course with her?
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: There was an objection which was overruled and then Justice
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: Lee intervened.
• 12:07
  Speaker 6: I assume your answer to the question is, at no
• 12:10
  Speaker 6: stage did you seek to procure consent to have any
• 12:13
  Speaker 6: sexual intercourse? Yes, because you deny the fact that sexual
• 12:17
  Speaker 6: intercourse took place, and you deny you asked for any consent,
• 12:21
  Speaker 6: Is that correct? Yes?
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: Yes, Colin says there's no procedural unfairness because Laman was
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: adamant they didn't have sex at all. When that trial starts,
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: we'll take you into the courtroom with us. And of
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: course it and all the big trials are reported live
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: with unrivaled analysis at the Australian dot com dot Au