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Network Ten is seeking to call fresh evidence about Bruce Lehrmann in a bombshell manoeuvre just days before a judge is due to deliver his decision in the former federal Liberal staffer’s defamation case.
Federal Court Justice Michael Lee was to hand down his decision in the multimillion-dollar case against Ten and high-profile presenter Lisa Wilkinson on Thursday.
Lisa Wilkinson (left), Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins. Network Ten is seeking to call fresh evidence in the high-profile defamation case. Credit: Steven Siewert, Rhett Wyman
The judge had adjourned the case in December following a month-long trial. Lee will hear an urgent application by Ten to reopen its case at 5pm on Tuesday.
In an application dated March 31 – Easter Sunday – and released by the Federal Court on the same day, Ten applied for “leave to re-open [its] case for the purpose of adducing fresh evidence” and “such further and other orders as the court deems fit or thinks necessary”.
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The nature of the fresh evidence is not known, but the application follows a series of reports about the circumstances in which the Seven Network secured an exclusive interview with Lehrmann, aired in two parts on its Spotlight program.
Samantha Maiden, political editor at news.com.au, reported on March 21 that “two Thai masseuses were booked – one for Mr Lehrmann and another for a Seven employee” in the early hours of Saturday, November 26, 2022.
The story prompted Lehrmann to issue a statement describing this allegation as “an untrue and bizarre story from a disgruntled ex-Network Seven producer”.
“Network Seven [has] only ever covered reasonable travel for filming and accommodation.”
