'Entirely inappropriate' for politicians to ask anti-corruption ...

Anthony Albanese said it would be “entirely inappropriate” for politicians to direct the national integrity commission to investigate a matter, after the Coalition opposition called for further scrutiny on Brittany Higgins’ compensation payout.

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, questioned whether ministers had misled parliament about their knowledge of Higgins’ allegations of rape before they were made public, and if the commonwealth’s settlement had followed an “appropriate process”.

“There’s differing accounts and I think there’s a lot more information yet to come out,” Dutton said.

The Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, Higgins’ boss at the time she alleges she was raped by fellow staffer Bruce Lehrmann in their Parliament House office, last night flagged raising the compensation payout with the national anti-corruption commission. Lehrmann was charged but vehemently denied the allegations and maintained his innocence, including in a Seven Network interview in which he claimed the assault “simply didn’t happen”.

The initial trial was aborted last year due to jury misconduct and prosecutors dropped the charges against Lehrmann amid concerns about the impact a second trial could have on Higgins’ mental health.

In December, Higgins settled a personal injury claim – which was commenced under the Morrison government – against the commonwealth for an undisclosed amount. The amount had been reported as high as $3m, but Higgins has said it was substantially lower.

Reynolds claimed the payment to Higgins was finalised in an “unusually swift” manner, “raising serious questions about how this significant sum of public money was determined and allocated”.

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News Corp on Thursday published texts reportedly between Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz, before her allegations were made public, purportedly showing the pair talking about discussing the issue with the Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher. The texts also show Sharaz talking about direct contact with the then opposition leader Albanese.

Gallagher has denied previous knowledge of the allegations before they became public.

At a Sydney press conference, Albanese said he had “absolute confidence in Senator Gallagher” and said he had not met Higgins until 30 April 2021 – noting it was the same day she met the then prime minister Scott Morrison. However, Albanese did not say whether he had spoken to her before that day.

Asked about Reynolds’ mention of the Nacc, Albanese said the body would be independent.

“One of the things about the anti-corruption commission, that people might not have noticed in the Coalition, is that it’s independent of parliamentarians,” he said.

“It in fact could be regarded as an entirely inappropriate action by the prime minister, or any other politician for that matter, to try to direct the anti-corruption commission into what to do.

“The anti-corruption commission is independent of politics, that’s the idea. If it’s in with politics, then that itself is a problem.”

Dutton called on Albanese to provide more information about his party’s involvement in the episode.

“I think there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. The prime minister needs to front up and provide a true factual explanation of what’s gone on,” he told 2GB radio.

“What makes this most serious is whether people have misled parliament or whether there’s been an appropriate process in terms of a multimillion-dollar payout.”

Dutton claimed there were “differing accounts” and alleged “some people haven’t been telling the truth”.

Gallagher told Radio National on Wednesday she had “no role” in negotiations around the payout but declined to comment further on her interactions with Sharaz.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, rebuffed concerns about the payment, saying the circumstances were not unusual.

“It’s very common for the commonwealth to settle claims on the basis of agreed confidentiality. It’s very often in the commonwealth’s interests that there be confidentiality and often in the case of sexual harassment claims there is a desire on the part of the claimant to keep the matter confidential,” he told Nine’s Today show.

• National Anti-Corruption Commission

• Anthony Albanese
• Peter Dutton
• Labor party
• Coalition
• Australian politics
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