Lisa Wilkinson, Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz gossip about ministers in leaked recording

Julie Bishop is ‘always the bridesmaid, never the bride’, ‘no one’ wants to sit next to Linda Reynolds, one MP is nicknamed ‘Scary Eyes’ and Parliament House culture is ‘come down to Canberra, have an affair’.

These are just some of the snarky remarks made about politicians at a planning meeting with Lisa Wilkinson, Brittany Higgins, David Sharaz and TV producer Angus Llewellyn – two weeks before the political staffer would accuse her ex-colleague Bruce Lehrmann of raping her during an interview on The Project.

Mr Lehrmann has continually denied the allegations against him.

An audio recording of the conversation documented the meeting at a Sydney hotel on January 27, 2021, where Ms Higgins drank a mimosa and Mr Sharaz a gin and tonic as they discussed the forthcoming episode with Wilkinson and Llewellyn.

In one extraordinary moment, Mr Sharaz said he had a ‘friend’ in Finance Minister Katy Gallagher who could lob questions in Parliament on his behalf – a detail that has never been reported until now. 

Throughout the conversation, the group could be heard laughing about various federal ministers and senators while sharing salacious details about the inner workings of Parliament House.

At one stage, Wilkinson said the nation’s highest office operated in a such a way that ‘allows bad behaviour to go unchecked… which is why there’s always affairs going on’. 

Mr Sharaz chimed in: ‘Come down to Canberra, wife’s home. Have an affair. Go back home to my family.’ 

Wilkinson then compared Australia’s Parliament to American paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, who trafficked young girls for decades – in full view of the world’s elite, whose secrets he kept – before eventually being jailed for his crimes.

‘It’s like Jeffrey Epstein – everyone’s got something on everyone else, so no one talks,’ she said.

Wilkinson’s interview with Ms Higgins aired on The Project on February 15, 2021 – little more than two weeks after the recorded meeting – and marked the first time the former media advisor went public with her allegations against Mr Lehrmann.

Mr Lehrmann has always denied any wrongdoing.

Ms Higgins (right) drank a mimosa as she planned with Mr Sharaz, Ms Wilkinson (left) and the producer Angus Llewellyn what she would say on The Project two weeks later

A ‘friend’ in Katy Gallagher

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher knew Mr Sharaz before Ms Higgins aired her rape allegations for the first time.

It was previously reported Mr Sharaz gave the senator a heads-up about the impending sexual assault allegations. He did not disclose the details, but told her ‘it would be big’.

It can now be revealed Mr Sharaz hoped Senator Gallagher would be instrumental in his plan to get more publicity around Ms Higgins’ allegations, and create a political disaster ahead of the federal election.

During the meeting on January 27, 2021, Mr Sharaz told Ms Wilkinson and network producer Mr Llewellyn: ‘The senate recommences in March and that’s when I’m going to talk to [Senator Gallagher].

‘I have a friend in Labor, Katy Gallagher on the Labor side, who will probe and continue it going.

‘So sitting week, story comes out, they have to answer questions at Question Time, it’s a mess for them.’

Mr Sharaz then said ‘Britt’s picked that timeline’ so her allegations would impact the federal election.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher (pictured) knew Mr Sharaz before Ms Higgins aired her rape allegations for the first time. Mr Sharaz gave the senator a heads-up about the impending sexual assault allegations; he did not disclose the details, but told her ‘it would be big’

Senator Gallagher did raise the allegations, as planned, during Senate estimates on February 15, 2021 – the day The Project interview went to air.

‘Has anything changed to the way the Department [of Parliamentary Services] responds to incidents at APH since March 2019? And the answer is, there have been no changes to policy. Is that correct?’ she asked.

In December last year, Senator Gallagher’s department signed off on a multimillion-dollar settlement to Ms Higgins over her claim she was not supported by then-defence minister Linda Reynolds, her boss at the time of the alleged assault.

A spokesperson for Senator Gallagher previously said: ‘The Minister for Finance has no decision-making role in processes around significant legal matters.’

Linda Reynolds’ birthday, and ‘scary eyes’ Andrew Hastie

Ms Higgins also told Ms Wilkinson and Mr Llewellyn she went to Western Australia with Senator Reynolds and other colleagues in the weeks following her alleged rape in Reynolds’ ministerial office in 2019.

She went to help with the election campaign, but described her six weeks in Perth as ‘hell’ – partly because Senator Reynolds allegedly ‘didn’t want a bar of me, she didn’t want to be near me’.

Recalling the candidates in the Perth seats of Hasluck, Canning and Swan, Ms Higgins confirmed they were Steve Irons and Ken Wyatt – but she struggled to recall the member for Canning.

Ms Higgins said she went to Western Australia with her then-boss Linda Reynolds (pictured) and other colleagues in the weeks following her alleged rape in Reynolds’ ministerial office

‘Canning was… scary eyes, scary eyes, scary eyes,’ she said, trying to remind herself of his name, before she eventually said ‘Hastie’, referring to Andrew Hastie.

Moments later, Mr Sharaz told the group Senator Reynolds’ birthday fell within the campaign period.

‘Britt told me that when she arrived at dinner for Linda’s birthday, there was only one seat available next to Linda and Linda was not happy,’ he said.

Ms Higgins said: ‘It was during the campaign, yeah. So that was in WA.’

Wilkinson interjected: ‘So even at her own birthday, no one wanted to sit next to her?’

Ms Higgins replied: ‘Yeah.’

Julie Bishop is ‘never the bride’

Towards the end of the meeting, the conversation turned to how to best publicise and back up Ms Higgins’ allegations after the interview went to air.

Mr Llewellyn suggested Julia Banks, the member for Chisholm, speak on ABC breakfast, before he briefly floated the idea of Julie Bishop, the former deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

‘Julie Bishop’s got nothing to gain,’ he said, before turning to Wilkinson and asking: ‘Do you know Julie?’

‘I know Julie well,’ she responded.

‘Do you think she would speak to the culture in that place, the next day?’ he added.

Wilkinson went on to say Ms Bishop was ‘frustrating’ because ‘she had so many opportunities to speak out against the culture’ of sexism in politics, but had not.

She said: ‘And for one woman to, what was she, deputy to thirteen different prime ministers over the course of her time in Parliament?’

Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) firmly denies raping Ms Higgins in March 2019

Mr Sharaz then made a crack about how she was never the leader of the coalition, saying: ‘Always the loyal too – bridesmaid, never the bride’. 

Wilkinson replied: ‘The minute she was out of there [she said], “Oh, it’s really sexist.” I tried to get her on the record with that so many times when she could’ve actually affected change, and she wouldn’t.’

The group then wondered whether Ms Bishop would speak out, or whether she would back Senator Reynolds and Michaelia Cash, for whom Ms Higgins worked after leaving the defence portfolio.

‘They’re all Perth girls,’ Ms Wilkinson said, to which Ms Higgins replied: ‘They were never friends.’

‘I don’t know why, but they never liked each other,’ Ms Higgins added.

Mr Sharaz said: ‘Julie doesn’t have any friends.’

More gossip 

The five-hour meeting would invariably swap between mocking different news outlets.

News.com.com was labelled ‘dinky’, as opposed to The Project, which Wilkinson said was ‘well-produced’.

Mr Sharaz, a former Sky News Australia journalist, said only a parliamentarian ‘without media experience’ would give a tip to The Canberra Times.

‘You don’t go to The Canberra Times,’ he said.

The gossip session ended with a conversation complaining about a Sky News reporter for being a Donald Trump supporter.

Little more than two weeks later, The Project aired Ms Higgins’ allegations – sparking a tangled political, media and legal saga that continues to this day.