00:00The breakdown in the relationship between Senator Reynolds and her former staffer will
00:06be laid out in detail over the next month. At the heart of the case will be the social
00:10media posts by Ms Higgins in 2013, highly critical of the way her rape allegation was
00:16handled by Senator Reynolds, and whether in fact they defamed her former boss. Senator
00:21Reynolds, who's due to give evidence on Monday, and her lawyers will argue she and her office
00:26provided extensive support to Ms Higgins, and the social media posts greatly injured
00:31her reputation and caused her grave distress. They'll say the hurt was aggravated by a plan
00:38concocted by Ms Higgins and her now husband, David Shiraz, to inflict political damage
00:43on Senator Reynolds and the then government. Senator Reynolds will also contend Ms Higgins
00:48knew the information in her social media posts was false and inaccurate at the time, and
00:54she was motivated by malice. Ms Higgins is set to take the stand in the last week of
00:59the trial and will argue the truth of her allegations, claiming Senator Reynolds mishandled
01:04the rape allegation and did not properly support her. Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison
01:10is due to be called as a witness, as well as former Foreign Minister Senator Maurice
01:14Payne. Mr Shiraz has also been sued for defamation by Senator Reynolds, but has chosen not to
01:20contest the case. Any damages awarded against him will be argued during the trial.
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