Good afternoon. Bruce Lehrmann took the stand in the federal court today to deny sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins in Parliament House. It is the second day of his defamation lawsuit against Network Ten.
Lehrmann’s barrister, Steven Whybrow SC, asked: “Did you sexually assault Brittany Higgins in that office on that evening?”
Lehrmann: “Absolutely not.”
Whybrow: “Did you see her again after she turned right?”
Lehrmann said he thought the Friday night in question “was an innocuous evening”.
- Ceasefire delayed | A senior Israeli official has said that the planned exchange of some Palestinians held in Israeli prisons for Israeli hostages in Hamas has been delayed until at least Friday. There are now reports a ceasefire has also been delayed. To the north, an Israeli strike yesterday in south Lebanon killed the son of a Hezbollah MP, the Lebanese group confirmed. The US president, Joe Biden, urged calm along the Lebanese border and in the West Bank in a call to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. And in the US, a prestigious Harvard journal has been accused of censoring an article accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. How the partial ceasefire deal came about – and the risks of it being undone – are explained in this analysis.
- NSW Coalition and Greens push Labor on emissions target | The state Labor government is being pushed to legislate an emissions reduction target of 70% by 2035 with the opposition and crossbench working together on amendments. The Minns government is racing to pass its centrepiece climate legislation in the final sitting fortnight of the year to entrench targets of 50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
- Perth bushfire | Residents in Perth’s northern suburbs were continuing to flee a fast-moving and out-of-control bushfire. The blaze has so far destroyed 10 homes. An emergency warning has been issued for Wanneroo, Jandabup, Mariginiup, Melaleuca, Sinagra and Tapping.
- Queensland rejects Clive Palmer’s bid to build coal-fired power station | Queensland authorities blocked Palmer’s plans to build a large coal-fired power station on an outback cattle property, citing climate impacts and rejecting his company’s claims it would be “carbon neutral”.
- MPs condemn payment of millions to consultants | Consultants have been paid to help design federally funded grant schemes and help in assessing applications to such programs – a task critics say should be done by public servants and not outsourced to private companies.
- Far-right party set to win most seats in Dutch elections | Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam Party for Freedom is on course to win 35 seats in the 150-seat parliament, according to exit polls, in a major electoral upset whose reverberations will be felt around Europe. Read this profile of the Dutch far-right figurehead.
- Cuba Gooding Jr sued for alleged sexual misconduct | In a complaint filed in a New York state court, plaintiff Jasmine Abbay said the Jerry Maguire star forcibly kissed her without her consent in September 2018, while she was working as a cocktail waitress at the Lavo nightclub in midtown Manhattan. The other plaintiff, Kelsey Harbert, accused Gooding of groping her breast in June 2019 at the Magic Hour rooftop bar, also in midtown. Gooding’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
