'I did not mislead the Senate', says Katy Gallagher

It proved a bruising day in federal politics, with former prime minister Scott Morrison also forced to defend his actions.

Senator Gallagher, who for the past week has been the focus of allegations she colluded with Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz to publicly reveal the former Liberal staffer's rape complaint, told the Senate she had done "absolutely nothing" with the confidential information she had received.

Her rebuttal came as Mr Morrison rejected claims from a former staffer he deliberately misled Parliament in 2021 over her handling of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, but said he "cannot fully discount" the conflicting recollections.

The statements from the government minister and the former prime minister capped an extraordinary day in Parliament during which politicians in both chambers were called on to temper their accusations and language amid concerns the tenor of the debate risked increasing the trauma of sexual assault survivors and discouraging women from coming forward to file complaints.

Meanwhile, Senator Linda Reynolds has threatened legal action against Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek over comments she made during a Monday television interview on Sunrise discussing the allegations against Senator Gallagher.

According to the defamation concerns notice obtained by The Australian, Senator Reynolds claims Ms Plibersek defamed her by suggesting that she had "covered up" Ms Higgins alleged rape.

In a statement to the Senate, Senator Gallagher praised the bravery of a "significantly let down" Ms Higgins and pointed to the Coalition members, "including those at the centre of the rape allegations", who have alleged she has misled the Senate in comments made almost two years ago.

The ACT Labor senator explained she had been given a "heads up" about the allegations in the days before they became public, but did not use that information.

"I have made it clear that I received information in the several days before the first public reports which aired. I did nothing with that information. Absolutely nothing. I was asked to keep it to myself and I did," she said.

"I take my responsibilities to this place as a senator very seriously. And I have always conducted myself with the highest levels of integrity, and I always will.

"I did not mislead the Senate at Senate estimates on June the 4th, 2021."

The Coalition has been targeting Senator Gallagher over claims she misled Parliament about her knowledge in opposition of 2019 rape allegations brought forward by the former Liberal staffer in February 2021. The accused man, Bruce Lehrmann, has always denied the allegations and no findings were made against him after an ACT Supreme Court trial was aborted.

"At the heart of this whole story sits the wellbeing, or otherwise, of a young woman who came forward and made allegations on her own terms," Senator Gallagher said.

Senator Gallagher said, as Minister for Women, she believed subjecting Ms Higgins to further commentary during a "very distressing time for her" was not acceptable, adding that this line of attack made her was think about all the other "women out there, wondering about whether they should stand up and say something".

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has hit out at the "politicking", "mudslinging" and the "hypocrisy" surrounding the Brittany Higgins allegations, saying it sends the wrong message to women outside and inside Parliament House.

"People should be ashamed of themselves," she said.

Leaked text messages published by The Australian newspaper purport to show Mr Sharaz had been in contact with Senator Gallagher before Ms Higgins appeared on The Project to reveal the rape allegations.

But in Senate estimates on June 4, 2021, Senator Gallagher responded to claims that Labor figures knew of the allegations before they aired by saying: "No one had any knowledge. How dare you?"

Senator Gallagher said she was responding to the then-defence minister Linda Reynolds.

"I was shocked at the assertion made by Senator Reynolds with the clear implication that I was responsible or had some involvement with making that story public. That was not true. It was never true," she said.

"And I responded to that allegation by saying no one had any knowledge."

She repeated a previous disclosure that a "wide ranging" private meeting was held that night with Senator Reynolds, where several matters were discussed.

"I informed Senator Reynolds that I'd been given a heads-up about the allegations in the days before they became public, an explanation she accepted at the time some two years ago," she said.

"In fact, Senator Reynolds even said so on the record in Senate estimates that same night and I quote, 'I would like to say in relation to the matters raised before the dinner break, Senators Wong, Gallagher and I had a very respectful discussion during the dinner break, and they have assured me they were not involved in that matter becoming public. I accept their assurance.'

"The allegations that were made public, were done so on Ms Higgins' own terms. Those are the facts. Facts that appear to have been lost in the past week."

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Mr Morrison made his own statement to the House of Representatives in response to claims made his former staffer Fiona Brown that he had wrongly told the House he had discussed handling the Higgins matter with her.

In an interview in The Australian newspaper, Ms Brown said Mr Morrison did not talk with her about the issue until after he had claimed to have in Parliament.

In his statement, the former prime minister sought to clarify the record, saying the article was "the first occasion I'd been made aware that Ms Brown had a different account of the events".

On February 18, 2021, Anthony Albanese asked Mr Morrison during Question Time whether he had spoken to Ms Brown about Ms Higgins' claim that her job had been threatened.

Ms Brown was Senator Linda Reynolds' acting chief of staff at the time of the alleged rape. Ms Higgins claimed at the time Ms Brown had "continually made me feel as if my ongoing employment would be jeopardised if I proceeded any further with the matter".

Responding to Mr Albanese's question, the then-prime minister said he had spoken to Ms Brown on the matter. But Ms Brown alleged in The Australian Mr Morrison had approached her after Question Time and said "we've spoken, haven't we?".

On Tuesday, Mr Morrison said while he had believed his 2021 response to be accurate, given the "considerable activity of that week" and the time since then, he "cannot fully discount that [Ms Brown's] recollection of those events now were the more accurate".

"However, I reject absolutely any suggestion of deliberate intent in any such possible inaccuracy in my response and am pleased to have taken the first opportunity available to clarify these matters to the House," he said.