Former Canberra political staffer Brittany Higgins says WA senator Linda Reynolds is threatening to sue her over an Instagram post.
In a tweet today Ms Higgins said she had receive a “concerns notice” from Ms Reynolds.
“I’ve just received a concerns notice from @lindareynoldswa threatening defamation over an Instagram story,” the tweet reads.
“I’m considering my legal options.”
Prominent defamation lawyer Martin Bennett, who acts for Ms Reynolds, confirmed the notice had been sent yesterday to Ms Higgins’s legal counsel and was related to an Instagram post.
Ms Higgins was working in Ms Reynolds’s Canberra ministerial office when she alleges she was raped by a colleague – Bruce Lehrmann.
Subsequent legal proceedings against Mr Lehrmann were abandoned in October and then a planned retrial was dropped by the prosecution.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied the accusations and no findings have been made against him.
Ms Reynolds has also launched legal action against Ms Higgins’s partner David Sharaz over two tweets published last year – one in January and one in December.
A writ was issued by the WA Supreme Court against Mr Sharaz in January this year.
That writ says Ms Reynolds’s claim arises from tweets that were authored by the Twitter handle @SharazDavid and were falsely defamatory, which caused Ms Reynolds loss and damage.
The writ states Ms Reynolds will be seeking damages including aggravated damages, an injunction restraining the defendant from publishing the defamatory material and costs.
The WA Supreme Court is set to hear an application in that matter this afternoon.
Ms Reynolds last month issued a statement raising concerns over a settlement payment she says was made to Ms Higgins by the Federal Government in relation to a civil claim made against her and fellow WA senator Michalea Cash.
Ms Reynolds called for this payment to be investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
