As our federal pollies return to Canberra for another week of sittings, they’ll do so after a former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann was charged on Friday with sexually assaulting colleague Brittany Higgins in 2019. The 26yo “absolutely and unequivocally denies that any form of sexual activity took place whatsoever” and will defend the charges, his lawyers said. Higgins went public in February with allegations that she had been raped by Lehrmann, who also worked for Senator Linda Reynolds. The maximum penalty for this offence in the ACT is 12 years in prison.

Image source: NCA NewsWire/Damian Shaw