It's beginning to look like she is the latter. With the abortion of a trial robbing Lehrmann from the opportunity to clear his name, and the appalling behaviour of a government minister and the ACT prosecutor, the whole thing has turned into a circus.

The one good thing is that nobody except a few fanatics will ever accept the 'believe women' rubbish ever again. And, the credibility of the Labor government, and the previous Liberal PM are shot to bits.

This shocking episode would bring down a government in most countries; not this one, of course, with its redneck political class and lying media, with its ludicrous real estate-like Walkley awards to semi-literate activists posing as 'journalists'.

Unfortunately, we cannot rely on any "pushback" from a Dutton Opposition. The only one in that mob who calls it the way it is is Michaela Cash; the rest are wet drips, apart from Alex Antic, whom none of them seem to recognise.

There are a number of players in this affair who deserve serious jail time; and one of them is NOT Lehrmann, the only victim.

Attack the victim, why doncha. The is more of the same risible rubbish from the pen of this patently biased writer. And completely without merit.

Know the truth and the truth will set you free. But that's the last thing this author wants! We have unbeatable space age lie detection, but no one wants to deploy it. Why, because the legal profession would be made redundant.

So, it remains all about winning and losing and attacking the retraumatised victim to allow the guilty to go free and reoffend time and again.
Alan B.

It gets worse; It now seems that the photo of the leg bruise was
taken 2 years after the alleged event. Some bruise !

I just do not believe that Albo was unaware from the beginning of the
whole plot involving Chan 10. It is now likely that it was Senator
Kitching who told the Libs what was going on. Hence her complaint
about the "Mean Girls".
Albo is now complaining about the furore of the opposition question
time attacks. What a hypocrite !

Whether Albo believed Brittany is beside the point, he was party to
a classic political "Stitch up". The ALP way "Whatever it Takes".
ACMA should be asking Ch 10 why their licence should not be cancelled.

Wow!
Just when I thought life was a bit uneventful, along comes Bettina.
Riding a white charger, and brandishing accoutrements of war.
Her swashbuckling approach is enlivening.
It certainly woke me up this morning.
What I like most about it is the plain talking.
Backed up by references to real events.
One thing I do think though is that we shouldn't carry public opinion too far.
No one is guilty of anything, unless it has been shown to be so in a court of law.
And the verdict can only be accepted when the entire appeals process has been completed.
And even when this lengthy legal journey ends, it can only be a tentative acceptance, for the future is not known.
Look at recent cases where so called murderers have been found to be innocent many years after the courts decided on guilt.
And no member of the public should take the law 'into his own hands'.
Discuss it yes, but act on it NO.
But still, plain talking gets me every time.
A good way to start the day.

Actually, Alan, there is no 'victim' involved. No court case. No proof that an act occurred. Just an accusation. We will never know what, if anything, happened.

Ipso Fatso said "And the verdict can only be accepted when the entire appeals process has been completed."

Answer- Perhaps we had reached a stage of politicization of the courts by the Communists where we can't trust the courts either- perhaps we could never trust the courts- but what is the alternative- maybe town courts were more true because the jury/ court knew the character of the charged.

Ironically it was the Communist that advised that we can't trust the authorities- strangely I have reached the point where I agree despite the evil Communists.

The LIBERAL PARTY is at it again, with one of their own being kicked out by Dutton.

From the Guardian;

"The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has announced senator David Van will no longer sit in the Liberal party room, following further allegations against him."
"Dutton told reporters in Canberra that following independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s allegation of sexual assault against Van in the Senate on Wednesday evening, “further allegations in relation to Senator Van have been brought to my attention overnight”." These latest allegations are from another LIBERAL PARTY Senator.

What is the culture with some men in the LIBERAL PARTY, not only do they believe they are born to rule, but it seems they also believe they are born to rule over all women as well!

Well, I did say in the very beginning of this that it had the smell of a Labor-backed setup !
It's now starting to backfire.

Correction; The latest allegation against David Van Grub of being a touchy-feely is made by former LNP senator Amanda Stoker.

How much longer do we have to hold our breath before a Lesbian or Transgender will be accused of one of those "assaults' within Parliament ? It's definitely well overdue.

What exactly has gone so terribly wrong lately apart from the Left having lost the plot totally !
Years ago, if a bloke squeezed the bottom of a woman, sheilah or Lady he'd get two reactions from them.
A resounding hiss of disapproval & even a slap or a loving, approving glance followed by a nice time together !
End of incident !
Are they so callously exploitive now that they have to wait until the bloke has a nice well-paid career before they make a complaint ?
Only one word is suitable to describe such females (women, sheilahs & ladies aren't like that anyway) sickening !

Why doesn't anyone mention the real culprit in all of this, aka the sstirrer? This whole business should have dealt with a stern warning of hellfire and damnation should there be a repeat offence. Instead, because of the actions of the aforementioned, behold the storm of hurt and destruction that has followed. The impulsive and possibly alcohol fueled conduct of two young employees has been ruthlessly exploited politically and wasted valuable court time and resources. Both parties are considerably aggrieved and shamed.

The only person likely to be deriving any satisfaction from this is the miserable pathetic person who pushed for the initial dismissal when discretion would have seemed far more sensible. The only injustice in this silly business is that the sstirrer remains anonymous and unscathed.

The only outcome from all of this is that very few brave and determined women will pursue justice through the courts again. Especially if they dare to challenge powerful men in authority. The whole nasty incident clearly demonstrates that there is no gutter a politician isn't prepared to wallow in.

Best to stick to facts, and not overlay them with wild theories?
When the 'accusation' was first made, one would be inclined to believe the female.
For, unless she were being truthful, why on earth would she subject herself to the rigours of intensive public scrutiny?
But as time has gone on, doubts have arisen.
There is contradictory evidence?
So now it is not clear what, if anything, happened.
In fact, the evidence is leading us to think differently about the whole matter.
Oh what a tangled web....

A third allegation of sexual harassment has been made against the LIBERAL PARTY senator David Van! Dutton is now calling for Van to RESIGN FROM PARLIAMENT. Just when we had hoped the LIBERAL PARTY culture of abuse of women had stopped, new allegations are being made against a very senior LIBERAL PARTY member! I wonder what Bettina Arndt makes of Van and these allegations?

Paul
Neither side of politics has covered itself in glory here. With three separate allegations, including one from his own side of politics, it seems pretty clear that David Van is guilty of some vile and possibly illegal behaviour. But it’s also pretty clear that Katy Gallagher lied to Parliament about what she knew and when about Brittany Higgins’ allegations, then weaponised them along with her colleagues to make some vicious and unfounded allegations, especially against Linda Reynolds.

Has anyone else noticed when there are allegations of rape, and touchy-feely arse grabbing there's always one common denominator its the LIBERAL PARTY, and Liberals who are the accused. Liberal staffer alleged to have raped another Liberal staffer, a Liberal senator alleged to have grabbed the arse of another Liberal senator. Well it says it all! This is a party that has no time for women. Would any decent woman really vote for them? Me thinks not

Paul

Bill Shorten has been accused of the rape of a 15-year-old girl. The difference is, the Liberals let the justice system take its course and did not seek to make political capital of it.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7151101/labor-the-media-are-hypocritical-on-cabinet-rape-claim/

Former MP Emma Husar also made serious allegations of sexual harassment against Labor figures:

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/former-labor-mp-emma-husar-threatens-legal-action-over-sexual-harassment-claims-20210530-p57wew.html

I think Dutton has done the right thing in this instance. He acted quickly and correctly in expelling Van from the party room, referring him to the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service and calling on him to resign. Amanda Stoker also did the right thing in backing up Lydia Thorpe’s story, even knowing the damage it could inflict on her own party.

It seems those on the Communist side are happy to use dirty tactics to achieve their ends- no surprise to me- they don't believe in integrity- I'm sure this is true of all self interest to a point- but for those on the Communist side they appear to validate dirty tricks within themselves as honorable and heroic- a sort of twisted hellish nihilistic anarchistic demigogery.

Some just want to see the world burn.

Paul,

You forget the two senior greens convicted of paedophilia, the abuse and racism of Clydia Thorpe, the violent, racist and homophobic Green councillor, etc.

The greens have more than their fair share of grubs. The Labor party has too incl Shorten, Hawke, Orkopolous etc.