A former Liberal staffer, Bruce Lehrmann, has appeared in a Tasmanian court accused of car theft. Lehrmann, 29, appeared by phone in Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday, where the case was adjourned without a plea. He is charged with allegedly stealing a Toyota Prado from Mountain River, a rural area south-west of Hobart, on November 20th. Lehrmann’s lawyer, Zali Burrows, who also appeared by phone, requested an adjournment to make representations on the charge. He is scheduled to reappear on June 19th. According to court documents, the charge was brought against Lehrmann by Gail Denise Oates. Furthermore, Lehrmann was previously involved in a high-profile case in which a federal court judge ruled that he most likely raped his former colleague Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra in 2019. However, a criminal trial for the alleged rape was dropped in 2022 due to juror misconduct, and prosecutors did not pursue a retrial to protect Higgins’s mental health. Lehrmann, who denies the allegations, has also sued media outlets for defamation, but his suit was unsuccessful in federal court. He is now appealing the federal court’s decision.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/24/bruce-lehrmann-alleged-car-stealing-theft-charges-hobart-court-ntwnfb