Brittany Higgins has revealed a recent new role at the United Nations dedicated to ending discrimination against women – as the ex-political aide confirms rumors that she and fiancée David Sharaz recently flew abroad for an extended trip.
The former Liberal staffer shared a series of photos on Friday of herself posing outside the Palais des Nations, the United Nations conference center in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Honored to intern this year at the @unitednations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),” Ms. Higgins wrote.
The footage showed Ms Higgins standing outside the gates of the International Peace Organization headquarters in Switzerland in a variety of outfits as she attended the three-week conference in May.
Her wardrobe choices include a baby pink suit and blazer paired with Gucci style high heels. A similarly designed shoe costs $1,000 in Australia.
The reports confirm whispers that Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz had left Australia as part of her role in connection with former Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership.
Ms Higgins is a visiting fellow for the Institute, which operates from a college in London and the Australian National University.
Brittany Higgins has revealed she recently completed an internship at the United Nations for a convention to improve women’s rights
Ms Higgin shared a series of snaps of herself outside the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, wearing different outfits
The convention Mrs Higgins attended – dedicated to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women – ran from May 8 to May 26, around the same time that rumors circulated that Mrs Higgins and Mr Sharaz had left their Gold Coast home .
Ms Higgins, a former Liberal Party staffer, came forward in 2021 to accuse her colleague Bruce Lehrmann of raping her in a minister’s office at Parliament House in March 2019.
Mr. Lehrmann has always strongly denied the allegations and they have never been proven in court.
His case resulted in a mistrial for juror misconduct and prosecutors declined to take Mr. Lehrmann’s case for retrial because of concerns about Ms. Higgins’ mental health.
Ms Higgins’ UN announcement comes after she and Mr Sharaz were spotted on the Gold Coast last weekend.
Senator Linda Reynolds’ lawyers had been trying unsuccessfully for months to locate Mr. Sharaz.
Senator Reynolds is suing Mr Sharaz in the Supreme Court of Western Australia over five social media posts she says are ‘falsely defamatory’.
However, the case had been languishing since January as Ms Reynolds’ lawyers struggled to serve the elusive former journalist with court documents.
Rumors circulated in May that Ms Higgins and her fiancé David Sharaz (pictured together) were in Europe to undertake duties related to her role in Julia Gillard’s foundation
At one point, he was seen talking to a woman, presumably not his fiancée, Mrs Higgins, carrying a baby on her hip.
Dressed in a casual green jumper and jeans, Mr Sharaz was photographed drinking a takeaway coffee at a cafe near the couple’s home last Saturday.
After the story was published, Mr. Sharaz confirmed on Sunday morning that he had provided Senator Reynolds’ lawyers with his “actual email address” and had “accepted service by Senator Reynolds.”
Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins have been living together in a rented house since March this year, while the former political staffer continues her studies at Bond University. Sharaz now describes himself as a ‘reformed journalist’.
Their move to Queensland came after Ms Higgins received a substantial payout, reportedly up to $3 million, from the Commonwealth after she sought damages for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, disability discrimination, negligence and victimization.
The mediation with the government is believed to have lasted less than a day – which officials defend as a perfectly appropriate practice.
Earlier last week, Senator Reynolds’ attorney Martin Bennett revealed that her defamation claim against Mr Sharaz had expanded from two of Mr Sharaz’s tweets to five social media posts in total.
Mr Bennett also explained that since January this year his office had tried, and failed, to serve a subpoena on Mr Sharaz.
Hours after Mr Bennett’s comments in court, Ms Higgins posted photos to Instagram of herself next to Mr Sharaz celebrating her lawyer Leon Zwier’s birthday at a swanky Chinese restaurant in Melbourne.
He then pointed to media reports that Mr Sharaz lived with Ms Higgins in a rental property on the Gold Coast, saying it would be impractical to find his address.
The court heard that his office also contacted Mr. Zwier following media reports that he was also representing Mr. Sharaz.
However, Mr. Zwier says he has not received any instructions to receive the writ on behalf of his ‘fiancee of the client’.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Mr Sharaz deliberately tried to avoid being served, only that Senator Reynolds’ lawyers had previously been unable to locate him and Ms Higgins’ lawyer had not been advised to accept subpoenas on Mr Sharaz’s behalf.
Supreme Court Justice Marcus Solomon said he was convinced it was impractical for Mr Sharaz to be personally served and allowed Mr Bennett’s office to send the writ to the two personal accounts.
Mr. Sharaz will be deemed served within 24 hours of those emails being sent.
Mr Sharaz and Ms Higgins have been living together in a rented house on the Gold Coast since March this year, while the former political staffer continues her studies at Bond University
It is clear that Mr Sharaz had not received the writ as of Friday morning, but Mr Bennett told Daily Mail Australia that his office immediately emailed it to him on the orders of Judge Solomon.
It is further understood that the two Gmail addresses acquired by Mr. Bennett’s office were not previously controlled by Mr. Sharaz.
According to the subpoena, viewed by Daily Mail Australia, Senator Reynolds alleged she was defamed in three Twitter posts between January and December last year, one Instagram post in April and one Facebook comment in December.
Mr Sharaz appears to have deactivated his Facebook profile, made his Instagram account private and recently deleted about 2,000 followers.
Senator Reynolds is seeking damages and an injunction against Mr. Sharaz to publish the alleged defamatory material and charges.
She also claims interest on damages at the rate of six percent from the date of publication to the date of judgment.