Bruce Lehrmann faces Tasmanian court accused of stealing car​on February 24, 2025 at 12:58 am

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has faced a Tasmanian court accused of stealing a car.

Lehrmann appeared via phone link in the Magistrates Court of Tasmania on Monday charged with theft of a motor vehicle. He is yet to enter a plea.

The vehicle, a Toyota Prado, is alleged to have been stolen on November 20 from Mountain River, about 30 kilometres south-east of Hobart.

Lehrmann and his lawyer, Zali Burrows, have been contacted for comment.

Magistrate Reg Marron adjourned the matter to June 19.

In a statement, Tasmania Police said Lehrmann was arrested, charged and bailed on December 2 last year.

Lehrmann last year lost his multimillion-dollar defamation suit against the Ten Network and presenter Lisa Wilkinson over an interview with his former colleague Brittany Higgins aired on The Project in February 2021.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann had raped Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. Lee subsequently ordered Lehrmann to pay $2 million to Ten to cover some of the costs of its successful defence.

Lehrmann has now filed an appeal against Lee’s decision. Justice Wendy Abraham granted an order known as a stay in October last year to halt enforcement of the costs order until the appeal is determined.

Lehrmann’s criminal trial was aborted in October 2022 due to juror misconduct, and the charges were later dropped altogether owing to concerns about Higgins’ mental health. He has always maintained his innocence.

More to come.