We have been bystanders to the saga of the Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins case for nearly three years now.

If one thing has defined the devastating set of lawsuits, it’s been a lack of definitive answers about allegations that a rape occurred in the office of then-defence industry minister, Linda Reynolds. And whether the government at the time orchestrated a cover-up.

Lehrmann has always strenuously denied raping Higgins, insisting that the pair had no sexual contact at all.

Today, associate editor and special writer Deborah Snow on what this case has exposed about the political cultures and institutions that it has also put on trial.

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