Former Liberal Staffer Bruce Lehrmann Charged with Stealing Toyota Prado in Tasmania
Former Liberal Bruce Lehrmann has run over some legal problems. Displaying by phone in Hobart Magistrates Court on February 24, 2025, he was charged with stealing a silver Toyota Prado from Mountain River in Tasmania’s Huon Valley on November 20, 2024. Lehrmann, who did not enter a plea, claims he had permission to use the vehicle for a day and returned it with a full tank of petrol. His lawyer, Zali Burrows, requested an adjournment to discuss the matter with prosecutors, and the case is scheduled to resume on June 19, 2025.
On a different legal matter, Bruce Lehrmann is appealing a Federal Court case from April 2024. Justice Michael Lee said that Lehrmann raped his ex-coworker Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019. Because of this ruling, Lehrmann’s defamation suit against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, who had talked to Higgins about the claims, was thrown out. Lehrmann was ordered to pay $2 million in legal costs but has been granted permission to appeal without providing a $200,000 security payment. His lawyer argued that Lehrmann is currently unemployable and facing significant public condemnation.
Additionally, Bruce Lehrmann is facing separate rape allegations in Queensland. He denies having allegedly raped a woman he met at a Toowoomba nightclub in 2021; he has been committed to face trial. The Toowoomba District Court will hear an application for a non-jury trial on March 27, 2025.
Since his defamation lawsuit ended, Lehrmann has been living in Tasmania and working at a winery.
