Bruce Lehrmann accused of stealing 4WD as Hobart court showdown looms

Bruce Lehrmann, a former Liberal staffer, is facing a Hobart Magistrates Court hearing over allegations that he stole a Toyota Prado 4WD from Mountain River in southern Tasmania on November 20, 2024. He denies the charge.

Lehrmann and his lawyer Zali Burrows appeared by phone on Friday. Burrows said she would subpoena a media interview with the complainant, Gail Oates, that she says presents a different version of the incident than what she told police. The defence has also received redacted statements that included the name of another person Ms. Oates believed might have taken the vehicle, Burrows added, warning that more information may be required in light of those documents.

The hearing is yet to be scheduled to run, with prosecutor Bunewat Keo indicating it would last four days. In addition to Lehrmann, the prosecution intends to call the complainant, Ms. Oates, her husband and son, as well as a friend of Lehrmann and a service-station worker who can provide context about the events that night, Mr. Keo said. Five police officers involved in the investigation would also be called, and CCTV and police body-worn camera footage would be tendered.

Most of the evidence had been disclosed to the defence, but a bank statement and maps to assist the court had not yet been provided, the prosecutor noted. Lehrmann’s bail was continued, and the matter was listed to return to court on October 31. "Thank you, Your Honour," Lehrmann said at the end of proceedings.

The case forms part of Lehrmann’s broader run of legal matters in Australia in recent years. His 2019 rape trial of Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra was abandoned in 2022 due to juror misconduct, and Lehrmann has appealed a Federal Court finding that determined, on the balance of probabilities, he raped Higgins.