Brittany Higgins, Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial LIVE: Higgins jets out of Sydney following three days of cross-examination - after the size of her compo payout was revealed

Nicole Hamer told the Federal Court on Wednesday that part of the reason she quit her job at 9.35pm on March 2, 2019, was because she had an argument with Bruce Lehrmann at the pub.

She had invited Brittany Higgins to join - at Mr Lehrmann's request - along with another another colleague Jesse Wotton, the day Linda Reynolds' was sworn in as defence industry minister.

Ms Higgins couldn't stay at the pub for long because she had another engagement but, when she went to leave, Ms Hamer told the court Mr Lehrmann took her phone and held on to it for 'one or two minutes' so she couldn't order an Uber and leave.

Mr Lehrmann previously denied taking Ms Higgins' phone that night.

After Ms Higgins left, a heated exchange took place between the trio.

'Basically, Bruce said I overreacted in the way I spoke up and tried to defend Brittany so I got quite defensive to that,' Ms Hamer said.

'He said something about me always being a feminist and feeling like I have to go and defend women.'

Ms Hamer told the court she strongly disagreed with him and left the pub.

She was so angry that she called her father, before firing off a furious email to Senator Reynolds later that night - quitting her job as media advisor.

Ms Hamer said the argument with Mr Lehrmann wasn't the only reason she quit, but it was a contributing factor.

'I'd already been unhappy in the office and I felt like I'd been ganged up on by Bruce. I just felt uncomfortable,' she said.

Senator Reynolds then requested a meeting with Ms Hamer, and she ended up keeping her job.

Lauren Gain told the Federal Court on Wednesday that she first met Bruce Lehrmann at The Dock Hotel in Canberra on March 22, 2019 - the night of the alleged assault of Ms Higgins.

Ms Gain, who worked for the defence department, said Mr Lehrmann told her that night he was waiting for clearance to work for ASIS.

'If you're applying to work at those agencies, you can't tell anyone, so I thought that can't be true and I told someone I thought he was an idiot for saying that,' she said.

'My response was quite shocked and I would have said to him, "you wouldn't have told me that".'

She said his tone indicated he was being serious, rather than joking or being sarcastic.

Under cross-examination, Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow told Ms Gain that his client had security clearance.

Lauren Gain was called to the witness stand on Wednesday and told the Federal Court she saw Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann touching and kissing at a nightclub.

Ms Gain was at The Dock Hotel on March 22, 2019 - the night Brittany Higgins alleges Bruce Lehrmann raped her - and was one of four people who went to the second club, 88mph, after midnight.

She told the Federal Court that she recalled Ms Higgins falling over at the club, before Mr Lehrmann helped her up.

'I remember his hands on her thighs and her hands on his thighs,' she said.

'I observed them kissing. It was a real kiss ... It went for a period of time, it was a kiss kiss.'

She didn't recall how long it lasted, but agreed that it was a 'passionate kiss'.

Ms Gain also recalled Ms Higgins taking selfies with Mr Lehrmann.

She did not remember leaving the pub that night, or how she got home.

Brittany Higgins flew out of Sydney Airport on Wednesday morning, flanked by her fiancé David Sharaz and best friend Emma Webster.

Ms Higgins - donning Gucci heels and carrying a Chanel handbag, paired with a loose-fitting navy dress - and her entourage could be seen grabbing suitcases from a taxi.

Mr Sharaz appeared to take inspiration from his fiancée's style, opting for brown boots, blue jeans and a navy blazer, paired with a brown briefcase.

The trio checked in using the self-service machines before they swanned through the priority aisle at security, apparently en route back to the Gold Coast.

Their departure comes just one day after Ms Higgins was forced, under oath, to reveal the value of her compensation settlement with the Commonwealth.

Bruce Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow SC cross-examined her about the payment in the final moments of the hearing on Tuesday.

'It has been widely reported that you received over $2million as a result of the outcome of that mediation, is that correct?' Mr Whybrow asked.

'That's what's been reported?,' Ms Higgins replied.

'Yes, I received money from the Commonwealth. They came to an agreement that a failure of a duty of care was made. And they did pay me,' she said.

Mr Whybrow said: 'I asked you if it was over $2million.'

She tried to explain that the offer and what she got were different, after taxes and legal fees.

Mr Whybrow became defiant. It was plainly clear what he was asking, but she wasn't answering the question.

'How much money did the Commonwealth pay you to stop you litigating this matter?' he asked.

'I received $1.9million,' Ms Higgins replied.

'So you've got no idea what your legal costs were or what the gross settlement sum was?' Mr Whybrow asked.

'I think it was around $2.3million. I think it was the amount and then those taxes and then the lawyer took some, but I'm not sure what that fee was. I was never focused on that fee. It was only what I received that I cared about.'

Bruce Lehrmann's former colleague Jesse Wotton was called to the witness stand in the Federal Court on Wednesday.

He recalled being at the Kingston Hotel with Mr Lehrmann and another colleague, Nicole Hamer, on the afternoon of March 2, 2019 - after Linda Reynolds was sworn in as defence industry minister.

Mr Wotton recalled Mr Lehrmann saying he had invited Brittany Higgins to the pub, and got the impression he was friends with her at the time.

He also had the impression Ms Higgins was invited because Ms Hamer said there was a job going in Senator Reynolds' office.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ms Hamer said there was no job offer and agreed she didn't have the authority to hand out job offers.

Mr Wotton told the court Ms Higgins arrived, he met her for the first time, and she went off with Ms Hamer and had a 45-minute chat.

When they returned, Mr Wotton recalled Ms Hamer was excited, and said words to the effect of 'Brittany's great, she can do the Canberra media and I can do the Perth media'.

His version of events matched Ms Higgins' evidence. Ms Hamer said they didn't speak about a job opportunity at all.

Mr Wotton told the court Ms Higgins had to go to a noodle night market with her housemate in Canberra that evening and couldn't stay long.

He didn't speak about a scuffle involving Ms Higgins' phone, but he did recall he and Mr Lehrmann saying, 'Come on, stay for a drink'.

Ms Higgins then left, and Ms Hamer got upset.

'Ms Hamer was very upset and unhappy and she was of the view that Ms Higgins left believing she wouldn't have a job in the minister's office and we pressured her into staying for a drink,' he said.

'I recall Ms Hamer turned to Mr Lehrmann and said 'you shut the f*** up', she turned to me and repeated it, and voiced her displeasure that Ms Higgins felt she should stay.'

Mr Wotton said he responded, passionately, and said he didn't believe Ms Higgins felt pressured to stay.

He recalled that Mr Lehrmann didn't say much, but agreed with Mr Wotton's statements.

'It went on for a short while, then Ms Hamer cried and went off to the bathroom and I said to Mr Lehrmann, "I think it's time to go back to the hotel".'

Mr Wotton said he reported the argument to his boss that evening and found out that Ms Hamer had resigned.

He and Mr Lehrmann were reprimanded by Senator Reynolds the next day.

Mr Wotton said he did not recall Senator Reynolds being hostile towards Ms Higgins at all.

Brittany Higgins' lawyer Leon Zwier gave the settlement deed which awarded $2.3million in compensation to the former staffer to Justice Michael Lee in the Federal Court on Wednesday morning.

Upon handing it over, Mr Zwier requested the details be confined to lawyers in the proceedings - which means they would not be permitted to discuss the details with their clients.

However, Justice Lee said that was not necessary and granted access to all parties involved.

The document has not been tendered, which means it is not available on the court's website.

On Tuesday, Ms Higgins told the court the value of her settlement, revealing that she pocketed $1.9million after taxes and legal fees.

Nicole Hamer told the Federal Court on Wednesday that she didn't notice any animosity between Brittany Higgins and Linda Reynolds.

Ms Higgins previously told the court Senator Reynolds 'actively avoided' her after March 23, 2019 - when she alleges she was raped by Bruce Lehrmann.

However, Ms Hamer - who was media advisor to Senator Reynolds at the time - said she didn't notice any ill-feeling between the pair.

Ms Hamer said she watched The Project on February 15, 2021 - when Ms Higgins first made her rape allegations - and told the court she knew the story was about him.

Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow asked whether she had heard Mr Lehrmann's name mentioned before in relation to an enquiry into a rape allegation in Senator Reynolds' office in 2019.

Ms Hamer said Mr Lehrmann's name was not mentioned during those enquiries.

Mr Whybrow asked: 'Was there another person who fit [Ms Higgins'] description, other than Bruce Lehrmann?'

She replied: 'My understanding was that it was Mr Lehrmann.'

Nicole Hamer, a former press secretary for Linda Reynolds, was called to the witness stand on Wednesday morning, during which she was questioned by Network Ten's barrister Matthew Collins KC about the afternoon of March 2, 2019.

That evening, Ms Hamer had been at the Kingston Hotel in Canberra with Bruce Lehrmann and another colleague, Jesse Wotton.

She told the Federal Court that Mr Lehrmann asked her to invite Brittany Higgins to the pub, even though they barely knew her.

'Bruce asked me if I could reach out to Brittany and ask if she was available to come to the pub,' Ms Hamer said.

'Bruce made a comment about Brittany being good-looking and asked if I knew her.

'I had her on Instagram and had never met her before, but he asked me to ask her to pop down to the pub.'

Ms Higgins went to the pub but said she could only stay for a short time because she had other plans that evening.

The court previously heard Ms Higgins describe that event as a quasi-job interview with Ms Hamer - Ms Hamer was Linda Reynolds' media advisor and Ms Higgins was after a job.

However, Ms Hamer didn't describe the situation as a job interview at all.

She told the court that she did have a lengthy private chat with Ms Higgins at the pub that evening, but said they went out to the courtyard to get some air.

'There was no real point to the conversation,' she said.

Ms Hamer said Ms Higgins had to leave because she had another engagement, and Mr Lehrmann took her phone to stop her from ordering an Uber.

'He said something like, just stay for one more,' Ms Hamer recalled.

Ms Higgins said, 'I'm already running late' and got her phone back, and left.

After that, Ms Hamer said Mr Lehrmann told her she overreacted.

'Basically, Bruce said I overreacted in the way I spoke up and tried to defend Brittany so I got quite defensive to that,' she said.

'He said something about me always being a feminist and feeling like I have to go and defend women.'

Ms Hamer said she strongly disagreed with him and left the pub.

About three weeks later, on March 23, Ms Higgins alleges Mr Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House.

Under cross-examination by Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow SC, Ms Hamer agreed she had been drinking that day but maintained she had several clear memories from that day.

She told the court that she didn't have the Instagram messages she sent that day because Ms Higgins had since deleted and reactivated her account, which meant the messages disappeared.

Network Seven agreed to pay Bruce Lehrmann's accommodation for a year, worth about $104,000, in exchange for interviews on Spotlight.

The staggering sum was revealed in a tax invoice from June this year, which was uploaded to the Federal Court's website on Tuesday afternoon amid his defamation trial against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.

According to the document, the network used a short-term accommodation agency to secure Mr Lehrmann's residence for a year - between April 2023 and April 2024.

The $4000 invoice covers two weeks' rent, from June 8 to June 23, which equates to about $8000 per month.

Network Seven previously said it 'made no payment to Mr Lehrmann for the interview', but 'assisted with accommodation as part of the filming of the report'.

Mr Lehrman lived in a beachside apartment in Maroubra, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, boasting 'amazing coastal views', until earlier this year.

He now lives in another rental in Sydney's north.

During his cross-examination last week, Wilkinson's barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC asked Mr Lehrmann what he got in exchange for his interview with Seven's Spotlight program earlier this year.

Ms Chrysanthou asked: 'Was it part of that agreement that you were paid for 12 months accommodation by Channel Seven?'

Mr Lehrmann replied: 'That's the only part...that's what I get.'

Ms Chrysanthou continued: 'That occurred from June 2023 and paid until June 2024?'

Mr Lehrmann said: 'Umm, well, yes. For filming in those places.'

He explained that part of the first Spotlight interview, aired on Channel Seven in June, was partly filmed in that accommodation.

She then asked how much that was worth, but Mr Lehrmann said he didn't know because the 'network handled the accommodation arrangements'.

Mr Lehrmann's exclusivity contract with the network was also uploaded tot eh Federal Court's website on Tuesday, which was signed in April - when Seven started paying his rent.

It said: '[Mr Lehrmann] will provide exclusivity to Seven, at specific times and places required by Seven.'

Those experiences related to his experience during his criminal trial last year and his life afterwards, along with relevant documents, film, video, photographs and 'items of assistance' requested by the network.

In court last week, Mr Lehrmann said he did not provide material aside from his interviews.

'In consideration of the interviewee complying in full with the terms and warranties of this agreement and for the contribution of his time, Seven will provide the interviewee with 12 months accommodation,' it said.

'The residence may be used by Seven to arrange and film any parts of the Seven exclusive.'

Bruce Lehrmann is suing Lisa Wilkinson and Network 10 in the Federal Court over her 2021 interview with Brittany Higgins where she alleged he raped her in Parliament House in 2019.

He was not named, but claims friends and former colleagues were able to identify him as the alleged rapist.

He has continually maintained his innocence.

The trial began on November 22 and Mr Lehrmann gave evidence over five days.

Brittany Higgins admitted on Tuesday that her settlement with the Commonwealth was worth $2.3million.