The #MeToo movement and public discourse about the criminal justice system's responses to rape allegations appear to have played a role in the handling of Bruce Lehrmann's case, an inquiry has heard.
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The engagement between police and prosecutors working on the matter was "beset by tension" from the outset, a preliminary hearing of the independent inquiry was told on Monday.
Erin Longbottom KC said that while making introductory remarks as part of her role as counsel assisting the inquiry, which is examining the conduct of police, prosecutors and the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner during the high-profile case.
The ACT government has tasked inquiry chairman Walter Sofronoff KC with investigating those issues and determining the motives behind any misconduct that is uncovered.
In her remarks on Monday, Ms Longbottom outlined how calls for an inquiry began shortly after the case against Mr Lehrmann was discontinued last December.
Mr Lehrmann has always denied raping former colleague Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in March 2019, when the pair were Liberal Party staffers for Senator Linda Reynolds.
Ms Longbottom said ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC had written to the territory's chief police officer, Neil Gaughan, seeking support for the inquiry.
In his letter, Mr Drumgold accused police of acting inappropriately by "cherry-picking" and misrepresenting evidence in an attempt to pressure him not to prosecute Mr Lehrmann.
Ms Longbottom said while police and prosecutors seemed to have different perceptions of what happened during their meetings, there appeared to have been "confusion" about several matters.
Among these were whether Mr Lehrmann should be charged, and how his lawyers were provided with a brief of evidence that included Ms Higgins' confidential counselling notes.
Mr Drumgold also complained of "disturbing" events that occurred during Mr Lehrmann's ACT Supreme Court trial, which was aborted because of juror misconduct.
These included police engaging directly with Mr Lehrmann's lawyers and allegedly aligning themselves with his defence rather than with the prosecution.
Ms Longbottom told the preliminary hearing the matter had attracted "intense media and public interest", in part because Parliament House had been the location of the alleged offence.
However, she noted the trial had also been conducted against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement and public discourse about the effectiveness of the justice system in rape cases.
These issues, she said, appeared to have had an impact on the approach relevant agencies took to Mr Lehrmann's matter.
Following Ms Longbottom's remarks, Mr Sofronoff spoke of two issues he believed would be critical during the inquiry.
One revolved around how Mr Drumgold had made his decisions to prosecute Mr Lehrmann and to subsequently discontinue the case after the mistrial.
Mr Sofronoff, a former Queensland judge, noted prosecution policies across Australia used similar language to describe the test to be applied when commencing or dropping a case.
Nevertheless, he said, prosecutors across the country seemed to take different approaches.
The other issue he raised centred on the role played by Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates, who was widely criticised for accompanying Ms Higgins to and from court during Mr Lehrmann's trial despite the latter enjoying the presumption of innocence.
Mr Sofronoff said he would have to consider whether Ms Yates was entitled to decide for herself when someone was a victim, without waiting first for an alleged offender's conviction.
Ms Yates' counsel, Peggy Dwyer, told him she "broadly" agreed that was the case, describing the commissioner's work as separate from the criminal justice system.
Ms Dwyer said Ms Yates looked forward to co-operating with the inquiry, as did counsel for Mr Drumgold and the Australian Federal Police.
Mr Drumgold's barrister, Mark Tedeschi KC, said his client had waived legal professional privilege over a variety of documents and produced "many tens of thousands" to the inquiry.
The territory's top prosecutor had also sworn a detailed statement spanning more than 80 pages.
Katherine Richardson SC, for the police force, noted Deputy Commissioner Gaughan's presence in the public gallery while outlining the "great seriousness" with which her client was treating the inquiry.
Other lawyers granted leave to appear at the inquiry included David Edwardson KC, who will represent Mr Lehrmann's barrister, Steven Whybrow SC.
Calvin Gnech was permitted to act for 13 Australian Federal Police members.
In an unexpected development, defamation specialist Sue Chrysanthou SC was granted leave to appear for television presenter Lisa Wilkinson, who revealed the allegations made by Ms Higgins on The Project in 2021.
The inquiry is set to begin taking evidence on May 1, with up to four weeks of public hearings expected at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal building.
Mr Sofronoff is due to report his findings to the ACT government no later than June 30.
