‘Most hated’: Big call in Lehrmann rent fight

Bruce Lehrmann has been labelled “arguably one of the most hated men in Australia” as he battles allegations he caused $13,200 in damages to a multimillion-dollar home rented for him by Channel 7.

His former landlord Gaenor Meakes alleges the former political staffer caused more than $13,200 in damages to the Balgowlah property rented for him by Seven, who picked up the $100,000 bill.

She also claims she is owed $6000 in missed rental payments because Mr Lehrmann moved out of the luxury three-bedroom rental three weeks before the end of the lease.

The property owner has launched proceedings against her former tenant in a bid to recoup the cost of the alleged property damage and unpaid rent.

On Thursday, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer Zali Burrows told the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal her client “basically learned about these proceedings through the media”.

She asked the court for permission to represent Mr Lehrmann in the tribunal – which normally requires people to represent themselves – because of the media attention.

Ms Burrows said it would be hard for Mr Lehrmann, whom she labelled “arguably one of the most hated men in Australia”, to represent himself in proceedings that will be closely followed by the media.

“He’s pretty much had to flee the state and live somewhere else because of the media harassment,“ she said.

Ms Burrows also noted Gaenor Meakes was represented by her daughter Matilda, who previously told media that she didn’t think “anyone would willingly rent to” Mr Lehrmann.

The comments were “said with a bit of malice” and would “make it pretty uncomfortable” for the former political staffer to try to negotiate with Ms Meakes, Ms Burrows told the tribunal.

“He doesn’t feel comfortable enough to deal with the applicant in these proceedings,” she said.

The lawyer also argued Mr Lehrmann wouldn’t be able to “effectively argue” against Mrs Meakes’ “frivolous or vexatious” claim for a lump sum amounting to five weeks of rent.

General tribunal member Susan Corley noted Mrs Meakes had been paid a bond of $10,600 that should have been paid towards end-of-lease repairs.

She granted Ms Burrows leave to appear for Mr Lehrmann but questioned whether Mrs Meakes and Mr Lehrmann were both NSW residents at the time the proceedings were initiated.

If that was not the case, she warned the proceedings would have to be moved to the NSW Local Court.

The court was told Mr Lehrmann was living in Tasmania, where he still resides, at that time.

Ms Corley asked the parties to go into a private conciliation room to “see whether you can come to a compromise that can end this today.”

When they returned after more than an hour of discussions, Ms Meakes and Ms Burrows jointly asked for the matter to be transferred to the NSW Local Court.

“I’ll transfer both matters to the local court based on your consent and the jurisdictional issue,” Ms Corley agreed.

“I would encourage you to continue talking.”

The rental home was covered by Channel 7’s agreement with Mr Lehrmann to pay his rent for a year in exchange for an exclusive TV interview with the network’s Spotlight program.

During Mr Lehrmann’s defamation suit against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, the court heard Seven paid $100,000 in rent for his accommodation after he agreed to participate in two interviews in 2023.

An invoice tendered to the court revealed the network arranged for Mr Lehrmann to live at Ms Meakes’ Balgowlah house, in Sydney’s north, from April 2022 to April 2023.

It is understood his name was on the lease, but the six-figure bill was paid by Seven’s finance team.

Ms Meakes is the wife of champion sailor Mark Richards, the longstanding skipper of Wild Oats XI who has won numerous awards both at home and abroad.

The couple bought the Balgowlah house for $2.4m in 2019, before it was transferred into Ms Meakes’ name.

The conciliation hearing came only hours after Mr Lehrmann was ordered to pay millions of dollars in legal bills in the Federal Court.

The former political staffer was dealt a devastating blow in April when Justice Michael Lee found he had, on the balance of probabilities, raped Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in March 2019.

Justice Lee threw out the defamation action, which he criticised as “misconceived” and “premised upon the fanciful and knowingly false premise”.

Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent before his trial in the ACT Supreme Court was abandoned due to juror misconduct in 2022.

The Director of Public Prosecutions decided to drop the charge and not pursue a retrial out of concern for Ms Higgins’ wellbeing.

Mr Lehrmann has continued to maintain his innocence and has lodged an appeal against Justice Lee’s decision, claiming he was denied procedural fairness.