Sky News political commentator Peta Credlin helped Brittany Higgins draft a statement outlining the former staffer’s plan to reform the way Parliament handled sexual harassment, a court has heard.

Higgins is fighting her former boss Senator Linda Reynolds over social media posts from 2023 that the ex-defence minister claims damaged her reputation.

On Tuesday, Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett told a Perth court a statement purporting to be from Higgins – that her lawyer Rachael Young read during her closing submissions – was not written by her.

“It wasn’t Ms Higgins’ voice at all,” he told the Western Australian Supreme Court, in reference to the statement from February 19, 2021.

“The draft … was prepared by [Higgins’ now-husband David] Sharaz and it was edited by Peta Credlin.”

Bennett read out messages between Sharaz and Credlin, in which he said: “Thank you again for your help. Please see below the initial draft, feel free to completely re-work wherever you see fit”.

Credlin confirmed the claim on her Sky News show on Tuesday night. While insisting she had never actually met Higgins, she said “contacts of Higgins” had got in touch in the days after the stories were published, asking if she would take a call from Higgins as a “former Liberal chief of staff and a woman”.

Credlin – who was chief of staff to former prime minister Tony Abbott – said she was also involved in crafting initial terms of reference for the Setting the Standard report, later conducted by former sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins.

“She asked me if I would help her draft the terms of reference for a review into the treatment of female staff in federal politics. I said to her that I would, I said, after 16 years as a staffer myself, I believed reform was needed,” she said.

“Then did two things with her permission. I called the then prime minister Scott Morrison’s office to tell them ‘this is exactly what I was doing’, to which his chief of staff said, ‘I fully support it’. And then I advised my direct manager here at Sky News as I helped draft the terms of reference, which later became the Jenkins review.”

Bennett told the court that Credlin provided suggestions to rework paragraphs in Higgins’ statement, asking Sharaz to call her so she could talk him through the changes. He also said Sharaz sent the edited document to journalist Lisa Wilkinson.

“This idea that statements made by Ms Higgins after the date of The Project interview and the [News.com.au reporter Samantha] Maiden article corroborate her motive in making those statements … needs to be treated with caution because what appears to be Ms Higgins’ voice was the voice of people jumping on a bandwagon,’ Bennett said.

Young finished her closing argument for Higgins’ defence by saying Reynolds had repeatedly stated she was protecting Higgins’ agency in defence of her handling of the alleged rape.

“But Ms Higgins had no agency when she was raped in March 2019 on the couch in Senator Reynolds’ private office,” she said.

Young read an extract from Higgins’ statement in which she said she had re-engaged with the Australian Federal Police and would proceed with a formal complaint over her alleged rape.

In it, Higgins also said: “The prime minister has repeatedly told the Parliament that I should be given agency going forward”.

“I don’t believe that agency was provided to me over the past two years but I seize it now and have advised the prime minister’s office that I expect a voice in framing the scope and terms of reference for a new and significant review into the conditions for all ministerial and parliamentary staff.

“From the outset, I have been driven by my desire to ensure that no other person would have to go through the trauma that I experienced during my time in Parliament House.

“I was failed repeatedly, but I now have my voice, and I am determined to use it ensure that this is never allowed to happen to another member of staff again.”

The trial continues on Wednesday when Bennett is scheduled to complete his closing remarks.

-with AAP