A Toowoomba courtroom has now been closed as a woman gives evidence over allegations she was raped by former parliamentary staffer Bruce Lehrmann in 2021.

Lehrmann arrived at a Toowoomba court to face a committal hearing on two counts of rape.

This is the first time the former Liberal staffer, who was last year named as the high-profile Toowoomba man facing the charges, has attended the court.

Lehrmann, 29, is accused of raping a woman in Toowoomba, on Queensland’s Darling Downs, in October 2021.

The court will be closed while the complainant is cross-examined. She is the only witness and will give evidence from a remote room, as is standard practice for complainants in sexual assault or rape cases.

At the outset of the hearing, media outlets including News Corp, the ABC and Nine lodged an application for journalists to be present during her evidence, which would otherwise take place in a closed courtroom.

Lehrmann’s lawyers and the prosecution opposed the application.

Jessica Goldie, a barrister for the media entities, argued the complainant was protected by legal restrictions prohibiting the publication of her identity, and that she would give evidence from outside the courtroom.

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Goldie said allowing journalists to remain in the courtroom would “allow her evidence to be accurately reported”.

The prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said the complainant opposed the application and “wishes for her privacy to be maintained”.

Lehrmann’s barrister, Andrew Hoare KC, said media companies “simply cannot demonstrate that such publication would not be prejudicial for the complainant”.

The magistrate Marc Howden ruled that the court be closed for the complainant’s evidence and that the matter should “proceed in the usual way”.

Lehrmann arrived at the Toowoomba magistrates court shortly after 8.30am. He was accompanied by his solicitor Rowan King and he walked through the media pack into the courthouse.

Lehrmann was charged with two counts of rape in December 2022.

The rapes are alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba in October 2021 and were first mentioned in court in January 2023.

He is yet to enter any pleas but his legal team has indicated Lehrmann will defend the charges.

Lehrmann’s identity was initially withheld from publication to comply with Queensland laws.

Those laws, which have since been changed, only allowed identification if the accused was committed to stand trial.

After those law changes, the Queensland supreme court judge Peter Applegarth dismissed an application by Lehrmann to remain anonymous in October last year.

More to come …

• Queensland