Australian cabinet minister at centre of historical rape allegation to identify himself

The cabinet minister at the heart of an explosive historical rape allegation is set to name himself. It comes as a photo of the pair around the time of the alleged rape is revealed.

The cabinet minister at the heart of an explosive historical rape allegation is set to name himself as soon as Wednesday, as NSW Police announced Tuesday that they had closed the books on their investigation, saying “The matter is now closed.”

The move comes as senior sources in both Labor and the Coalition told The Daily Telegraph they expected the controversy to continue, with a photo of the pair around the time of the alleged rape being revealed.

Despite this, the pressure on the government is likely to continue over the matter, which involves a sex assault which allegedly took place in Sydney in 1988, and whose alleged victim took her own life in South Australia last year.

The photo that allegedly shows the now minister and alleged rape victim. Picture: news.com.au

One government source said police closing the case “does not mean the matter will go away”, while Labor opposition sources said there was continuing anger over Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s “avoidance of responsibility” in not dealing with the minister in question.

Speaking in Port Stephens on Tuesday, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese echoed this, saying that “the Prime Minister needs to do more”.

“There is a dark cloud now over the government. And Scott Morrison needs to recognise that,” he said.

“Now, whether that’s a coronial inquiry into the circumstances of this woman’s death, or whether there be other inquiries made, it really isn’t enough for the Prime Minister to think that this issue is just going to disappear.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The idea of an inquiry or inquest into the woman’s death was further pushed on Tuesday by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who told ABC radio that he “has a question in my own mind” about whether the woman did in fact kill herself last year, saying the notion that she would have killed herself was “counterintuitive” to him.

“We don’t know for sure that she took her own life, we know for sure that she’s dead. And there needs to be an inquest”, Mr Turnbull said.

Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: Kym Smith

Mr Turnbull’s suggestions come on the heels of reports in The Daily Telegraph that some within the Morrison government believe the former prime minister has been actively working to amplify the rape claims to destabilise the government and seek revenge for the leadership spill which saw him removed from power in 2018.

Previously, Mr Turnbull had participated in an episode of ABC’s Four Corners calling out members of the Morrison government for sexual impropriety.

Mr Turnbull’s suggestion the woman did not take her own life is likely to further muddy the waters around the case and add to calls for an inquest or inquiry that, no matter its findings, could be damaging to the government.