James Morrow: ABC can hardly call themselves winners of the Porter case

Smug ABC supporters will take exactly the wrong lessons from former Attorney-General Christian Porter’s decision to discontinue his defamation lawsuit, writes James Morrow.

Why didn’t Christian Porter take his case further?

It’s the only question that remains after Monday’s announcement that he was discontinuing defamation proceedings against the ABC after claiming journalist Louise Milligan suggested he took part in a brutal historical rape in 1988.

On the face of it, the former attorney general seemed to have a strong case.

And the fact that the ABC agreed to pay the costs of his mediation would seem to support that.

Porter claimed that internet users knew exactly who Milligan had in mind when she published an article entitled, “Scott Morrison, senators and the AFP told of historical rape allegation against Cabinet Minister”, and he was absolutely right Monday when he called it sensationalist, one-sided, and unfair.”

Christian Porter leaves court with his solicitor after dropping his case against the ABC. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

The court hearing Porter’s case was told that some months ago Milligan advised a friend of the alleged victim to delete text messages she had exchanged with the journalist.

And given her form, most notably her ultimately failed crusade against George Cardinal Pell, it is not hard to see why many believed this would be a devastating loss for Aunty.

It was that defeat that earned Milligan her nickname in some circles as “Louise Seven-Nil-Again”, after the High Court vindicated Cardinal Pell and freed him from prison by a very rare unanimous 7-0 judgment.

Thus it was so easy to imagine a similar outcome here.

After all, Porter and Pell were two sides of the same coin: No, Mr Porter may not be the most priestly man in the parliament.

But like Pell, Porter represents a certain sort of self-assured conservatism that makes ABC lefties see red.

The ABC’s Louise Milligan published the article which is at the centre of the proceedings. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

And that is why the outcome should not be seen as a vindication for the ABC – despite the smug utterances of the broadcasters’ supporters on Twitter.

The fact is that is a case that never should have gone to court in the first place, because as a simple editorial matter, Milligan’s hit piece on Porter should never have been published.

Merely by being dragged to court, and having evidence about its reporters’ tactics displayed for all to see, it was a loss for the ABC, on organisation which now sees its reputation as an ideologically closed shop filled with one-eyed crusaders set even deeper in cement.