Andrew Bolt: Why we should presume innocence of rape accused

It seems a Morrison government minister is presumed guilty until proven innocent. Has the principle changed, or just the politics?

Just eight years ago, Labor and the ABC believed a man innocent of rape until proven guilty. That was when the accused man was Labor leader Bill Shorten.

Today, it seems a man is presumed guilty until proven innocent. That’s when he’s a senior minister in the Morrison Government.

Has the principle changed, or just the politics?

In 2013, Kathy Sherriff accused Shorten of having raped her at a Labor event in the 1980s. Shorten strongly denied it.

The media – including the ABC – responded with a sensitivity never offered to Cardinal George Pell.

Bill Shorten strongly denied Kathy Sherriff’s rape claims. Picture: Gary Ramage

Almost all refused to name Shorten or give the allegations anything but the most cursory coverage until police had investigated. (Police concluded there was no case to answer.)

I wouldn’t name Shorten, either. I thought the accusation was so devastating – and dated – it would be unjust to destroy him if it turned out later he was innocent.

But now a Morrison minister is accused of raping a woman 33 years ago.

His career and reputation will be ruined if he is named, yet Labor suggests perhaps standing him down.

And ABC reporter Louise Milligan, who broke the story, showed the same blazing certainty in this accuser as she did in the disturbed man who’d falsely accused Pell of rape.

Milligan, who still hasn’t apologised to Pell for pursuing him, this time announced the allegations against the minister, detailed in a letter from the alleged victim, were “devastating” and “I will never scrub them from my brain”.

Those allegations may be true. Labor and the Greens have referred them to police.

Scott Morrison’s cabinet has been rocked by more rape allegations. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

But before anyone names and shames the minister, remember these reasons to be as considerate of his privacy and presumption of innocence:

HIS accuser suffered serious mental health issues, particularly bipolar disorder;

SHE did not raise this with police for three decades;

SHE has, tragically, now killed herself, making it impossible to question her recall;

ANOTHER Minister once accused of rape, Victorian Labor’s Theo Theophanous, was shamed by the media and dumped by Labor until a magistrate correctly ruled his accuser was a mentally unstable liar who’d changed her story 15 times.

Yes, believe a victim – when they offer proof. Until then, presume the innocence of the accused.

The ABC once believed that, and protected Shorten. Does it believe that now?