Christian Porter reveals himself as minister accused of rape, denies claims

With voice shaking and tears welling in his eyes, Attorney-General Christian Porter has strongly denied claims he raped a woman in 1988.

Attorney-General Christian Porter has broken down in tears while forcefully denying allegations he raped a woman in 1988.

Mr Porter broke his silence to reporters in Perth on Wednesday after the NSW Police revealed there was “insufficient admissible evidence” to proceed with an investigation into the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl.

Mr Porter said he only knew the complainant for a brief period in his teens.

With voice shaking and tears welling in his eyes, he began by addressing the parents of the alleged victim, saying they deserved better than the allegation being politicised.

“The things that have been claimed to happen did not happen. I do not mean to impose anything more upon your grief,” he said.

“I hope that you will also understand that, because what is being alleged did not happen, I must say so publicly.”

Attorney-General Christian Porter has in Perth Picture: Sharon Smith/NCA NewsWire

The allegations came to light after an anonymous letter, which included an attachment containing the claims reportedly from the woman involved, was sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Labor Senator Penny Wong and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

The woman made a report to the police in 2019, however did not complete her formal statement before taking her own life in Adelaide in June 2020.

Gripping the lectern tightly while fielding questions from journalists, Mr Porter said he was aware of a “whispering campaign” before the story broke on Friday but no one had ever put specific allegations to him.

He said had the accusation ever been put to him before they were printed, he would have only told the truth.

“And that is that nothing in the allegations that have been printed, ever happened,” Mr Porter said.

Attorney-General Christian Porter in the House of Representatives with Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

The Attorney-General confirmed he and the alleged victim had attended a debating competition at the University of Sydney in 1988.

He said he kept silent as police worked through their process.

“In this last week, I have tried to do what I’ve tried to do all of my life, respect the rules and the processes in the law,” he said.

“I was determined to follow the process set out by the AFP commission. It’s a process which, because of my background I know well, to not comment on allegations through the media because it risks prejudicing any investigation.

“While I have followed the rules, I have been subject to the most wild, intense (and) unrestrained series of accusations that I can remember in modern Australian politics.

“Maybe that’s the new normal.”

Mr Porter said he was “deeply sorry” his colleagues, people he called friends, had become the target of allegations.

Mr Porter confirmed he would not resign, saying it would “set a standard” that would leave “no rule of law” left to protect.

“If I stand down from my position as Attorney-General because of an allegation about something that simply did not happen, any person in Australia can lose their career, their job, their life’s work based on nothing more than an accusation that appears in print,” he said.

He said he would take a period of leave, and would seek professional mental health support.

Mr Porter claimed he had had no form of sexual contact with the complainant, but could not explain why she had made the accusation.

“I don’t know the answer to that question. I can only say to you that it didn’t happen,” he said.

“I can’t talk to you about the allegations. I can say to you, it didn’t happen. But I can’t criticise or mount a defence or cross examine someone.”

Mr Porter said he was last in contact with the complainant in 1988 and said he had not asked anyone to contact her on his behalf.

He rejected calls for an independent inquiry into the matter.

“In this hyper-politicised world that we have, any allegation would basically mean if it weren’t resolved through a court process to some group’s satisfaction, the person has to end their … career,” he said.

Mr Porter said whether his colleagues would continue to support him was a matter for them.

But he doubted they would want a standard whereby public figures were expected to resign because of an allegation.

“I’m not sure that anyone in any position of authority, Labor or Liberal, would think that that’s a standard that they want to be put to,” he said.

Christian Porter teared up while denying the allegations. Picture: Sharon Smith/NCA NewsWire

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to Mr Porter a week ago after receiving the anonymous letter.

“It’s obviously distressing a situation and he acknowledged that,” Mr Porter said.

“I went to his office at his request, and he said that he had received the material that I was the subject of, and that it had gone to the AFP.”

Mr Porter pleaded with the media to “just imagine for a second that it is not true”.

SA police are considering whether to make the woman’s death the subject of a coronial investigation.

He was pressed on whether he should remain the nation’s chief law officer while an inquest into her death was carried out.

“I don’t know anything about the circumstances (of her death),” he said.

“I don’t know about her life, what challenges she faced or anything like that. I just hadn’t seen or heard or had contact in 33 years.”