Porter rape claim ‘nowhere near’ being resolved: Hanson-Young

Christian Porter has strongly denied claims he raped a woman, but a senator who received a letter about the claims says the matter is not over.

An allegation of an historical rape levelled against Christian Porter is “nowhere near” being resolved, despite the Attorney-General’s vigorous denials, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says.

Her comments came as the South Australian coroner confirmed on Wednesday afternoon the state’s police investigation into complainant’s death was continuing.

The Attorney-General identified himself on Wednesday as the minister named in a letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week alleging she had been raped in 1988.

His press conference followed NSW Police confirming on Tuesday it would not pursue an investigation into the matter, citing “insufficient admissible evidence”.

The woman reported the alleged rape to police in 2019, but took her own life last year.

Ms Hanson-Young, who also received the letter and forwarded it to the AFP, accepted Mr Porter “needed to come forward and identify himself” but said the matter was far from over.

“It’s a difficult issue. It’s a complex one, and it’s deeply uncomfortable,” she told the ABC on Wednesday.

RELATED: Porter reveals himself as minister accused of rape, denies claims

Christian Porter has denied he raped a woman in the 1980s. Picture: Sharon Smith/NCA NewsWire

“We can’t have a police investigation, there will be no prosecution. There’s no question of Mr Porter being charged, convicted, or sent to jail.

“These are not the questions. The question is whether he is a fit and proper person to be around the cabinet table with these types of allegations levelled at him.”

Mr Porter refused to resign over the allegation, arguing the move would set a precedent whereby any public figure would be forced to stand aside over an unproven allegation.

Ms Hanson-Young agreed that was “a very serious point”, claiming Australia did not want a culture of “name and blame”.

But she reiterated her call for an independent review into the matter, saying it was “difficult to see” Mr Porter returning to his role without Mr Morrison being “certain” he was fit to hold it.

“We don’t need to talk about hypotheticals. What we have here is a very specific allegation,” she said.

“I think an independent review, an inquiry, is really the only way a Prime Minister could properly inform himself as to whether the men that sit around his cabinet table are fit to be there.”

The Greens senator said Mr Morrison failing to read the letter sent the wrong message to alleged victims. The prime minister said he had been briefed on its content.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the rape allegation levelled against Christian Porter was ‘nowhere near closer to (being) resolved’. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

“There is a real sense out there in the community that issues like this need to be taken much more seriously,” she said.

“The Prime Minister, after receiving this allegation, didn’t even bother to read it.”

In a statement released on Wednesday afternoon, South Australian coroner David Whittle said he had determined the police investigation was “incomplete”.

“This was particularly evident having regard to information contained in recent media reports,” he said.

Mr Whittle said a lawyer had been allocated to help police conduct the investigation.

He said that would determine whether an inquest went ahead.

“The investigation is continuing and, once that investigation has been completed to my satisfaction, I shall determine whether to hold an inquest,” he said.

The deceased complainant’s lawyer Michael Bradley said he was “not surprised” by NSW Police’s inability to pursue the matter, given the amount of time since the alleged incident.

Mr Bradley has called for an independent inquiry into the allegation, but said not all allegations should lead to the accused’s resignation.

“There is a call for an inquiry and a call for him to step down while that inquiry proceeds,” he told the ABC.

“Depending on the outcome of that inquiry, he could ultimately resume his role and go on.

“But it isn’t right to say that every allegation must result in a resignation, if that is what is being advocated.”

Mr Porter argued an independent inquiry would put him in the impossible position of having to disprove a decades-old incident occurred.

But Mr Bradley rejected that argument, saying probes based on the balance of probability were “commonplace”.

“Under no circumstances would an inquiry require Mr Porter to disprove anything,” he said.

“There would be no burden of proof on him. The purpose of such an inquiry would be to address the allegation, to investigate it, to collect all of the available evidence on both sides, weigh it up and assess it, and then reach a determination on the balance of probabilities about the allegation.”

Earlier in the day, Labor leader Anthony Albanese fired a warning shot at the government, saying issues surrounding a historical rape allegation would not go away.

Mr Albanese said the woman told multiple people she wanted an investigation, which could be through a coronial inquiry in South Australia or an independent investigation similar to the High Court’s probe into allegations against judge Dyson Heydon.