Christian Porter tipped to depart cabinet

Scott Morrison is taking revelations about Christian Porter “very seriously” as multiple sources say his departure from cabinet could be imminent.

Former Attorney-General Christian Porter’s decision to accept money from a blind trust to pay his legal bills is unprecedented and has never been done before according to insiders, but the Prime Minister has dropped another hint it could result in his departure from cabinet within days.

Scott Morrison has revealed he is now seeking legal advice on the unorthodox arrangement that is being used by persons unknown to disguise the identity of Mr Porter’s mystery benefactors.

Mr Porter maintains that he has “undertaken disclosure in accordance with the requirements of the register and consistent with previous members’ disclosure of circumstances where the costs of personal legal matters have been mitigated by contributions or reductions in fees”.

The Industry Minister faces legal bills in the range of $600,000 to $1 million after he launched and then discontinued a defamation case against the ABC over historical rape claims that he strongly denies. His accuser died by suicide last year just 24 hours after she rang police and told them she didn’t wish to proceed with a complaint.

The Prime Minister has not ruled out dumping Christian Porter. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sharon Smith

Mr Morrison described the blind trust as unusual and “not ordinary arrangements” in a radio interview on Friday. Government sources indicated it was unprecedented and as a result legal advice was being sought on how it fits — or doesn’t fit — within the ministerial guidelines that require the disclosure of gifts.

Melbourne radio broadcaster Neil Mitchell noted that if he took money as a broadcaster and it “went into my back pocket I would lose my job”.

“Surely, on the face of it, it looks indefensible does it not?’’ Mitchell said.

“I understand the point you’re making though Neil. That’s why I am taking it so seriously,’’ Mr Morrison responded.

Asked if he knew about the mystery benefactor before Mr Porter updated his register of interests on Tuesday, the Prime Minister revealed that Mr Porter “only recently” discovered the surprising news that he was the beneficiary of a blind trust of substantial value from an anonymous donor.

“He only most recently, as I’m aware, became aware of becoming a beneficiary in that beneficiary payment becomes available to him,’’ he said.

Asked if he had any knowledge of the secret blind trust before it was made public, the Prime Minister did not directly answer the question.

“These are not ordinary arrangements, and that’s why we’re seeking to have a full understanding of them,’’ he said.

Mr Morrison has already revealed he has referred to the blind trust arrangement for advice on whether it is in breach of the ministerial guidelines which acts as a code of conduct for cabinet ministers.

Mr Porter maintains he can’t tell Parliament who is paying his legal bills because he doesn’t know who they are or how much cash they have provided into a trust known as the Legal Services Trust. He has declined to reveal who established this trust, who the directors are or how they knew how to contact his lawyers with the cash.

Mr Morrison told ABC AM he refused to rule out dumping Mr Porter from cabinet but said he was “taking the issue seriously”.

Scott Morrison has said he is taking the issue very seriously. Picture: Newswire/Gary Ramage

“Well, I always act in these areas precisely, and I always act on the best possible advice,’’ he said. “And I always want to ensure that the ministerial standards are fully understood in these contexts and the right decisions are made.”

Asked if the public could infer that Mr Porter will leave Cabinet, the Prime Minister said he didn’t propose to infer anything.

“I don’t think you can infer anything. I think you can just take it that I’m following a process which you’d expect the Prime Minister to do who believes strongly in ministerial standards,” he said.

However, multiple government sources indicated that Mr Porter’s departure from Parliament was a serious option being considered.

“I’m not going to go into my conversations with the Minister, other than to say that our conversations are about ensuring that we share a view that the ministerial standards should always be maintained,’’ Mr Morrison said.

“What I’m saying is, it’s a very serious issue. I’m taking it very seriously, and I will ensure that the ministerial standards are maintained.”

Asked if Mr Porter could absolutely keep his ministerial job if he gave the money back the Prime Minister said he wasn’t going to speculate.

“I’m just not going to speculate on it. I’m just, I’m saying that we are taking the appropriate advice to make the right decisions to ensure ministerial standards are upheld,’’ he said.