Scott Morrison has spoken to Minister accused of rape

The PM says he spoke with the cabinet minister accused of raping a teenage girl in 1988 and he “absolutely” denies the allegations.

Scott Morrison has revealed he has held talks with the Liberal minister accused of raping a 16-year-old teenage girl and he “categorically denies” the allegations.

The Prime Minister today outlined the steps he took after receiving the very “distressing” allegations including confronting the man, who he did not name.

The claims relate to historical rape allegations that date back more than 30 years. While investigated by police last year, it’s believed the Adelaide woman contacted police suggesting she was too embarrassed to continue shortly before her death by suicide.

The alleged incident did not occur in South Australia but interstate, in 1988.

NSW police can no longer investigate the matter because the woman has died but her friends are calling for a judicial investigation and for the man to stand down.

Asked if he had confronted the MP and whether he denied the allegations, Mr Morrison said he had and he did categorically deny the claims.

“Yes, I have and he absolutely does,’’ he said.

“I became aware last week of a set of documents that had been circulated to I think four individuals. I was told that I was one of those individuals.

“At the time I or my office hadn’t received those materials but I was aware that at least one of those members had.

“And they informed me that they had relayed that to the Federal Police through the AFP Liaison Officer. I had some discussions that night. I still hadn’t received our copy until late Friday night. Consistent with the actions as the others who received those materials, we forwarded those on through my office to the AFP as well.

“I had a discussion with the Commissioner last week, about these matters, and I also had a discussion with the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Deputy Secretary, about these issues and I had a discussion with the individual, as I said, who absolutely rejects these allegations.

“And so after having spoken to the commissioner and to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary at this stage, there are no matters that require attention.”

Asked if he believed the denials, Mr Morrison said it was a matter for the police.

“Well, that is a matter for the police. See, I’m not the Commissioner of Police,’’ he said.

“Allegations of criminal conduct should be dealt with by competent and authorised agencies.”

Mr Morrison was then pressed, asked: “You must believe him otherwise you wouldn’t...”

The PM cut the reporter off to respond: “Give me the courtesy of actually answering you. It is the police, in a country where you’re governed by the rule of law, that determine the veracity of any allegations of this nature.

Scott Morrison says he has talked to the Minister the allegations have been made about.

Mr Morrison said he first heard about the letter on Wednesday evening and spoke to the accused man and the AFP commissioner that same night.

“Did I raise it? Yes, I did. And he vigorously and completely denied the allegations. So that means there is a proper process now for it to follow.”

Mr Morrison said it was imperative that the rule of law was preserved.

“It is the police, in a country where you’re governed by the rule of law, that determine the veracity of any allegations of this nature,’’ he said.

“It is the police. My office, I do not have the people or others who are trained or competent or authorised to investigate matters of this nature. The police are the ones who do that. The police have had this matter referred to them. The individual involved here has vigorously rejected these allegations. And so, it’s a matter for the police.”

The Prime Minister confirmed he had also discussed the matter with the AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw.

“And in my discussions with the Commissioner, there was nothing immediate that he considered that was necessary for me to take any action on,’’ he said.

“Now it is with ... the Federal Police. There are other jurisdictions that could potentially be involved here. And the Commissioner will advise me of that,’’ he said.

The Australian Federal Police do not investigate rapes in other jurisdictions such as NSW but can make inquiries to ensure any material provided to them can be passed on to the correct authorities.

The NSW police suspended the investigation after the death of the woman who had accused the Liberal minister.

The NSW police told news.com.au that while they could pursue some rape allegations after the alleged victim died it was on a case by case basis.

Legal sources said the prospect of this occurring, let alone a conviction were slim, because the dead woman’s claims cannot be tested in court.

The Prime Minister also revealed he had not read the entire 30-page dossier handed to his office.

“I’m aware of the contents of them. I’ve been briefed on the contents of them. And it was appropriate, as the Commissioner himself advised the Parliament, to refer any allegations to the proper authorities,’’ he said.

“That is the way in our country under the rule of law things like this are dealt with. It is important to ensure that we uphold that. That is the way our society operates. Now, these are very distressing issues that have been raised, as there are other issues that have been raised in relation to other members in

other cases. But the proper place for that to be dealt is by the authorities, which are the police. That’s how our country operates.”

Asked if he would call an inquiry, Mr Morrison said he would not go down this path.

“I’m not the police force. I have given it to the police to investigate,’’ he said.

The Prime Minister was also asked if the letter he requested from the AFP police commissioner was in relation to the dead woman’s claims.

“The Commissioner believed that it was important, as did I, that people understand that when

dealing with such sensitive matters, that they need to be dealt with in the proper way, which is to refer them to the proper authorities, which is the police,’’ he said.

MINISTER HAS RIGHT TO PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has declared the Liberal minister accused of rape has “the right to the presumption of innocence” as the government resists calls for the man to be stood down.

Mr Frydenberg said the Liberal MP has a right to protect his good name and the presumption of innocence.

“Every Australian deserves that right,’’ he said.

RELATED: Bombshell teen rape letter rocks Canberra

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says every Australian has the right to the presumption of innocence. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

“So, yes, there have been very serious matters raised across the Parliament in recent weeks. This has been the subject of much commentary and attention. But the focus has to be now on process.

“And we have seen a letter from the head of the Australian Federal Police and that letter, to the Prime Minister and subsequently made available to the Parliament, again re-emphasises the need for these matters to be in the hands of authorities, they are the best people to be dealing with such matters.

“Everybody, including that … minister that you referred to, is entitled to the presumption of innocence. We in Australia adhere to the rule of law. The rule of law means there is a presumption. It is with the Federal Police and they are the appropriate authorities.”

RELATED: Letter reveals woman’s rape claim

The Prime Minister Scott Morrison is yet to comment on the allegations and the anonymous letter, which was first reported by the ABC’s Four Corners on Friday night.

Two more federal MPs have also revealed they were aware of a historical rape allegation made against serving senior minister.

Liberal MP Celia Hammond, who the Prime Minister had suggested might lead an inquiry into workplace culture at Parliament House, has confirmed she was also sent an anonymous 31-page dossier detailing the allegation last week.

“I gave it to the Australian Federal Police on Wednesday afternoon and I alerted the Prime Minister’s Office,’’ she said.

Labor MP Daniel Mulino, who was a friend of the complainant, has told the ABC the alleged victim contacted him in December 2019.

“She indicated to me that she was determined to proceed with a formal complaint and I supported her in that decision,” he said.

“I ensured that the complainant was receiving appropriate support. I am greatly saddened by the death of my friend. I know that this has been a devastating period for the woman’s family and close friends. My thoughts are with them.”

The dossier, that includes an unsworn witness statement prepared by the alleged victim was also sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

A government spokesman stressed that the ministerial code only requires a minister to stand down if he is charged with a crime. The minister has not been charged with a crime and he is not the subject of a police investigation.

“As per the AFP Commissioner’s instruction, any complaints or allegations of this nature made to anybody – whether they’re parliamentarians or journalists – should be referred to the AFP,” the spokesman said.

Another Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has referred allegations that a woman was raped by a male Labor MP to police.

The matter relates to allegations that were previously investigated by VicPol in the last decade. The man subsequently identified himself, declared his innocence and the fact he had been cleared by police.

RELATED: Brittany hits out at ‘blame shifting’

The Prime Minister is under pressure to stand down a minister at the centre of historic rape allegations and to hold a parliamentary investigation after he received an anonymous letter penned by “friends” of a dead woman who told police she was raped in 1988 calling for “justice”.

News.com.au has obtained a copy of the correspondence, detailing the claims of the Adelaide woman who also left behind a trove of emails, letters and statements detailing an alleged assault when she was just 16 years old. The alleged incident occurred interstate.

The letter, which was sent to the Prime Minister on the day of the dead woman’s 50th birthday, details the “complex and distressing” claims. The woman also sought help from the former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull before her death.

“When news of (her) rape becomes widely known to the public (as it most likely will) legitimate questions will be asked as to who knew what, when they knew it and what they did,’’ the letter states.

The anonymous letter sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison was penned by 'friends' of a dead woman who was allegedly raped by a minister. Picture: Supplied

It also references the alleged sexual assault of a former Liberal staffer whose claims are now being investigated by police.

“This is occurring today in relation to Brittany Higgins,’’ the letter states.

“In (REDACTED) case, the loss of respect for our political institutions will be exacerbated.

“There will be considerable damage to community perceptions of justice … and the Parliament if it is simultaneously revealed that the senior people (like yourselves) were aware of the accusation but had done nothing.

“There are rapists in all parties. This is a difficult issue. Victims share information in confidence and sometimes do not want to pursue claims, at least initially.

“In this case, the victim shared her story with many and begged people to help her seek justice. To date, defamation law and political inactivity have adversely affected the ability of (her) claim to be properly addressed.”

But it states that NSW police cannot investigate the matter because the complainant died by suicide in June, 2019.

“Given the facts of this case, we suggest you could follow the lead of the Chief Justice of the High Court in relation to the allegations against Justice Heydon. You could ask Vivienne Thom to conduct a discrete preliminary investigation into the matter to see what facts can be established.

“Failure to take parliamentary action because the NSW Police cannot take criminal action would feel like a wilful blindness.

On Sunday, Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the Prime Minister now needed to weigh up whether it was appropriate for the minister at the centre of a historic rape allegation to remain in the position

“This now will be a very dark cloud over the Parliament,’’ he said.