Christian Porter and barrister ordered to pay huge court costs

Ex-Attorney-General Christian Porter and his former barrister have been ordered to pay a huge amount of cash to an Adelaide woman.

Christian Porter and his former barrister have been ordered to pay more than $430,000 in legal fees to a friend of the woman who accused the former attorney general of rape.

Mr Porter has consistently denied the allegation, which dates back to 1988 when he was a teenager, and no charges have been laid.

Joanne Dyer, who was a high school debating friend of the woman known as Kate, last year successfully blocked lawyer Sue Chrysanthou from acting for Mr Porter in an ABC defamation case.

It came after she argued there was a conflict of interest because she had given Ms Chrysanthou confidential information related to Kate during a legal discussion in November 2020.

The defamation case against the ABC was eventually dropped.

Christian Porter and his barrister have been ordered to pay costs. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

In June, Justice Tom Thawley ordered Mr Porter and Ms Chrysanthou to pay Ms Dyer’s costs.

While Mr Porter’s lawyers later flagged his intention to appeal the decision to bar Ms Chrysanthou, the costs amount was finally revealed on Wednesday.

“The applicant’s costs ... are determined in the amount of $430,200,” the order read.

The full judgment is expected to be publicly available on Thursday while the appeal hearing is anticipated in April.

Kate took her own life in mid-2020.

Mr Porter will not contest the next election.