Christian Porter ‘a strange dude’: ABC star Annabel Crabb

Annabel Crabb allowed Four Corners to film an interview in her home for an episode about Christian Porter’s alleged rape of a woman, text messages reveal.

Annabel Crabb says she had minimal involvement with the Four Corners program and was happy to allow Louise Milligan to use her house as an interview location . Picture: Justin Lloyd.

High-profile ABC presenter Annabel Crabb described Christian Porter as a “strange dude” and allowed Four Corners to film a crucial interview in her home for a controversial episode about the former attorney-general’s alleged rape of a woman, newly released text messages reveal.

In a series of text messages exchanged last July between Crabb and Jo Dyer – a friend of the woman who claimed she was raped by Mr Porter after a night out during a high school debating tournament in 1988 – Crabb praised Ms Dyer for her efforts to “get some justice” for the alleged victim, who took her life in June 2020.

Despite describing her role in the Four Corners investigation as minimal, the exchanges appear to show Crabb supporting Ms Dyer after her interview and disparaging Mr Porter. “What a strange dude (Mr Porter) is. And how amazingly arrogant to think you can mistreat people and get away with it for ever,” Crabb wrote to Ms Dyer in early July last year.

The messages, released by the Federal Court on Wednesday, show Crabb allowed Four Corners reporter Louise Milligan to use her home to film an interview with Ms Dyer for the Inside the Canberra Bubble episode, which aired in November.

Christian Porter. Picture: Joel Carrett

In the first of the messages released on Wednesday, Crabb writes: “It’s really coalescing with the stories of those (Dyson) Heydon women just fading away out of the law”, a reference to an independent inquiry that found the former High Court judge had sexually harassed six young female associates, some of whom had abandoned promising careers in the law. “(It) leaves me with such a boiling sense of rage and grief,” Crabb wrote.

On Wednesday, Crabb told The Australian she had had minimal involvement with the Four Corners program and was happy to allow Milligan to use her house as an interview location because she was away at the time. “Louise Milligan asked if a crew could film with Jo Dyer in my house when her location fell over at the last minute,” she said. “I did not discuss this in advance with Jo and I was not present. I did not introduce Louise to Jo, or to any other person I knew from the debating scene.

“I spoke to Louise a couple of times, as I would with any colleague on a big story.”

When Crabb was questioned by the ABC’s David Speers on Insiders in March about her relationship with the woman at the centre of the allegation against Mr Porter, she said: “I’ve not had any relevant confidences or disclosures made to me (about the rape allegation).”

Asked on Wednesday if she stood by that statement, Crabb told The Australian: “Of course.”

“On the rare occasions on which I’ve written or spoken about this case – for example, on Insiders in March – I’ve always been very clear that I knew Kate a long time ago, from our school days in Adelaide … Of course, I know Jo Dyer from those days, too, and she remains a friend.

“I’m very surprised to find text messages of mine disclosed by the Federal Court, given my deep personal irrelevance to any of the issues raised in the matter of Dyer v Chrysanthou.”

The documents that were released were submitted to the court as evidence in the matter brought by Ms Dyer against Mr Porter’s one-time barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, who was restrained from acting in the politician’s defamation case against the ABC.

The Four Corners Inside the Canberra Bubble program did not air rape allegations against Mr Porter. Those claims were separately published by the broadcaster on February 26 in an online article that reported an unnamed cabinet minister had been accused of rape.

Mr Porter outed himself as the minister five days later while denying the allegations, and began defamation proceedings. As part of his case, Mr Porter submitted a large number of social media posts and statements including from Crabb, arguing it was widely known who the alleged rapist was despite the anonymous nature of the article.

Mr Porter withdrew the high-stakes legal action on May 31.

The broadcaster has since added a note to the article, which says it “did not intend to suggest that Mr Porter had committed the criminal offences alleged”.

The text messages reveal Crabb’s support for Ms Dyer, telling her on one occasion that Milligan had said that she was “making good progress” on the story. On July 8, after Milligan had filmed an interview with Ms Dyer in Crabb’s home, the ABC host wrote to Ms Dyer: “I just had a message from her (Milligan) before saying ‘Jo was amazing’ so you can’t have disappointed.”

Crabb also referred to the alleged victim in a conversation with Communications Minister Paul Fletcher.

“I definitely do not think Paul knew anything,” Crabb told Ms Dyer on July 8.

Mr Porter said on Wednesday the messages were of serious concern and suggested an orchestrated campaign by journalists at the public broadcaster to air unproven allegations against him.

“Nothing would surprise me about ABC journalists on these matters but the documents released today raise legitimate questions, which are really for the ABC to answer,” he said.

Mr Porter said he was considering appealing against the decision that prevented all of the messages between Crabb and Ms Dyer being made public.

A significant portion of the exchange remains redacted.

Jo Dyer, centre, was interviewed by Four Corners at Annabel Crabb’s home. Picture: Adam Yip

■ EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story was unclear about who had made the allegation of rape against an unnamed cabinet minister. The ABC did not accuse the minister of rape but rather reported an accusation had been made.