Christian Porter to testify in rape ‘trial’ after launching defamation action against ABC and Louise Milligan

Christian Porter is prepared to take the witness stand to deny rape allegations in a showdown with the ABC.

Attorney-General Christian Porter will resume duties on March 31 after taking almost a month off. Picture: AFP

Christian Porter says he is prepared to take the witness stand and give evidence under oath to deny rape allegations in a defamation showdown with the ABC.

The Attorney-General, who will resume duties on March 31 after taking almost a month off for his mental health, launched proceedings on Monday against the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan, claiming he had been subject to a malicious trial by media.

Mr Porter’s legal team has accused the ABC of publishing “false allegations against him’’ in an online story that revealed a senior cabinet minister was facing historical rape allegations.

Mr Porter’s lawyers argued the legal action would allow the claims to be “determined in a court in a procedurally fair process” but Labor has escalated demands that Scott Morrison launch an independent inquiry into the allegations and demanded that the Attorney-General stand aside.

Anthony Albanese used question time to accuse the Prime Minister of having “not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete’’ on sexual assault, as thousands of protesters demonstrated outside Parliament House and in cities around the country over violence committed against women, including in the workplace.

The demonstrations followed the political furore generated by the allegations surrounding Mr Porter and by the alleged rape of former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ parliamentary office and subsequent criticisms of the government’s treatment of her.

Sue Chrysanthou SC.

Bret Walker SC.

Mr Morrison declined to attend the rally in person, but offered to meet a delegation from the protesters in his parliamentary office. They turned down the offer, arguing issues of sexual assault had for too long been dealt with in secrecy.

Mr Albanese said Mr Morrison was trying to stymie progress.

“(Women are) crying out that this is a moment that requires leadership, and it requires leadership from this Prime Minister. And we are not getting it, prime minister,” the Labor leader said.

However Labor also faces claims over the treatment of female staff. Mr Albanese on Monday urged all women who had been sexually harassed or assaulted by Labor figures to come forward and make a complaint, after dozens of anonymous allegations were shared on a Facebook group for current and former staffers.

Mark Dreyfus. the party’s legal affairs spokesman, said Mr Porter’s legal case against the ABC would not examine whether he was a “fit and proper person” to hold the Attorney-General’s portfolio and he should stand aside.

But Mr Morrison said the defamation case would ensure the allegations against Mr Porter would be considered by a court.

He said that there was “one rule of law for every single Australian in this country” and questioned why Labor was not also demanding an extrajudicial inquiry into allegations made against a senior Labor MP.

Justice Jayne Jagot.

Bill Shorten identified himself in 2014, when he was Labor leader, as the subject of a historical rape allegation dating back to the 1980s. Mr Shorten has vigorously denied the allegations, and Victoria Police concluded its investigation without criminal charges.

“I am puzzled as to why (Labor) have never suggested that (an extrajudicial inquiry) be made against one of their own members of their own frontbench,” Mr Morrison said.

“The government at the time sought no such inquiry … and nor did the opposition suggest one. But that individual indeed put himself forward to be the prime minister of this country on two occasions.”

Federal Court judge Jayne Jagot, appointed by the Rudd government in 2008 and passed over for High Court promotion by the Coalition last year, has been allocated to handle the Porter defamation case.

Mr Porter is funding a powerhouse legal team of Bret Walker SC, Sue Chrysanthou SC and Rebekah Giles to prosecute the case.

The ABC has vowed to defend the legal action but its managing director David Anderson said he was surprised by it.

Mr Porter’s legal team has accused the public broadcaster of “trial by media” and Milligan of acting with “malice” and engaging in a campaign against Mr Porter to harm his reputation and have him removed as Attorney-General.

ABC Journalist Louise Milligan at Treasury Gardens in Melbourne on Monday. Picture: David Geraghty

“Over the last few weeks, the Attorney-General has been subjected to trial by media without regard to the presumption of innocence or the rules of evidence and without any proper disclosure of the material said to support the untrue allegations,” said Ms Giles, of reputational risk firm, Company Giles.

While Labor and the friends of the woman who made the allegations, which date back to a 1988 debating trip, have campaigned for an inquiry, Ms Giles said the claims made by the ABC would be “determined in a court in a procedurally fair process”.

“The trial by media should now end with the commencement of these proceedings,” she said.

“Mr Porter will have and will exercise the opportunity to give evidence denying these false allegations on oath.”

Ms Chrysanthou and Ms Giles recently represented Ms Higgins in her settlement against Senator Reynolds.

Mr Walker is one of Australia’s most eminent barristers and represented cardinal George Pell when he was successfully acquitted of child sex abuses.

Ms Giles said it was open to the ABC and Milligan to “argue the truth of the allegations”, and under the Defamation Act they could plead truth in their defence.

The ABC’s February 26 article revealed a minister was the subject of historic rape allegations. It did not name Mr Porter but his lawyers argue he was “easily identifiable to many Australians as the subject of the allegations”.

“The ABC and Milligan knew that Porter would be readily identifiable as the subject of the article and that he would ultimately be compelled to publicly respond,” a the statement of claim reads.

Those documents accuse the ABC of selecting portions of the alleged victim’s dossier that made the “allegations appear as credible as possible when there were other significant portions of the dossier which demonstrated that the allegations were not credible”.

The dossier was prepared as the woman sought a police investigation into the historical allegations. However the alleged victim withdrew the complaint and subsequently died by suicide.

Milligan declined to comment when contacted on Monday.