Coroner won’t look at Christian Porter rape claim

An inquest into the death of the woman who accused Christian Porter of rape would be unlikely to examine the veracity of her allegations.

Attorney-General Christian Porter. Picture: AFP

A coronial inquest into the death of the woman who accused ­Attorney-General Christian Porter of rape would be unlikely to examine the veracity of her allegations but could potentially access her medical records and subpoena people to give evidence.

South Australian Coroner David Whittle will decide whether to hold an inquest into the cause and circumstances of her death last year after state police complete their investigation.

However, legal experts told The Australian that even if Mr Whittle decided an inquest was in the public interest, it would be unlikely to examine whether the woman was raped by Mr Porter 33 years ago. Mr Porter has denied the allegations.

Instead, it would be more likely to focus on whether there had been any systemic failings and if changes could be made to prevent similar deaths.

The woman’s friends have called for an independent inquiry into her allegations. Her parents said on Thursday they would support any inquiry that could shed light into the circumstances of her death.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who exchanged correspondence with the woman in 2019 about her allegations, has called for a coronial inquiry, asking: “If she did suicide, if she did take her own life, what led to it?”

Amy Davis, a former senior counsel assisting the coroner, said a coroner’s role was to examine the cause and circumstances of a person’s death. Whether a crime had occurred was “not really the angle the coroner would be looking at” — “that’s really up to the investigating authorities to deal with,” she said.

Ms Davis, now at Georgiadis Lawyers, said the circumstances surrounding a death were relevant, for example, if the person had any contact with the mental health system.

“The coroner will go back a few steps to have a look at whether or not everything that could have been done for this person was done and there hasn’t been a systemic breakdown,” she said.

“The personal circumstances are important but in this scenario, when you’re looking at allegations from a long time ago, whether or not there’s been criminality ­activity is not really the gambit of the Coroner.”

The woman took her own life while isolating in Adelaide in June due to COVID-19 restrictions after being discharged from a mental health centre in Melbourne. She had told many people about her alleged rape, including politicians, in the two years leading up to her death.

Barrister Ian Robertson SC said the coroner’s legal remit was limited — to make findings on the cause of death and make recommendations to prevent or reduce the likelihood of similar events in future. The coroner was prohibited from making any findings about criminality — whether to exonerate a person or recommend criminal charges, he said.

However Mr Robertson, a former South Australian Bar Association president, said the coroner could demand access to a person’s medical records and subpoena people to give evidence, and would generally conduct any ­inquiry in public.

The NSW Police Force closed its investigation into the woman’s allegations because it determined there was insufficient admissible evidence to mount a prosecution.

Mr Whittle said on Wednesday he had asked police to investigate the cause and circumstances of the death further. Once that was complete he would decide whether to hold an inquest.

A spokeswoman for the NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said there was no prosecutions policy or guideline that related to whether a complainant had died.

Instead the decision to prosecute was governed by Guideline 4, which requires there be enough admissible evidence available to capable of establishing each ­element of an offence.