I was just a boy, I did not rape her: Porter

Attorney-General Christian Porter categorically denies a historical rape allegation, saying he did not even have sex with the then 16-year-old girl.

Attorney-General Christian­ declared he will not resign ­’because of an allegation about something that simply did not happen’. Picture: Colin Murty

Christian Porter has revealed himself as the Morrison government cabinet minister at the centre of a historical rape allegation and issued a categorical denial, saying he did not even have sex with the then 16-year-old girl.

The Attorney-General also ­declared he would not resign ­“because of an allegation about something that simply did not happen”, warning it would set a dangerous precedent after which any person could lose their job based on a printed accusation.

Friends of the alleged victim, who committed suicide last June, vowed they would exert more pressure on the Morrison government following Mr Porter’s ­emotional press conference. A friend of 30 years, who did not want to be identified but was in close contact with the woman up until her death and was involved in the push to see recourse for her allegations, said Mr Porter and Scott Morrison should not treat the press conference as providing any sort of closure.

“I implore the government to understand that the pressure will only go up and not down and that this is not the iceberg, this is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

The government has been ­engulfed in controversy for weeks amid several sexual assault and harassment allegations, including by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins who alleges she was raped in March 2019 in then defence ­industry minister Linda Reynolds’ parliamentary office.

Mr Porter said he would take a short period of leave and seek professional help for his mental health, while insisting none of the alleged events dating back to 1988 “ever happened”.

He said he had had no contact with the woman since the January week the alleged rape was said to have occurred and had no intention of resigning from his position.

“If I stand down from my ­position as Attorney-General ­because of an allegation about something that simply did not happen, then any person in ­Australia can lose their career, their job, their life’s work based on nothing more than an accusation that appears in print,” he said.

“Every child we raise can have their lives destroyed by online ­reporting of accusations alone. My guess is if I were to resign and that set a new standard there wouldn’t be much need for an ­attorney-general anyway because there would be no rule of law left to protect in this country.

“I will not be part of letting that happen while I am ­Attorney-General … I am not standing down or aside.” Mr Porter said an independent inquiry into the allegation being called for by the Greens and friends of the woman was a matter for others to determine, but he made a strong case against one.

Christian Porter speaks to the media in Perth on Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Anthony Albanese has backed an independent investigation or coronial inquest into the woman’s death, saying the matter would not go away and further action from the Prime Minister was required.

“What would I say in front of that inquiry?” Mr Porter said.

“What would that inquiry ask me to do? To disprove something that didn’t happen 33 years ago? I honestly don’t know what I would say to that inquiry.

“While I have followed the rules and stayed silent, I have been subject to the most wild, intense, unrestrained series of accusations that I can remember in modern Australian politics. Maybe that’s the new normal. I hope for everyone’s sake it’s not.”

Mr Porter said no allegation of rape nor any specifics of the circumstances had been put to him before a story was published on the ABC on Friday, though he was aware of a rumour last ­November that he had “somehow offended against someone decades ago”.

 

According to the ABC, the broadcaster sought and received comment from the Prime Minister’s office and a statement was included in the story when it was published. Reporters subsequently contacted Mr Porter’s office to offer every opportunity for a response, ABC sources said.

The broadcaster reported Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong and Mr Morrison were sent a letter containing the rape allegation.

Asked if he could effectively do his job while the allegations were untested, Mr Porter said: “I am going to take a couple of short weeks leave just for my own sanity. I think that I will be able to return from that and do my job.”

Mr Porter said he had never slept with the alleged victim, who he remembered as an intelligent, bright and happy person, nor had “anything of that nature” happened between then.

He said he had never been in the woman’s room though he conceded it was “not impossible” they had spent time alone together.

He conceded he may have said “in a joking way” that she would make a wonderful wife one day as she showed Mr Porter, who was 17 at the time, and two other boys how to iron a shirt.

“There were four of us: three boys and this person whose name I can’t even say because of the situation we are in. I don’t think any of us had ever ironed a shirt before and I recall she showed us how to do that, I remember that,” he said.

Senator Hanson-Young said there would be no resolution to the allegations until an independent inquiry was conducted while former Liberal adviser Dhanya Mani, a friend of the alleged victim, said she would continue to campaign for an investigation.

South Australian coroner David Whittle said he had not decided whether to hold an inquest into the alleged victim’s death, the cause and circumstances of which are being investigated by police.

“The investigation is continuing and once that investigation has been completed to my satisfaction, I shall determine whether to hold an inquest,” he said.

“The appropriate next step would be to establish a High Court inquiry into the allegations and her statement should be deemed admissible as a result of the delays of COVID,” Ms Mani said.

Mr Porter, who engaged MinterEllison partner Peter Bartlett last year after the ABC alleged he acted inappropriately with staff, has not ruled out pursuing defamation proceedings about the alleged historical rape.

“Over the last week so much has been said of every imaginable type … I will look at it all,” he said.

NSW Police said on Tuesday a criminal investigation into the allegation had been closed due to “insufficient admissible evidence”.

If you or someone you know is ­­at risk of suicide, call Lifeline on 13 11 14