Turnbull knew of rape allegation against senior minister, calls for inquest

Trove of documents and recordings left behind by woman allegedly raped by man now a cabinet minister surfaces, as Malcolm Turnbull reveals she sought his help.

The woman who accused a government minister of raping her as a teenager reportedly left behind a cache of correspondence, including personal emails and letters, before committing suicide in Adelaide last year.

NSW Police established Strike Force Wyndarra to investigate the claims last year after the woman met with detectives from the NSW Police Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad in February 2020 to report the alleged rape, which she says occurred in Sydney in 1988, before the man entered politics. The investigation was suspended when she took her own life four months later.

In a letter provided to news.com.au by a friend of the woman, she writes about how prosecuting the man would lead to “an emotional bloodbath”.

“I appreciate that it is still a long way off, and … ultimately a matter for the DPP,’’ she wrote.

A recording of woman talking about the allegations has also been obtained by news.com.au, which has decided not to publish it.

News of the trove of documents comes as former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called for an inquest into the woman’s death

Speaking at an Adelaide Writers’ Week event on Sunday, Mr Turnbull said the woman had written to him and his wife Lucy in 2019 to ask for their advice.

“She described a pretty horrific rape that she said had occurred at the hands of this person,” he told the crowd on Sunday.

“Among the things she noted, I might say, is that she’d kept extensive diaries, so I hope they’re still extant.

“We wrote back to her, obviously expressed our sympathy and, really our concern for her and what she’d experienced, but said ‘you’ve got a lawyer, you’re seeing the police, that’s the right thing to do’, and that was.”

Allegations of the rape sent shockwaves through federal parliament this week after anonymous letters detailing the claim were sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Labor senate leader Penny Wong and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

The matter has now been referred to the Australian Federal Police.

The woman died by suicide in June 2020 after making a report to NSW Police in February that year.

Mr Turnbull said he contacted South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens in relation to the matter after the woman died.

“I sent him the correspondence she sent us and our reply,” he said.

“There clearly needs to be some form of inquest so, I don’t know what the process is here … but I think there should be.”

PM ‘must make call’ on rape accused minister

Anthony Albanese has called on Scott Morrison to decide if a minister accused of a historic rape should be stood down from his cabinet.

The Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure to investigate the cabinet minister at the centre of the rape claim, as the Morrison government defends its handling of the alleged 2019 rape in Parliament House of a former Liberal Party staffer.

Australian Federal Police have been notified of an anonymous letter sent to the Prime Minister which detailed an alleged historic rape in 1988 by a cabinet minister in the Morrison government. The letter demanded Mr Morrison established an independent inquiry into the alleged rape which occurred before the accused man entered politics. The alleged victim committed suicide in June last year. She made a report to NSW Police earlier in the year.

The Opposition Leader said Mr Morrison needed to “satisfy himself” about whether it was appropriate for the minister accused of the alleged rape to remain in cabinet.

“This is a real test, and the Prime Minister must confirm to himself, that it remains the case that the Minister who is the subject of these allegations that it‘s appropriate for him to stay in his current position,” he told the ABC.

“This now will be a very much a dark cloud over the parliament and over the cabinet.”

Mr Albanese said he had heard rumours about the alleged rape for a “considerable period of time,” particularly when a controversial Four Corners episode aired last year which revealed that Cities Minister Alan Tudge had an affair with former Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller. Attorney-General Christian Porter had intimate relations with a female staffer. Mr Porter denied ever breaching the ministerial standards and Ms Miller is now suing for compensation, according to Nine Newspapers.

Ms Miller worked for Mr Tudge before moving to Employment Minister Michaelia Cash’s office and told the program she was bullied and humiliated in Mr Tudge’s office and her career progression stalled.

Federal member of parliament Alan Tudge arrives at the 2017 Midwinter Ball in the company of Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller, with whom he was having an affair. Picture: ABC

Mr Albanese refused to say if he believed the unnamed minister accused of the assault should be stood down. He also refused to say how he would deal with allegations of an alleged rape in his shadow cabinet.

“I‘m not seeking to politicise this issue. I’m saying that the Prime Minister will have to make decisions based upon his own assistance,” he said.
Labor senate leader Penny Wong and Greens senator Senator Hanson-Young were also recipients of the letter. Senator Wong has revealed she met the woman who made the rape allegation and referred her to rape crisis support. She said she first became aware of the allegation in November 2019, when she “ran into” the woman in Adelaide.

Ms Wong also confirmed she had contacted South Australia Police to offer her assistance to a coronial investigation into the woman’s death.

Mr Albanese refuted the suggestion that Senator Wong should have informed him as leader of the Labor Party about her knowledge of the alleged rape.

“These were of course historical allegations and Penny Wong, I think, acted appropriately,” he said.

In 2014, then-Labor leader Bill Shorten identified himself as the man at the centre of a different historical rape allegation which had been reported in the media. Mr Shorten strenuously denied the claim and said he co-operated with Victoria Police, which declined to proceed with the investigation, to clear his name.

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With NewsWire