Scott Morrison stands by minister accused of rape

Senior cabinet minister accused of rape denies allegations, with Scott Morrison rejecting calls to stand him down.

Scott Morrison says ‘the individual involved here has vigorously rejected these allegations, and so it is a matter for the police’. Picture: Getty Images

A senior cabinet minister accused of rape has denied the allegations, and Scott Morrison has rejected calls to stand him down and hold an independent inquiry.

The Prime Minister, in his first comments on allegations which have engulfed the government, said he had raised the claims with the minister on Wednesday.

Mr Morrison said the minister had “categorically” denied the allegations, made public on Friday. “The individual involved here has vigorously rejected these allegations, and so it is a matter for the police,” Mr Morrison said.

“I didn’t know the substance of it. When I was put in a position to pursue it, I did.”

He added that he heard “rumours” of the allegations last year but had not made further inquiries at the time.

An anonymous letter sent to Mr Morrison, Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young alleges a current cabinet minister raped a woman in 1988, a claim briefly investigated by NSW Police before the complainant asked for the inquiry to be dropped and later died.

Mr Morrison said the minister should not have to stand aside because allegations had been raised in the media. He said he had raised the allegations with the Australian Federal Police. There are, however, growing doubts police will be able to investigate because the woman who alleged the rape died in June.

“We can’t have a situation where the mere making of an allegation and that being publicised through the media is grounds for ... governments to stand people down simply on the basis of that,” Mr Morrison said on Monday.

“We have a rule of law in this country and it’s appropriate that these things were referred to the AFP. They have been.”

Since the anonymous letter was first reported by the ABC on Friday, friends of the alleged victim told The Australian that the family of the woman requested the broadcaster not air the claims.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the matter is in the hands of federal police. Picture: Getty Images

She would be “furious, disheartened, feel disrespected and debased to see how they’ve approached the coverage because she was a brave courageous advocate,” one of the woman’s friends, former Liberal staffer Dhanya Mani, said on Sunday. However, it has emerged the woman collated extensive materials in recent years to support her allegations, including diaries and journals.

The alleged victim made a report to NSW Police early last year, and later assisted Strike Force Wyndarra which was established to look into the matter.

The ABC on Monday reported that other friends of the woman were calling on Mr Morrison to stand down the minister and set up an independent inquiry to investigate the allegations.

Cabinet colleagues on Monday have so far publicly supported the minister. Josh Frydenberg said the matter was in the hands of federal police.

“We in Australia adhere to the rule of law. The rule of law means there is a presumption of innocence,” the Treasurer said.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne also said the investigation should be left in the hands of police. “We should operate according to the rule of law in this country, because the alternative frankly doesn’t bear thinking about,” she told 2GB radio.

While the AFP has begun making inquirie

s, those close to the matter said they expected it would likely become a coronial inquiry in South Australia, where the woman lived, because federal police lack jurisdiction. The alleged rape took place in Sydney.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who received the anonymous letter last week and referred the matter to the AFP, said police would be unable to investigate the accusation now the woman was dead and called on the minister to stand aside.

“Simply leaving it to the police will not resolve it,” she told ABC radio. “It can’t be resolved by the police because this woman has died and (because of) the rules around these issues in NSW.

“The Prime Minister could announce an independent investigation. He could appoint an eminent former judge and ensure that not just the victim has her voice heard,” Senator Hanson-Young said. “I don’t believe that we can have a situation now where a senior member of the Prime Minister’s cabinet has such a grave allegation … cast over them, and to allow that person to sit around the cabinet table.”

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he was alerted to the rape allegation in December 2019 and called for a coronial inquiry into her death.

Senator Wong said she met the woman who made the allegation and referred her to rape crisis support. Senator Wong has also confirmed she had contacted South Australia Police to offer her assistance to a coronial investigation into the woman’s death.

Liberal MP Celia Hammond and Labor MP Daniel Mulino have also disclosed they were aware of the rape allegations before it became public last Friday.

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