Australia’s Attorney General Christian Porter has identified himself as the cabinet minister at the centre of a rape accusation – an allegation he strongly denies.
A letter sent to Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week stated that Mr Porter had raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988. The woman committed suicide last year.
New South Wales police have closed their investigation into the matter.
Mr Porter, 50, said he had maintained Mr Morrison’s support as attorney general.
‘None Of These Allegations Have Ever Taken Place’
“The things that are being claimed did not happen,” he told reporters in Perth on Wednesday.
“None of these published allegations have ever taken place.”
Australian media have reported on the allegations against the cabinet minister since last Friday, but have yet to reveal his identity.
Former Crown Prosecutor, Mr Porter entered parliament in 2013 and became attorney general in 2017.
As a national legal officer, he holds one of the highest positions in government and oversees legal, national, and public affairs.
The Allegations
The alleged victim reported the matter to New South Wales police last year but did not make an official statement. The investigation was halted after her death last June, aged 49.
But last week a letter from friends of the woman was sent to Mr Morrison and opposition lawmakers, and the allegations were raised again.
Mr Porter said the letter accused him of raping the girl at a 1988 high school debating tournament at Sydney University in 1988.
Porter’s Statement
He has strongly denied any wrongdoing, adding that the only information he knows about the allegations is what was reported in the media.
The attorney general said he had known the woman “for a very short time, in debate competitions, when we were growing up, about 33 years ago”. She was one of his teammates, he added.
Asked by reporters, he said he did not think he had been alone with the woman and had not contacted her since January 1988.
Mr Porter said Mr Morrison had given him “full support” to continue as attorney general.
“If I resign from my position as attorney general on suspicion of something that did not happen, then anyone in Australia could lose his or her job … just based on further media claims,” he said. .
But he will take two weeks off because of his mental health, he added.
Investigations
The case was referred to the police last week by lawyers for the opposition.
But on Tuesday, police confirmed they were withdrawing their investigation because “there is not enough evidence to continue”.
Cases of sexual harassment often cannot continue to be prosecuted in Australia without the victim’s evidence.
But Mr Morrison’s government has responded to requests for a separate, independent inquiry into the allegations.
The woman’s friends and many prominent Australians have called for a court inquiry – a judge-led investigation into a public matter.
Mr Porter said he had never been contacted by police or anyone else about the allegations.
What Is Happening Now?
There are many reasons why these allegations are so explosive and could hurt Scott Morrison’s government. It includes the sitting cabinet minister – the attorney general, the country’s first law officer, recognizing that he has the right to be presumed innocent.
The alleged suicide victim committed suicide last year so there is no self-defense.
But it’s also the secrecy and opaqueness by which the prime minister and members of his cabinet have chosen to deal with the whole matter. Given it seemed inevitable that police would close their case, the government is facing calls to launch its own investigation.
Legally, this is a bit of uncharted territory: would it be a private investigation? Would a retired judge oversee it? Would it involve a parliamentary committee?
Politically, however, Scott Morrison and the whole Canberra bubble face a much more persistent issue. Remember, this all comes after Brittany Higgins inspired so many other women to come forward. This again brings to the surface a wider debate about what many have described as a toxic work culture for women in Australia’s corridors of power.
