PERTH – Australia’s attorney-general yesterday outed himself as the unnamed cabinet member accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, denying the decades-old allegation and trying to draw a line under a crisis that has consumed the country’s conservative government.
After a week of speculation that has dominated Australian politics, 50-year-old Christian Porter – the government’s top lawyer and a former prosecutor – tearfully denied wrongdoing, saying “the allegations never happened”.
Porter insisted he will not step down, but will take leave to deal with the mental strain caused by the allegations.
“I’ve discussed with the prime minister today that, after speaking with my own doctor, I’m going to take a short period of leave to assess and, hopefully, improve my own mental health.”
Porter was forced to come forward after senior lawmakers last week received details of allegations that in 1988, he raped a then 16-year-old girl who committed suicide last year before making a formal complaint to police.
Although Porter’s identity as the accused is widely known, Australia’s defamation rules have prevented media from naming him.
The Western Australia representative insisted he is the victim of a “whispering campaign” and “frenzied politicisation” driven by the media.
“For the many caring family and friends who have asked me that question over the course last week, ‘Are you okay?’ I have got to say... I really don’t know,” he said, breaking down.
Porter appeared in front of the cameras a day after police said they found “insufficient admissible evidence to proceed” with a prosecution in the case.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has insisted the allegations are a matter for police.
Morrison’s government has been rocked by a series of sexual assault scandals, including harrowing allegations that a young staffer was raped by a colleague in the parliamentary office of the now-Defence Minister Linda Reynolds.
Brittany Higgins, 26, said she was treated like a “political problem” when she reported the 2019 incident, which occurred just a month before national elections.
Reynolds also took medical leave after the allegations.
Morrison had initially defended his government’s handling of that crisis, but, amid growing public outrage, apologised.
Australia’s Parliament has been repeatedly criticised for a “toxic” workplace culture that has spawned persistent bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct against women.
The ruling coalition has also been accused of having a “woman problem”, with a spate of high-profile female politicians quitting Parliament ahead of the 2019 election, with several citing bullying as a factor.
Last week Nicolle Flint, a prominent female Liberal MP who publicly complained about sexist abuse, said she will step down in the next election.
Morrison has announced that two female government officials will lead reviews into the sexual assault complaints process and workplace culture in Parliament.
But critics believe that work needs to be carried out at arm’s length from the government.
Women lawmakers from minor parties have written to Morrison demanding an “urgent external review” of current policies and the establishment of an independent body to oversee future workplace complaints. – AFP, March 3, 2021
