Christian Porter

The tit for tat unsubstantiated rape allegations against a Morrison Government Minister and a Federal Labor Politician must end and respect for the presumption of innocence must be urgently restored.

Australian Council for Civil Liberties President Terry O’Gorman said sexual assault allegations against a Morrison Government Minister alleged to have occurred 30 years ago and before the Minister was even in politics shows how rape and sexual assault is now being used as a political weapon in Federal Parliament to score political points.

“It is reported today that the complainant in this case was said to be 16 years old at the
time of the alleged event and did not make a formal statement to Police before she died last year”, Mr O’Gorman said.

“If this Minister has to stand down because of an untested and untestable rape allegation 30 years ago when the dead complainant did not even make a formal Statement to Police then the presumption of innocence is dead and buried in this country”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said that while it is recognised making a rape complaint is difficult for some, for others experience and Court cases show such a complaint can be made without a shred of corroborative evidence.

“The presumption of innocence rationale is to prevent the very thing that is being threatened to the unnamed Federal Minister, namely to have his career and his personal and family reputation fatally damaged where there is no prospect of the veracity or otherwise of the complainant’s version being able to be properly and forensically examined”, Mr O’Gorman said.

“Whichever way this matter is looked at, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Federal Labor is pursuing this matter to cause the Morrison Government political damage”, Mr O’Gorman said.

The tit for tat allegation against a Federal Labor Politician of sexual assault shows what a dangerous game is currently being played out in Canberra

“It is time for both the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Cross Bench to demand that the presumption of innocence be observed and implemented particularly in respect of the unnamed Federal Government Minister. Otherwise it might as well just not exist”, Mr O’Gorman said.

1 March 2021

The article below by legal academic Jeremy Gans contains an analysis of the Porter issue which the QCCL endorses

https://insidestory.org.au/christian-porters-shadow/

Addendum added 8 April 2021