Morrison gave a speech in Perth, at the International Women’s Day ‘Women in Resources’ Breakfast in 2019, where he said: “One of the other female [former] members of my Cabinet, Kelly O’Dwyer, said at the Press Club last year, our Minister for Women, “Gender equality isn’t about pitting girls against boys.” See, we’re not about setting Australians against each other, trying to push some down to lift others up.”1
In front of the cameras while on a visit to Windaroo during the 2019 federal election campaign, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “…We had one of the early questions on rape, and women being raped and the lack of reporting, and one of the things that often happens with that is they are not believed, and their stories are not believed, and it’s important their stories are believed, and they know that if they come forward their stories will be believed.
Greg Barns SC has raised the possibility that the accuser of Christian Porter had a false memory and in an article in Crikey, David Hardaker has raised the possibility that “If there is to be an independent inquiry into the unproven allegation of rape 33 years ago against Attorney-General Christian Porter, it may be that repressed memory therapy will be in the dock.”1 I don’t subscribe to Crikey, so cannot read the article beyond the first couple of short paragraphs.
In a tweet in reference to a piece in the Australian Financial Review (AFR), Chris Uhlmann, former ABC journalist, said the following:
‘Top of the morning sewer rats. Why not waste a lazy day in hysterics over this? “One can only imagine how even more hideous the whole episode would have been had the internet – including its sewer, Twitter – existed back then.”’1
I’ve never been in anything like Attorney General Christian Porter’s position, but I suspect if I was innocent of any allegations as he claims he is, then I’d demand an independent inquiry to demonstrate that innocence.
During his press conference held in response to the rape allegations, Attorney General Christian Porter said “I am personally struggling to wrap my head around….why I have never been contacted by anyone…. No journalist has ever put the allegations to me”. This quote was put out as a tweet by Laura Jayes of Murdoch’s Sky News Australia1. It immediately drew ripostes from legendary journalist Margo Kingston (of NoFibs), who said “calls not returned so they couldn’t be put.
The appalling Senator Sarah Henderson was installed by the government to fill a casual vacancy in the Senate after she lost her seat of Corangamite at the 2019 federal election1. Henderson has forwarded an e-mailed allegation that a sitting Labor member of parliament raped a woman. She said “In immediately referring this matter to the AFP, I have followed the procedures set out by Commissioner Kershaw in his letter of 24 February 2021.”2