2021-09-14
The Greens say Christian Porter’s refusal to reveal who partially funded his defamation case against the ABC is the latest chapter in a sorry saga of blame-shifting and responsibility-dodging by the Morrison Government.
Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said:
“This is a farce. Christian Porter’s so-called ‘disclosure’ of who paid his legal fees makes a mockery of the register of interests and donations disclosure laws, and is just another instalment in a sorry chapter for parliamentary standards.
“Let’s be really clear about what’s happened here: An unknown person gave an undisclosed sum of money to a Cabinet Minister, which he used to fund a defamation case designed to silence the reporting of rape allegations made against him.
“How much was given? Who’s it from? What kind of influence does this person have over Christian Porter? If anonymous donations of unknown amounts are permitted purely because they are made via a blind trust, what is the point of donations disclosure laws at all?
“The PM has totally bungled his handling of the allegations against Christian Porter from day one. His willingness to keep an alleged rapist in his Cabinet without any attempt to determine the truth of the allegations reeks of male privilege and fundamentally misjudges the public mood.
“Morrison must instruct his Minister to reveal the amount and source of these funds and ensure the transparency that the Australian people demand.
“And he should support the Greens’ call for an independent inquiry to determine whether Christian Porter is a fit and proper person to hold a Ministerial position.”