Former Attorney General Christian Porter has announced he will resign from Federal Parliament before the next election, and it’s about bloody time.
Recent information has emerged that Christian Porter was receiving funds from unnamed donors to support his lawsuit against the ABC, costing close to $1 million.
The Federal Member for Pearce in WA has since announced his retirement, despite recently claiming he had no intention to step down. Health Minister Greg Hunt is also expected to announce his resignation before the next election.
Porter was accused of rape in a letter that was sent to the Prime Minister in February. The letter was written by a woman using the name ‘Kate’ who gave her account of the 1988 assault. The author of the letter took her own life in June last year after informing police she no longer wished to pursue her complaint against Porter.
This allegation, among others, sparked reviews of the workplace culture in Federal Parliament which have since found that one in three staff members have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
Porter lodged a defamation case against the ABC, following an article published in February. According to the ex-federal cabinet member, the article made false allegations against him, despite the fact that his name was never mentioned.
Porter made sure to pat himself on the back in his statement of resignation: “After a long time giving everything I could to the people of Pearce it’s now time to give more of what is left to those around me whose love has been unconditional.”
He even went on to not-so-subtlely condemn the now-deceased woman known as ‘Kate’: “Perhaps the only certainty now is that there appears to be no limit to what some will say or allege or do to gain an advantage over a perceived enemy.”
Liberal member Miquela Riley has confirmed she is intending to run for Porter’s seat in the next federal election. If she’s able to hold the position without the same kinds of allegations, she’ll be doing a bang-up job.
