Speaking at a press conference in Perth on Wednesday, Porter vehemently denied the charges against him. “Nothing in the complaints that was published has happened. Even now, the only information I have about the complaints is what is circulating online,” he said.
During the press conference, Porter responded to journalists’ questions about the details of the complaint saying that “it just didn’t happen”.
Porter said he would not resign as attorney general, but would take “a short leave of absence”.
“If I step out of my position … because of an allegation about something that just didn’t happen, then anyone in Australia can lose his career, his job, his life’s work, based on nothing more than an accusation “, he said.
The allegations came to light after statements by the alleged victim were anonymously sent to the prime minister’s office and two political women from the opposition Labor and Green parties last week.
Green Party senator Sarah Hanson Young, who received a copy of the statement, told CNN that she accused the minister of raping the woman when she was 16. The alleged victim died at the age of 49 in June 2020.
CNN did not see the statement and was unable to independently verify its content.
The allegations led to calls from women supporters and opposition politicians for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ask the minister to step aside and conduct an independent investigation into the allegations.
“We can’t have a situation where the mere filing of a complaint and having it published in the media is a reason for, you know, governments to turn people away simply on that basis,” said Morrison. “We have a rule of law in this country.”
The historical allegations came less than two weeks after a former ruling Liberal Party official claimed she had been raped by a colleague in 2019 in Parliament.
Speaking in February, Prime Minister Morrison apologized to Higgins and promised an investigation into the alleged rape.