ALBO the mudlark: “He needs to answer where this money came from. Members of Parliament, as well as ministers, just can’t accept money from anonymous donors for a private legal matter.” The Labor Party has been trousering cash from anonymous people (fleeced by unions) for generations. Today’s resignation of Industry and Science Minister Christian Porter over a potential or perceived conflict of interest linked to monies received by him to finance legal action against the ABC is not a “private” matter. Four Corners alone has become a weapon for defaming men its controllers don’t like. The ABC is public property with a billion-dollar treasury to bully those who cross it. Following the 7-0 humiliation of Louise Milligan in the High Court last year, the national broadcaster became obsessed with revenge. The targets: Liberal politicians and staffers. Thanks to the usual mousiness of the Prime Minister on matters of high principle, conservative figures will go on being defamed at will by a feral ABC whose Richie Rich-like vault makes it untouchable.
Unless they do something about it.
Let’s recapitulate what was done to Mr Porter. A supposed accusation by a woman was dismissed by the police but the ‘statement’ outlining her claims (and proving her insanity) had nevertheless been sent anonymously to Scott Morrison’s office – and the offices of his political opponents. This was blackmail to ensure the Prime Minister called an inquiry – regardless of police conclusions – and to guarantee the Attorney-General’s life could be destroyed pursuant to the novel Leninist-feminist doctrine of Believe All Women. Various Labor lawyers – they deserve to have the word disgraced appended to their names like so many Roger Rogersons – wanted the presumption of innocence to be suspended; Porter, they said, had to prove he didn’t do it.
After my experience it now seems to be a part of modern public life that if you are a politician, particularly a conservative politician, a mere allegation is considered enough to warrant an accusation being widely published, regardless of its inability to be proven to a civil or criminal standard.”
– Christian Porter, resignation statement
Not only were police uninterested; it turns out the so-called accuser had withdrawn her allegations and committed suicide. There could never be a prosecution. There was no proof and the circulated ‘statement’ never merited the description ‘evidence.’ The ABC wanted an execution anyway. When Milligan published an article that caused the Attorney-General to reveal himself as the accused and sue her and the ABC for making him “readily identifiable,” the PM should have laid down the law – literally – about how this would play out.
Mr Porter’s resignation doesn’t make the point moot. On the contrary. To protect citizens – be they politicians or not – the Morrison government should enact two reforms (or make a racket trying): First, a prohibition on the payment of a sued ABC reporter’s legal fees. For Milligan’s costs to have been paid (by you) while the innocent man who sued her is forced to resign to protect the names of donors is a disgrace. Second, the legal oversight of potentially defamatory content and determining the viability of appeals in defamation cases should be outsourced to an independent panel whose decision is final. Louise Milligan likes to humble-boast about the awards conferred on her by left-wing entities; if she can don the laurels, she can wear the costs.
Hear! Hear!
I agree with every word but CP did not stand up for/preserve any conservative values during his time so fork him. He’ll be signed up for something lucrative this time next week so it’s not like there’s going to be any impact . Onto the next “case” until the SFL takes to the ABC with a meat axe. Real justice would be ScoMo suffering the same fate.
Nice headline (at the bottom) in the Age – abolish state gummints.
There’s the flaw in your plan right there. Just about every “independent” panel chosen by the Australian government is filled with left wing loons.
Wow how any inaccuracies can one turn up in this piece.
The NSW police did not dismiss it. They did not even investigate it. they could have easily taken a witness statement as is done by others in these days of covid but did not.
The woman killed herself after NSW police told her it was all too hard. Then there was no admissible evidence.
It was Porter who commenced legal proceedings not the ABC and on the very specious grounds he readily identifiable. Huh. He was in Perth at high school. The alleged crime occurred in Sydney. how would anyone readily identify Porter. Until Porter spoke no-one knew of the debating completion he was at.
Let us not forget Porter asserting the woman was using recovered memories in this. Only problem they were clearly not recovered. She had her memories already and talked to friends about it. No-one ever helped her recover memories she never knew existed before.
We do not know when all this money was promised. (wow all these people spontaneously got together and decided to donate money to help Porter into a trust and there was no organisation.)
Having brought on this specious legal action Porter dropped it like a pack of cards when learning of the ABC defence. Not only that he then complained no-one should have access to the ABC defence. This was granted so agaain nobody knows.
Either Porter lied to his law team, his law team were highly over-rated or a combination of the two.
One should also question the ABC law team agreed to pay some of the mediation when Porter caved also easily.
It speaks loudly about Porter’s legal and political skills he thought receiving a large amount of money from unnamed sources was okay.
As for News organisations not paying for journalists who are sued this is simply silly. you would have no stories in papers at all as more and more people do a porter and sue on quite specious grounds as well as announcing a legal team that is very expensive thus attempting to get the other side to cave. Yes that is ironic.
Of course an inquiry could be held, Private companies do it all the time where serious allegations are made. The high court has done it. It aint hard.
Porter comes out of this very poorly.
Homer,
This looks like another version of Skanky Ho.
Later, in the same comment…
So the NSW Police dismissed it.
What I wrote:
His name was being bandied about on Twitter for weeks. Everybody in Australia knew it was Porter.
OK. I didn’t mention recovered memories.
Leaving aside your defamation of Christian Porter, he was simply a man required to defend his good name against an extremist left-wing organisation with a billion-dollar budget that was last year exposed in the Pell case as guilty of systematically lying to the public to ‘get’ conservatives. The ABC was forced to admit – and did admit – that its claims against Porter had no basis in fact and could not be proved. It folded.
I dare say Porter wanted the ABC’s ‘defence’ kept secret so as to avoid another round of lying on the 7.30 Report and Four Corners.
Bullshit. Journalists are not personally sued very often.
I specified ABC reporters. You would always have stories but none as mischievous and wilfully dishonest as those produced by the ABC on Pell and Porter. An independent panel of lawyers – rather than in-house warriors who believe their budget makes them untouchable – would advise them how to avoid being sued. It’s not hard.
Good work,CL. Another example of Homer receiving a good clip over the ears. I know you like Homer or have a soft spot for him. He is a thorough idiot though.
Think of it this way, Homer:
Porter could sue you for claiming he may have “lied to his law team.”
But WordPress wouldn’t pay your fees. And neither would I.
The ABC put out a press release explaining that a special exception was made to allow Milligan’s fees to be paid by taxpayers. Which shows that no news organisations – even the ABC – is in the habit of paying the private legal bills of staff.
JC, I’m always polite to Homer but he shows me no respect at all.
I’m Roger Dangerfield over here.
okay let us go through this again shall we.
Police dismiss a case after they investigate it and find no evidence to support this. It is very hard to find evidence if you do not take a statement from the primary accuser. The police commence their investigation from that point. They di not do this. Covid was the reason but covid did not stop anyone else involved in the justice system.
Few people ever read twitter and HOW di they know it was Porter. He was a student in Perth. No-one knew of the debating competition until he outed himself. You of course neglect to mention this. most people guessing would have gone for a cabinet minister who lived and was educated in NSW.
I did not say you did. I said Porter did. It goes towards his lack of credibility.
Porter was not named and few people if any would have known other than a lucky guess. I shall avoid your inaccurate hyperbole about the ABC other than to say it was Porter not the ABC that folded and he folded badly. This and asking the basis of the ABC defence not be allowed to other news organisation or any person who wished to peruse it was both very unusual and showed he wanted to hide something.
We know Porter folded because he got nothing on legal costs and was paid some of his mediation costs.
The ABC did not admit to to any claims against Porter. They di not make any. They said it was wrong for anybody to infer that.
( you are badly wrong on Pell whom I defended. You need to get your head around the fact both a jury and the court of appeals ruled against him. Were they part of this great conspiracy as well?)
Only applies to the ABC. That makes even less sense. journalists and their employers get sued all the time. Geoffrey Rush anyone. Porter said he would reform the libel laws. He didn’t.
You need to watch Sky after dark. They were parading the elction lie for some time and of course they have taken down a number ot items form their website which were wrong on vaccines etc.
Oh if Porter did then the ABC defence would be made public. There is a reason why he made such a massive backflip on the case HE brought forward and was funding with secret money which again was not a blind trust. Fancy a former A/G not knowing that.
Still feel like you want to be polite to him,CL?
Asking for a friend.
The friend says, Homer STFU and stop annoying everyone.
Like a murder victim , right Homer? The cops head off the morgue and interview the murder victim on the marble slab. You complete idiot.
This is skanky Ho all over again.
Notice total silence on how anyone could link a person living and at school in perth would be thought to be involved in an alleged crime in sydney.
Just for the resident intellectual a person being murdered leaves behind a murder scene. the only analogy would be being caught in the acting of rape. In this case you have to interview the alleged victim and get their statement which becomes admissible evidence. you then proceed with your investigation. Until this occurs you have nothing to investigate.
You really do like to highlight your total ignorance of a subject don’t you