Historical rape allegation against the Attorney-General Christian Porter

If Part 2 of Inside the Canberra Bubble ever makes it to air next week,
they might need to move Christian Porter to the Minister for Communications for a while (He can swap with Fletcher temporarily),
during any Coronial Inquiry he might be a witness in,
and Four Corners might end up being reduced down to Three Corners.




They also had further footage they didn't show last time, that they may want to show now...
 
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Yeah fair enough, I thought I saw somewhere that they had dinner.

Here you go.

'Robert Crocker, an Adelaide-based academic and writer who was a work colleague and friend of the now deceased woman for many years, told Guardian Australia that she told him about the alleged rape in February 2019, which is earlier than many of her friends in debating circles.

Crocker said he believed that the woman told him in a subsequent conversation that she’d had dinner in the years after the alleged assault with the attorney general in Perth.

“I do remember that she mentioned a [subsequent] social event – a dinner,” Crocker said. “She did definitely mention some dinner.” Crocker said he spoke to her several times in 2019 and then once more in 2020, before her death.

In a statement recording her recollections of the events of 1988 and her subsequent contacts with Porter – a statement circulated to Morrison and other parliamentarians and reported by Guardian Australia on Monday – the now deceased woman said she had dinner with Porter in Perth in 1994.

A close friend of the now deceased woman, who accompanied her to make a statement to the New South Wales police in 2020, told Guardian Australia Porter had dined with her friend after 1988.'


As I posted, had dinner/dined with, as reported in the above, does not automatically mean they had dinner alone, or that the dinner was not at a function, or a group where neither of them invited each other.
 
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They also had further footage they didn't show last time, that they may want to show now...

It's said they do have footage of interviews that was held back over defamation issues. Around the time 'The Canberra Bubble' aired, I was told on the grapevine that the ABC was under threat of defamation by Porter and it had been heavily cut so it didn't surprise me to see Derryn Hinch tweeting the same thing only recently. How can Porter claim all he heard about the allegations was whispers in the corridors?

I'm wondering if they might actually have an interview with Porter's accuser?
 
Crikey broke this repression therapy-like claim at lunchtime today.

SMH added in some of the missing detail last hour, and claims there is written evidence (her notes) related to the alleged rape, starting from the year after the alleged rape.

https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/03/05/christian-porter-recovered-memories/

I didn't expect that from Crikey, there's been a few surprises actually. Peter van Onselon's article was another. The accuser's friends appear to be stepping out now though, so they might try to defend her against the machine.

 
Another, Nick Ryan. I don't know how many of them there are.

Nick Ryan: My dear friend deserves justice
Nick Ryan: I was a debate partner and trusted confidant of the woman accusing the Attorney-General of rape – and she was a more memorable person than he said.

 
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I didn't expect that from Crikey

Check out this chain of tweets from someone who appears to know what she's talking about, and is calling out that Crikey hit piece,
that appears to have left many readers the wrong impression that Porter's accused victim underwent some sort of recovered memory therapy.
When in fact all she appears to have done, is read a book by someone associated with recovered memory therapy (so claims Zoe).

 
Check out this chain of tweets from someone who appears to know what she's talking about, and is calling out that Crikey hit piece,
that appears to have left many readers the wrong impression that Porter's accused victim underwent some sort of recovered memory therapy.
When in fact all she appears to have done, is read a book by someone associated with recovered memory therapy (so claims Zoe).



It's a brilliant thread, I saw it yesterday and spent half an hour or so looking at connections.
 
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Crikey has some more to say this morning about “Recovered Memory Theory” (RMT), in issuing this clarification that only partly addresses some of the criticism directed at it over the weekend related to this.


'PS: Amid increased media speculation over “Recovered Memory Theory” (RMT) — including here at Crikey — it is perhaps important to emphasise two key things. Firstly, that the woman in question communicated her allegations in her diary and to friends as early as 1989, as well as to a sexual assault counsellor eight years ago. Secondly, there is a marked difference between accredited forms of treating neurophysiological impacts of trauma (such as Medicare-subsidised Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and RMT, which a 2004 Victorian inquiry found no evidence of in the state, and which trauma therapists argued was not used by health professionals but instead perpetuated by “false memory activists for political purposes”.'
 
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'spoke in detail to a sexual assault counsellor about her claim eight years ago, in what is believed to be the first time she ever disclosed the allegation.
Four Corners has been told that the woman first sought help from the counsellor in about 2013 and saw her about six times.'

The counsellor has told Four Corners that the woman disclosed to her an allegation about a boy she referred to by his first name as Christian.

'The woman said that she and Christian had been debaters together.'

'The counsellor said the woman had sought out her services because she specialised in sexual assault.
The counsellor told Four Corners that the woman was "extremely articulate", "not delusional", and volunteered the allegation of her own volition.
She said there was no discussion of repressed or recovered memories.
"She told me she had always remembered it," the counsellor said.
The counsellor has told Four Corners that the woman said she was torn about pursuing the matter knowing it could ruin the man's life.
She also said that they discussed the pros and cons of seeking justice and whether it was worth it for the woman to have her day in court. The counsellor said the woman went away and "was going to sit on that. She obviously sat on it for about five years."'

'The counsellor said that the woman spoke to her of how she was "patently aware" that she had not lived up to the promise that she had shown as a brilliant student and one of the country's best high-school debaters.
"That was a really big part of the therapy," the counsellor said, "That her life had meaning, and she could go on to do more."'


A taste of what's to come on ABC TV Four Corners tonight?

Porter's move from WA State Politics to run for a lower house seat at the 2013 Federal Election (7 September) might have triggered the timing of the start of her six sexual assault counsellor visits, from all the additional media publicity that Porter was now getting across the nation. Either in the run up to, or after winning a seat in the 2013 Federal Election. Prior to 2013, Porter would not have been discussed that much outside of WA and probably not much at all in the SA or National media (comparatively speaking with 2013 and beyond when he entered Federal Politics).

I'd love to see Peter Van Olsen's response to reading this ABC article, after his massively conflicted of interests performance yesterday morning on ABC Insiders inappropriately saying anything on the matter, let alone actually fronting up (which he should not have).
 
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Yesterday morning ABC TV 'Insiders', Porter's long time good friend, Peter Van Olsen said that he had read every page of his copy of the 30 page Dossier about Porter's accused rape victim, that Porter last week at his media conference, said that he'd not been provided or read, apart from what had been reported in the media on bits of it.

Seeing as how Porter was and still is (self claimedly) such a good friend of Peter Van Olsen, why did he not share a copy of this dossier with Porter last week before Porter's Press conference?

A chance visit to Peter Van Onselen's Wiki page just now reveals that like Porter, he was also a champion debater at the highest level.


'Van Onselen debated at University World and Australasian championships with members of comedy group The Chaser during their studying days. He was a member of the combined Australian University Test Team at the 1998 Australasian Championships in Sydney, where he reached the semi-finals. He also reached the semi-finals of the 1998/99 World Debating Championships in Manila. In 1999 he convened the Australian Debating Championships at UNSW.'


Screen Shot 2021-03-08 at 8.32.15 am.png
 
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fortunatecrow

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Off the main point I know - I went to a crap state high school in Elizabeth yes but then on to University, but had no idea there were debating championships, test teams...."hidden worlds"
 
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Off the main point I know - I went to a crap state high school in Elizabeth yes but then on to University, but had no idea there were debating championships, test teams...."hidden worlds"
The only debating I ever witnessed at UWA (where Porter went from 88-96) in the first half of the 80's, was in the UWA Tavern when deciding whether to get a Swan Lager or a VB.
 
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Off the main point I know - I went to a crap state high school in Elizabeth yes but then on to University, but had no idea there were debating championships, test teams...."hidden worlds"
Croydon tech (high school)did it one or two years in the 70s

I did one then got stage fright at another and that was it
 
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The Four Corners episode tonight on the subject matter of this thread, is about 12 minutes in.
But at the below link you can already play it and start it from the beginning if you missed the start just now.

It's also got a long article and pics with it.

 
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'Date-rape drugs not used here: Hale School principal
March 8, 2021

'The headmaster of a prestigious Perth boys school Christian Porter attended in the 1980s says the institution is not aware of any allegations of past or present date rape drug use by students.
Hale School headmaster Dean Dell’Oro was responding to claims made by the woman who alleged the Attorney-General raped her in 1988, when as students they travelled to Sydney for a debating competition.'

In the unsigned statement she intended to send to police, the Adelaide woman said the “surreal quality” of her memories of the alleged rape led her to “suspect that (Porter) put some sort of date-rape style drug into my drink” while they were at a Kings Cross venue.
“I understand that there are ‘rumours’ about Hale School students using date-rape-style drugs in Perth in the 1980s,” she wrote in the statement.'


A 2009 published WA medical study on drink spiking concluded that nearly all alleged drink spiking cases in their study did not appear to have any drink spiking evidence, and that where there was drink spiking, that ethanol was likely to be used as the spiking agent.

'Conclusion In our study of 97 alleged drink-spiked victims presenting to two metropolitan ED, we found only 9 cases of plausible drink spiking, 5 of which involved alcohol. There were no cases identified where sedative drugs were placed in drinks in pubs or nightclubs. In our study population, drink spiking did occur but was rare. If drink spiking does occur, ethanol is more likely to be used as the drink spiking agent. We identified five patients with high blood ethanol levels inconsistent with their ingestion history, suggesting the possibility that ethanol might be used as a drink spiking agent. Of greater concern was the amount of illicit drug use and alcohol consumed, with the high blood ethanol concentrations in our study population.
Accepted 22 March 2009'


'The ordeal reminded Palamar of New York’s sweaty nightclubs at the turn of the millennium, the same venues that had sparked his interest in studying drug use. Back then, overdoses, particularly on GHB, were so common that some clubs hired private ambulances to avoid 911 calls and police scrutiny. One club allegedly hid unconscious patrons in a back room without medical assistance.
Despite these efforts, the clubs didn’t go unnoticed. After a rash of overdoses across the United States in the late ’90s, Congress scheduled GHB as a controlled substance in 2000.'


Looks like GBH was a late 90's/2000 thing in the US.

'GHB was developed in the 1960s as an anaesthetic, but was discontinued because of its side effects.
During the 1980s, it was used as a sleep aid and a supplement for body building.'
 

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The point of last nights 4 corners?

no new information, no new evidence

yeah we’ve been following the news, we don’t need a recap

her word against his, no case to answer
 
The point of last nights 4 corners?

no new information, no new evidence

yeah we’ve been following the news, we don’t need a recap

her word against his, no case to answer

Agree, not much else came forward on 4 Cnrs but calling no case might be a tad premature given the coroner hasn't decided if there will be an inquest.
 

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I can't agree that the articulate-ness (if that's a word) of the complainant, as remembered by a counsellor, counts for that much. It's unquestioned that the complainant genuinely believed it happened, and by all accounts she was extremely intelligent and someone who was normally very articulate anyway.

An opinion piece by a barrister in the AFR provides a legal view but also refers to a mental health history that seems to have more depth than has been presented elsewhere:

"Calls for Attorney-General Christian Porter to be tried outside of the criminal courts by an “inquiry” set up specifically for the purpose, are a stunning departure from the ordinary requirements of natural justice.

The argument for such an inquiry, which apparently accepts that Porter could never be convicted of the allegation in a court of law, has evolved into a suggestion that the purpose of such a process would be to reach a conclusion as to whether Porter is a “fit and proper” person for his role.

The glaringly obvious premise of the proposed inquiry is that it could reliably make findings of fact in relation to an alleged sexual assault from 1988...

Four Corners this week continued the focus upon the complainant’s mental condition before and after the alleged attack, as if this might be a legitimate yardstick against which the veracity of the allegations can be judged.

Such arguments invite unseemly counter-attacks in relation to the complainant’s subsequent diagnosis with bipolar disorder, her apparent detention as a psychiatric patient, her entry into dissociative states, her engagement with a recovered memory counsellor, and her conclusion that her memory of the incident is surreal because her attacker had drugged her."
 

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I can't agree that the articulate-ness (if that's a word) of the complainant, as remembered by a counsellor, counts for that much. It's unquestioned that the complainant genuinely believed it happened, and by all accounts she was extremely intelligent and someone who was normally very articulate anyway.
From a legal standpoint he's never going to stand trial due to lack of admissible evidence. To attack the complainant's credibility requires more than "she dreamed up the rape because she was biploar." The claims are credible, and more credible if you have any experience dealing with rape victims.

(presumption of innocence of course)

If he did commit rape, he doesn't want an inquiry, even though it would assist in clearing his name (if he's innocent). The problem he'd face is if he's lying he could get caught out over conflicting statements. That would undermine his suitability for the office of A-G.

I think one of the reasons he's lying low is to avoid making any statements while evidence is made public (and to him). It's an appropriate approach in defense of a claim, exactly what a mate used to do until de novo hearings were banned in Victoria a year ago (e.g. have a matter dealt with in the Magistrates' Court without making statements, take it to the County Court de novo and find conflicts between two sets of evidence/statements).
 
I can't agree that the articulate-ness (if that's a word) of the complainant, as remembered by a counsellor, counts for that much. It's unquestioned that the complainant genuinely believed it happened, and by all accounts she was extremely intelligent and someone who was normally very articulate anyway.

An opinion piece by a barrister in the AFR provides a legal view but also refers to a mental health history that seems to have more depth than has been presented elsewhere:

"Calls for Attorney-General Christian Porter to be tried outside of the criminal courts by an “inquiry” set up specifically for the purpose, are a stunning departure from the ordinary requirements of natural justice.

The argument for such an inquiry, which apparently accepts that Porter could never be convicted of the allegation in a court of law, has evolved into a suggestion that the purpose of such a process would be to reach a conclusion as to whether Porter is a “fit and proper” person for his role.

The glaringly obvious premise of the proposed inquiry is that it could reliably make findings of fact in relation to an alleged sexual assault from 1988...

Four Corners this week continued the focus upon the complainant’s mental condition before and after the alleged attack, as if this might be a legitimate yardstick against which the veracity of the allegations can be judged.

Such arguments invite unseemly counter-attacks in relation to the complainant’s subsequent diagnosis with bipolar disorder, her apparent detention as a psychiatric patient, her entry into dissociative states, her engagement with a recovered memory counsellor, and her conclusion that her memory of the incident is surreal because her attacker had drugged her."

There are a couple of ways the police might proceed to charges, even if it looks almost impossible it's not. The Commissioner of Police has already confirmed. That's not to say anybody might expect them.

Too many questions, even if Porter quit in the hope of sparing himself a 'fit and proper' test, we need to be sure no impropriety or political interference was in play after it became known Kate had made allegations.
 
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