Now that Christian Porter has dropped his defamation case against the ABC, the alleged victim’s supporters say justice hasn’t been served.
Christian Porter has discontinued his defamation case against the ABC and reporter Louise Milligan for coverage of historical rape allegations. For the friends of Kate, Porter’s alleged victim, the ending is bittersweet.
Although the ABC won’t have to spend truckloads of finite resources defending itself, Kate’s friends and supporters won’t have to defend her name against harsh lawyers, and Porter won’t have to crowdfund legal fees, it also means the information the ABC has to support its truth defence stays secret while an independent inquiry into his suitability to remain in Parliament remains unannounced.
Suppressed information
Early into the defamation case, the public was already being robbed of detail. Most of the ABC’s 37-page defence was redacted at Porter’s lawyers’ request. They also tried to block a key affidavit from Macquarie Bank managing director James Hooke and lost — although the affidavit has still not been released. Other media organisations are pursuing a legal case to get the defence released.
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