Attorney General Christian Porter has rejected claims he was involved with a ministerial staffer after allegedly being seen at a Canberra bar.
Attorney General Christian Porter has rejected suggestions of wrongdoing over his behaviour towards a ministerial staffer at a Canberra bar in 2017.
ABC’s Four Corners program said he had been seen kissing and cuddling a junior staffer at Public Bar in Canberra.
It also reported Senator Sarah Hanson-Young had alleged a staffer had once told her she was in a relationship with Mr Porter and felt trapped. Four Corners said the woman who spoke with Ms Hanson-Young was the same woman seen with Mr Porter at Public Bar.
Mr Porter rejected the allegation he had a relationship with the woman.
“The other party subjected to these baseless claims directly rebutted the allegation to Four Corners, yet the program failed to report that,” Mr Porter said.
“This fact usually would be expected to be included in a fair or balanced report. The claims made by Sarah Hanson-Young were never put to me, my office or the other individual.
“They are rejected as totally false.”
In the program, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said he had heard a rumour and put it to Mr Porter, suggesting he be careful about his behaviour, in a meeting two weeks before appointing him to be attorney general.
On 6PR this morning, Mr Porter did not directly answer when asked if he had ever had an intimate relationship with a staffer.
“Is there another allegation being made?” he said.
“The allegation is I had a relationship with someone (seen with me) at a bar, and I didn’t.”
Mr Porter did apologise for material he wrote in a law school magazine 24 years ago.
“I’m no orphan looking back on things I did 25 years ago that make me cringe,” he said.
“The show described my behaviour at university as rowdy, in some ways that's an understatement.
“I dont think that's a fair indication of who I am now.”
When asked by journalists about Mr Porter’s behaviour, and fellow minister Alan Tudge who had an affair with a staffer, Prime Minister Scott Morrison noted there was no suggestion that consent had been absent.
“I think Australians understand more about human frailty than perhaps you’re giving them credit,” Mr Morrison said.
"There's no suggestion of anything unconsensual.
“People who work in this place (parliament) are just as human as anyone else.
“I think Australians are far more understanding.”
He said the government had implemented standards which did not exist in newsrooms or many other workplaces.
Four Corners also alleged Population Minister Alan Tudge had an affair with a married staffer, Rachelle Miller.
“Tonight, matters that occurred in my personal life in 2017 were aired on the ABC’s Four Corners program," Mr Tudge said.
"I regret my actions immensely and the hurt it caused my family.
"I also regret the hurt that Ms Miller has experienced.”
Mr Porter and Four Corners have also had differing views on the level of engagement before the program was aired.
Last night, Mr Porter said there had been none.
"The journalist, Louise Milligan, never contacted me or my office, despite my awareness that for many months she has been directly contacting friends, former colleagues, former students – even old school friends from the mid 1980’s - asking for rumours and negative comment about me," Mr Porter said.
Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour said Mr Porter's office had been sent 5 emails and 21 questions about allegations.
Today, Mr Porter said there had been some back and forth with his office but not regarding the allegations by Senator Hanson-Young.
