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He was accused of sexual assault decades after it allegedly took place, in a way that makes police investigation almost impossible. Supported by his party and the most powerful man in the country, he maintained his innocence and held one of the most important legal positions in the country, even as questions continued to revolve around him.
Which man are you thinking of: Australian Attorney General Christian Porter or U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh?
Of course, there are also important differences: Kavanaugh was a new nominee, while Porter has been a longtime member of the government. And Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh’s accused, was able to testify in public, which is impossible for Porter’s accused, who died of suicide last year.
Yet the similarities between the two cases have troubled many Australian women, raising concerns that the Australian government is still following the playbook of the (now deceased) Trump administration on a range of issues.
The Kavanaugh comparison was the first thing that came to her mind at Sharna Bremner, founder of the law firm End Rape on Campus Australia, when she found out about the allegation against Porter. For her, the American case offers a cruel preview of how the case could play out in Australia.
“I think what we’re going to see again is that powerful men can get away with anything,” she said.
As with Kavanaugh’s eventual appointment to the Supreme Court, she said: ‘The message being sent now is:’ Do not speak. You will not be believed. ”
The cases highlight the challenge in dealing with allegations of serious misconduct against people in positions of authority that fall outside the scope of law enforcement.
Porter, like Kavanaugh, is not facing a criminal case to determine guilt or innocence. His prosecutor did not make an affidavit and wrote to police that she did not want to conduct an investigation. Police concluded their investigation with reference to a lack of evidence.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other supporters of Porter have refused to consider other avenues of inquiry, arguing that this means “we will defend the principles of the rule of law.”
But critics argue that an equally important question for Porter, as was the case with Kavanaugh, is whether the public is capable of maintaining confidence in him and in the institution he represents. The calls for an independent inquiry are increasing.
“These are not ordinary men, these are men competing for the highest law firms in the country,” said Susan Harris Rimmer, a law professor at Griffith University. “The burial and the invocation of the law miss the point that they must be of the highest character.”
The way the government has handled the situation undermines people’s belief that institutions are in their interest, ‘said Professor Harris Rimmer. “For many women, it confirms every dark fear they have.”
Mark Kenny, a political expert at the Australian National University, said the government’s response also reflected a broader tendency to borrow from the Trump playbook: ‘to simply ignore what you might call elite or political outrage, directly appealing to the people and positioning critics. as full-time party members. ”
In recent years, there has been a reluctance on the part of the federal government to remove ministers because of well-known or alleged misconduct, which completely ignores a major issue related to public lands and good governance, and that is the issue of public trust.
A few decades ago, ministers resigned because they declared an imported color TV as black-and-white on a customs form and that they did not pay import duty on one teddy bear.
More recently, members of the Morrison administration have remained in office despite a host of controversies, including Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s public disclosure of a false document, a possible inquiry into whether Peter Dutton, Home Secretary affairs, mismanaged government subsidies and needed Secretary of Defense Linda Reynolds. apologizes publicly for the mishandling of a rape charge involving a former member of her staff.
Leigh Sales, one of the best journalists in the country, summed up the situation in an interview with a minister on Thursday this question: “How good does it feel to be a pastor in the Morrison government, knowing that no matter what questions about your behavior, your job is safe?”
Here are our stories of the week: