Christian Porter

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The Honourable

Christian Porter

MP
Christian Porter Portrait 2015.jpg
Porter in 2015
Minister for Industry,
Science and Technology
Assumed office
30 March 2021
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded byKaren Andrews
Attorney-General of Australia
In office
20 December 2017 – 30 March 2021
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Scott Morrison
Preceded byGeorge Brandis
Succeeded byMichaelia Cash
Leader of the House
In office
26 May 2019 – 30 March 2021
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
DeputyDarren Chester
Preceded byChristopher Pyne
Succeeded byPeter Dutton
Minister for Industrial Relations
In office
26 May 2019 – 30 March 2021
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded byKelly O'Dwyer
Succeeded byMichaelia Cash
Minister for Social Services
In office
21 September 2015 – 20 December 2017
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Preceded byScott Morrison
Succeeded byDan Tehan
Member of the Australian Parliament
Assumed office
7 September 2013
Preceded byJudi Moylan
Succeeded by
Parliament of Western Australia
Treasurer of Western Australia
In office
14 December 2010 – 12 June 2012
PremierColin Barnett
Preceded byColin Barnett
Succeeded byColin Barnett
Attorney-General of Western Australia
In office
23 September 2008 – 12 June 2012
PremierColin Barnett
Preceded byJim McGinty
Succeeded byMichael Mischin
Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
for Bateman
In office
6 September 2008 – 9 March 2013
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byMatt Taylor
Personal details
Born
Charles Christian Porter

(1970-07-11) 11 July 1970 (age 50)[1]
Perth, Western Australia,
Australia
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLiberal Party
Spouse(s)
  • Lucy Gunn (divorced)
Jennifer Negus
​
​
(m. 2008; separated 2020)​
[2]
Children2
FatherChilla Porter
RelativesCharles Robert Porter (grandfather)
Alma materHale School
University of Western Australia (BEc, BA (Hons), LLB)[3]
London School of Economics (MSc)[3]
ProfessionPolitician, lawyer
Websitechristianporter.com.au

Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian Liberal Party politician and lawyer who is serving as Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science since 2021, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Pearce since 2013. He previously served as Leader of the House and Minister for Industrial Relations from 2019 to 2021 and as Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021.

From Perth, Porter attended Hale School, the University of Western Australia and later the London School of Economics, and practised law at Clayton Utz and taught law at the University of Western Australia before his election to parliament. He is the son of the 1956 Olympic silver medallist, Charles "Chilla" Porter, and the grandson of Queensland Liberal politician, Charles Porter, who was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1966 to 1980.[4][5]

Before his election to the federal House of Representatives, Porter had served in the Parliament of Western Australia. He first entered the Legislative Assembly after winning the seat of Murdoch in a 2008 by-election following the death of the sitting member, Trevor Sprigg, and he was subsequently elected to the new seat of Bateman at the 2008 general election. After the Liberals formed government, Porter was appointed Attorney-General in the Barnett Ministry. In December 2010, he was also appointed Treasurer, and held both portfolios until June 2012, when he resigned from the ministry to contest the 2013 federal election.

Before assuming his current position, Porter was Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister in the Abbott Government from December 2014 to September 2015,[6][7] and then Minister for Social Services in the Turnbull Government from September 2015 to December 2017. In March 2021 a historical rape allegation against Porter became public.

Background and early career

Porter's father was Charles "Chilla" Porter, who won a silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics and was director of Western Australia's Liberal Party during the 1970s and 1980s.[5] Chilla's father, Charles Robert Porter, was a Queensland Liberal state MP between 1966 and 1980 and served in the ministry of Joh Bjelke-Petersen.[5]

Porter was educated at Hale School, and was selected for Australia's national schools debating team.[8] From 1988 he attended the University of Western Australia where he graduated Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Arts with first-class honours in politics, before completing a Bachelor of Laws degree. Porter later studied at the London School of Economics for a Master of Science in political theory, from which he graduated with distinction at the top of his class.[9]

Prior to entering Parliament, Porter worked predominantly as a lawyer, starting as a commercial litigator at Clayton Utz before moving to public practice. He spent a year as an advisor to the Federal Minister for Justice and then began working for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as a senior state prosecutor. Before his election in 2008, Porter was working as a lecturer at Curtin University and the University of Western Australia as well as retaining, part-time, his position as senior prosecutor at the DPP.[10]

State politics

At the 2008 election, Porter contested and won the newly created seat of Bateman following the abolition of the seat of Murdoch in the 2007 redistribution. He was appointed Attorney-General and Minister for Corrective Services after the election,[11] having held the equivalent shadow portfolios prior to the election.[12]

On 14 December 2010, Porter was sworn in as Treasurer of Western Australia. He retained the portfolio of Attorney-General, while the Corrective Services portfolio was transferred to Terry Redman.

On 12 June 2012, he announced he was stepping down from his ministerial portfolios to contest the seat of Pearce at the 2013 Australian federal election.[13]

Federal politics

See also: Abbott Government and Turnbull Government

At the 2013 election, Porter was elected to federal parliament with an 8% margin. He became parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister on 23 December 2014 and held that position until 21 September 2015. He was a part of the speaker's panel from 18 November 2013 to 9 February 2015.[14]

Minister for Social Services (2015–2017)

On 20 September 2015, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that Porter would replace Scott Morrison as Social Services Minister as part of a Cabinet overhaul.[15]

In 2016, Centrelink, operating under Porter's senior oversight as Social Services Minister, became involved in a debt recovery controversy. Despite heightened media interest and complaints, after meeting with the Department of Human Services,[16] Porter stated that the program was working "incredibly well".[17] The program was later subject to a Senate committee inquiry,[18] and the program was estimated to be responsible for over 2000 deaths.[19]

In May 2020, Porter (now in the position of Attorney-General rather than Social Services Minister) conceded that the Robodebt scheme had "no legal basis" and was "unlawful" but refused to apologise for it.[20]

One of Porter's roles was to manage the Cashless Welfare Card, and increased its use in various communities. He spoke of his pride in the outcomes of the policy.[21] However, the card has been linked to increased hardship for many of its users[22] and its efficacy has been heavily disputed.[23][24][25]

During his time in this ministry, Porter was instrumental in the formation of the Coalition policy of performing drug tests on welfare recipients, which was criticised by experts, since there was no evidence anywhere in the world of a similar project working.[26] ABC fact checkers called the policy "wishful thinking" that it would help people get off welfare.[27] This section of the legislation was eventually dropped to allow the passage of the remaining elements of the bill, which contained large budget cuts to the welfare system.[28][29]

Porter was criticised for skipping the final sittings of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in order to attend a cricket match with John Howard.[30]

Attorney-General (2017–2021)

In a December 2017 reshuffle of the Turnbull ministry, Porter became Attorney-General in place of George Brandis. He relinquished the social services portfolio to Dan Tehan.

After the reshuffle, some of the national security powers and responsibilities previously held by the Attorney-General were transferred to the new position of Minister for Home Affairs, which was given to Peter Dutton.[31] This was seen as a positive by some,[who?] who said that the role of Attorney-General had become too focused on security and that the role should be realigned to its old purpose of defending the rule of law. It was also suggested that many areas of the law were in crisis because of the security focus, such as family law and incarceration levels of Indigenous Australians.[32]

At the commencement of his role as Attorney-General, Porter called on religious institutions to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.[33]

Following the raids on the journalists of the ABC and Newscorp, Porter would not rule out prosecuting journalists for publishing public interest stories, although he said he would be "seriously disinclined" to go ahead with a prosecution.[34] In the case of Newscorp journalist Annika Smethurst, Porter asked the court not to destroy the evidence collected from the raid on her house, so that it could be used in a future court case. Porter and the Federal Police said the restrictive privacy when it comes to security matters, "may justify very large incursions on the freedom" of individuals.[35]

In November 2019, Porter as Attorney-General extended the religious freedom bill from faith-based schools and organisations to religious hospitals and aged-care providers. The bill states that the aforementioned institutions would have legal protection to employ staff according to their religious beliefs.[36]

Other actions he has taken in his role have included calling on social media platforms to be seen as publishers,[37] attempts to block environmental groups from calling on boycotts of companies connected to the coal industry,[38] repealing the medevac laws, restricting union activity,[38] and attempting to have GetUp! registered as an arm of the Labor party.[39]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Porter worked with Sally McManus of the ACTU to develop amendments to the Fair Work Act. Mr Porter hailed the negotiations as a success, with McManus stating that; "We had been concerned that several employer groups had been advocating for a widespread removal of workers' rights akin to WorkChoices".[40]

In December 2020, Porter introduced a bill to merge the Family Court of Australia with the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, citing administrative efficiencies.[41]

Personal life

Porter was listed as a contender for Cleo magazine's eligible bachelor of the year in 1999.[33][42]

He has described himself as "not particularly religious".[43]

In the mid 2000s, Porter married Lucy Gunn, but they divorced. In 2008, Porter married Jennifer Negus, a former colleague,[2] and granddaughter of former independent senator Syd Negus.[44] He took paternity leave after his wife gave birth to their first child the day after being sworn in as the social services minister.[45] They later had a second child, but announced their separation in January 2020.[46][2]

In November 2020, it was alleged on Four Corners that, although married, Porter had kissed and cuddled a colleague's political staffer in a public setting.[8] Porter denied the allegation. He claimed that the staffer in question had also denied to Four Corners that the event occurred, but that the denial was not mentioned in the report.[47] He again denied the allegation on the Perth radio station 6PR.[48]

In the program, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claimed that Porter's alleged behaviour had caused concern in the party room, although that was disputed by Porter.[8] Not long after he said he had raised the alleged incident with Porter, Turnbull promoted Porter to the position of Attorney-General. Porter attributed the criticisms made by Turnbull to a falling-out between the two men during the 2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, the event which ended Turnbull's prime ministership.[49]

Rape allegation

Main article: 2021 Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations

In late February 2021, Australian media reported an alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl in 1988. It alleged that the male offender was now (in 2021) a federal cabinet minister. She had written a long statement for her solicitor in 2019, and had contacted several politicians and police. She died by suicide in 2020 and her statement was sent anonymously in February 2021 to the prime minister and several other members of parliament.[50][51][52] On 2 March 2021 the police announced there was "insufficient admissible evidence" to secure a prosecution.[53] Porter announced on 3 March 2021 that he was the person named in the allegations.[54] He confirmed he met the woman in Sydney when he was 17, but denied the accusation and any sexual contact with her. He also announced he would take immediate leave to look after his mental health following the accusations.[53][55][56]

On 15 March 2021, Porter launched a defamation claim against the ABC and reporter Louise Milligan, for publishing the allegation. His claim argued that although the original allegation did not name him, he was "readily identifiable" and that the article was intended to harm him.[57] The claim was withdrawn on 31 May 2021, with the ABC paying the costs of mediation and appending an editor's note to the original article stating that "The ABC did not contend that the serious accusations could be substantiated to the applicable legal standard". However, no damages were awarded.[58]

References

  1. ^ "Hon. Charles Christian (Christian) Porter MLA BEc, BA (Hons), LLB, MSc". Member List. Parliament of Western Australia.
  2. ^ a b c Scarr, Lanai (25 January 2020). "Power Couple Split". The West Australian. p. 1. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Hon Christian Porter MP - Parliament of Australia". aph.gov.au. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  4. ^ "First Speech: Hon Christian Porter MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Poprzeczny, Joseph (7 July 2012). "Promising WA MP's Canberra bid". News Weekly. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  6. ^ Taylor, Lenore (21 December 2014). "Tony Abbott cabinet reshuffle moves Scott Morrison out of immigration". Guardian Australia. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  7. ^ "Tony Abbott's revamped Ministry sworn in at Government House". news.com.au. News Corp Australia. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  8. ^ a b c "Inside the Canberra Bubble", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 9 November 2020, retrieved 9 November 2020
  9. ^ Burrell, Andrew (23 April 2016). "From Cleo to Canberra: Christian Porter is an MP to watch". The Australian.
  10. ^ "Christian Porter MP". christianporter.com.au. Liberal Party of Australia.
  11. ^ Anglie Raphael, Christian Porter is given the role of Shadow Attorney General, Melville times community, 18 March 2008, p.3
  12. ^ Tullberg, Julie (23 February 2008). "SMH Online News – Porter claims win in Murdoch by-election". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  13. ^ "WA Treasurer quits state politics for federal stage". ABC News. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Hon Christian Porter MP". aph.gov.au. Commonwealth Parliament. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  15. ^ Clarke, political reporter Melissa; Conifer, Dan (20 September 2015). "Turnbull dumps ministers to make way for Cabinet 'renewal'". ABC News. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Community Affairs References Committee". Parliament of Australia. 18 May 2017. p. 46. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  17. ^ McIlroy, Tom (3 January 2017). "Centrelink's automated debt recovery system working 'incredibly well': Minister Christian Porter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  18. ^ Doran, Matthew (8 March 2017). "Centrelink debt recovery program to be investigated at Senate committee today". ABC News. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  19. ^ Medhora, Shalailah (18 February 2019). "Over 2000 people died after receiving Centrelink robo-debt notice, figures reveal". triple j. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Government concedes flaws but refuses to apologise for its unlawful robodebt program". ABC Australia. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Miranda Live: Cashless welfare improves lives says Christian Porter". The Daily Telegraph. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  22. ^ Koslowski, Max (13 September 2019). "'The card declined and I broke down': Life on the cashless welfare card". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Briefing: What's wrong with the cashless debitcard?" (PDF). Vinnies. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  24. ^ Koslowski, Max (12 September 2019). "What are cashless welfare cards and how do they work?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  25. ^ Allam, Lorena (15 October 2019). "Cashless welfare card: loophole allows purchase of alcohol and pornography". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  26. ^ Henriques-Gomes, Luke (9 September 2019). "The Coalition want to drug test welfare recipients. Here's why experts think it's a bad idea". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  27. ^ "Fact check: Drug testing welfare recipients". ABC News. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  28. ^ Knaus, Christopher (22 November 2017). "Drug testing of welfare recipients may be delayed, Christian Porter says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  29. ^ "Welfare drug testing pilot halted". The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  30. ^ "Christian Porter cops it for choosing cricket over commission". NewsComAu. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  31. ^ "Porter's the new AG, but can he keep his own seat?". ABC News. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  32. ^ "Attorney-General Christian Porter to prioritise family law, rule of law". Australian Financial Review. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  33. ^ a b Peatling, Stephanie (19 December 2017). "Christian Porter, the country's new top legal officer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  34. ^ Remeikis, Amy (20 October 2019). "Christian Porter says he can't guarantee he wouldn't prosecute journalists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  35. ^ Karp, Paul (25 October 2019). "Christian Porter asks high court not to destroy material from Annika Smethurst raid". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  36. ^ Chambers, Geoff (21 November 2019). "Religious freedom bill: Christian Porter expands bill to protect hospitals, aged care providers". The Australian. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  37. ^ Karp, Paul (20 November 2019). "Christian Porter calls for Facebook and Twitter to be treated as publishers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  38. ^ a b editor, Adam Morton Environment (10 November 2019). "Inside Market Forces, the small climate group Scott Morrison wants to put out of business". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  39. ^ Karp, Paul (21 October 2019). "Liberal MPs complain about GetUp at inquiry into 2019 election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  40. ^ Henderson, Anna (7 April 2020). "Recalled Parliament to pass $130b JobKeeper payment amid push to include casual workers". www.abc.net.au.
  41. ^ Snape, Jack (30 November 2020). "Family law experts reject Government's plan to merge Family Court as Parliament debate looms". ABC News. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  42. ^ Milligan, Louise; Cronau, Peter; Carter, Lucy (10 November 2020). "Investigation reveals history of sexism and inappropriate behaviour by Attorney-General Christian Porter". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  43. ^ "Keep religious freedom law simple: senator". SBS News. 10 July 2019.
  44. ^ "Mr Charles (Christian) Christian Porter". Members’ biographical register. Parliament of Western Australia.
  45. ^ "Who is Christian Porter? | PBA". Pro Bono Australia. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  46. ^ Taylor, Paige (24 January 2020). "Attorney-General Christian Porter and his wife Jennifer announce separation". The Australian.
  47. ^ Marin-Guzman, David. "Christian Porter considering legal options given "defamatory nature of many of the claims" in ABC Four Corners report". Retrieved 9 November 2020 – via Twitter.[non-primary source needed]
  48. ^ Bartlett, Liam (10 November 2020). "Porter's only interview after explosive allegations". 6PR. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  49. ^ Maiden, Samantha (10 November 2020). "Christian Porter hits back at 'totally false' claims aired on Four Corners". news.com.au.
  50. ^ Milligan, Louise (26 February 2021). "Cabinet Minister accused of rape in letter sent to Scott Morrison, senators". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  51. ^ Patrick, Aaron (2 March 2021). "1988 rape allegation: His anonymity tenuous, accused minister should out himself". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  52. ^ Maley, Jacqueline (1 March 2021). "Friends remember 'extraordinary' woman who claimed rape by cabinet minister". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  53. ^ a b Worthington, Brett (3 March 2021). "Cabinet minister Christian Porter strenuously denies historical rape allegation". ABC News. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  54. ^ "Attorney General Christian Porter's full media conference - March 2021 | 7NEWS". YouTube. 7NEWS Australia. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  55. ^ Dennett, Harley (3 March 2021). "Christian Porter denies rape allegation". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  56. ^ Read the full press conference transcript, Christian Porter denies historical rape allegation, ABC News, 3 March 2021
  57. ^ Attorney-General Christian Porter launches defamation action against ABC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 15 March 2021
  58. ^ "Christian Porter ends defamation action against the ABC". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.

External links

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Judi Moylan 		Member for Pearce
2013–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Karen Andrews 		Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
2021–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Kelly O'Dwyer 		Minister for Industrial Relations
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
Michaelia Cash
Preceded by
George Brandis 		Attorney-General for Australia
2017–2021
Preceded by
Scott Morrison 		Minister for Social Services
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Dan Tehan
Parliament of Western Australia
Preceded by
Trevor Sprigg 		Member for Murdoch
2008 		District abolished
District established Member for Bateman
2008–2013 		Succeeded by
Matt Taylor
Political offices
Preceded by
Jim McGinty 		Attorney-General of Western Australia
2008–2012 		Succeeded by
Michael Mischin
Preceded by
Colin Barnett 		Treasurer of Western Australia
2010–2012 		Succeeded by
Colin Barnett

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