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Porter officially removed from A-G role
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that Christian Porter will step away from the federal Attorney-General portfolio.
Naomi Neilson
As the culture at Parliament House continues to come under fire as more and more Liberal ministers are accused of assault, harassment or indecent behaviour, Scott Morrison has reshuffled the cabinet and moved Mr Porter into the portfolio of industry, science and technology.
Michaelia Cash will officially take over the Attorney-General portfolio.
Mr Morrison said these changes “will shake up what needs to be shaken up” as he provides “the strongest female representation in the Australian government cabinet”. On top of the reshuffle, he announced that current Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne will essentially be the “prime minister” of these female ministers in the new cabinet reshuffle.
The announcement comes at the end of Mr Porter’s four weeks’ stress leave after he outed himself as the cabinet minister at the centre of rape allegations more than 30 years ago. He has strenuously denied the accusations and has launched defamation proceedings against the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan.
Mr Porter alleged that although the article did not name him, he was “easily identifiable” by readers. His lawyers will argue that the article had hurt his reputation and will be seeking damages, including aggravated damages.
Due to potential conflicts of interest, Mr Porter was already tipped to be removed from parts of his portfolio that related to the ABC or the Federal Court. While it was not confirmed who would be stepping in to take over these particular roles, Minister Cash has been acting in the role for almost a month.
Mr Morrison’s official announcement also follows reports that his approval rating has dropped seven percentage points to 55 per cent, marking the first time that his rating has dropped below 60 per cent since taking office.
The polling was conducted after a contentious two-week period, in which he faced pressure over the handling of rape allegations and the March 4 Justice protests.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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