It concerns me that people calling for an investigation into Christian Porter are being dismissed as some sort of lynch mob ignoring the rule of law. True, there are some people that are declaring him guilty without due process, but most people are simply saying that while he almost certainly wouldn’t be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt making a criminal trial pointless, that doesn’t mean that a inquiry couldn’t examine his response to the accusations and whether – on the balance of probabilities – he’s made several inaccurate statements unbecoming of someone who’s the chief law officer. In other words, if he’s found to have lied through his teeth about some of the accusations, it doesn’t matter if the central one isn’t true, he’s not fit to be Attorney-General, but if he can show that there is no significant inconsistency in what he’s said, then he could continue in his role.
As you know, I’m very concerned that we take the personalities out of any controversial situation and try to establish some sort of general principle. For example, in the recent Harry and Meghan tete-a-tete with Oprah, it seems that people who want a republic are saying how terrible it must have been for Meghan, while Monarchists are saying that she can’t be believed because, after all, she doesn’t have Royal blood and consequently is just a common social climber and isn’t the Queen dignified.
If you take the personalities out it and ask yourself the simple question: Who is more worthy of being listened to? A family who has been put there by Divine Right, or an actress from a television show. You realise that it doesn’t matter who’s telling the truth because the Queen and her family are our heads of state and we should never question anything they say even if it is a complete load of bollocks and we know they have a history of racism and historic support of the Nazis.
Yes, we should support the Royal family whatever they do because otherwise, it’s just mob rule… Or as some like to call it, democracy.
Anyway, I’ve been playing around with this whole presumption of innocence thing ever since Peter Van OlefriendofPorter asked how people would feel if it were them accused of something.
Because sexual assault is so triggering and because I may be accused of trivialising a very serious matter, I’ve deduced to tackle the whole presumption of innocence thing and apply it to a completely different scenario to explain why Scott Morrison is completely wrong. (At this point, I feel tempted to ask if he is a member of the Big Swinging Dicks and, if so, as PM does that make him the Big Dick Head? Honestly, this seems to be another time when the Liberal announcement will not be followed up with delivery… )
Anyway, I tried to think of a time I was falsely accused of something but as I’m an innocent man under the law, it was impossible so I’ve decided to go with fiction. Imagine that someone accuse me of smoking a joint at a party when I was a teenager. This – to quote Christian Porter – just didn’t happen. I was never invited to parties as a teenager! But leave that to one side. Some of you are probably thinking, well, so what if you did, but let me remind you that I’m a part-time teacher and my life should be above reproach and this is an accusation of criminal behaviour.
If the accusation were sent to the police, I suspect that their response would be that they’d be unlikely to gain a conviction so I could be presumed innocent in the absence of proof beyond reasonable doubt.
In such a circumstance, I very much doubt that I’d stand up at a school assembly and announce that I was the teacher under investigation and that it had been a shocking week and I needed some time off to get my head right, but maybe I have more mental toughness than Christian Porter. Whatever, it’s enough that I haven’t been charged and…
Yes, some of you are thinking, how could it be true that a man as charismatic as I am wouldn’t’ have been invited to parties and that possibly I’ve just forgotten the night in question because of the effects of the drugs. And that’s all fine, but the point is without proof, I’m entitled to the PRESUMPTION of innocence.
Which brings me back to Porter and a very serious accusation and, no I’m not being facetious with what I’m about to say.
I’ve read an allegation that Mr Porter needed to get a new phone last year because his son wiped all the data. Now, as far as I know there is no police investigation into this so I don’t know if it’s true or not, but if it is true, it seems that Mr Porter has allowed his phone to be used in a cavalier way. I mean, if he didn’t have a lock on it or some way that stop his son doing such a thing, his son could have accidentally called any number of people and breached all sorts of security. He could have accidentally forwarded confidential messages to inappropriate people. I am sure that wiping data from the Attorney-General’s phone without permission must be illegal.
But all that is unimportant, because one thing is clear: The police have not charged his son. Therefore the son is innocent of the accusation under the law and we can conclude – like Scotty the Big Swinging Dick Head – that it wasn’t the son who deleted information.
So who did?
And why?
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Is his son friends with Peter Wreith’s son?
It is becoming embarrassing in Australia, but implicitly condoned through through activist media; we saw a symptom of ‘mob rule’ outcomes with Capitol Hill.
It is quite bizarre the Orwellian doublespeak, linguistic or rhetorical tactics used by reactionary white Christian nationalists to make themselves the victims through projecting, i.e. accusing the ‘other’ but in fact, reflective of their own behaviour, beliefs and motivations.
Part of this is through conservatives adopting and distorting language of the left or the people on issues e.g. ‘freedom of speech’, men’s rights, ‘rule of law’ etc. to garner support, disrupt context and confuse voters, for the right outcome.
Unfortunately Australia (and UK) are now well immersed in the US GOP/Koch informed NewsCorp/Fox style of (well researched) manipulative PR and communications, now also influencing other ’eminent’ leaders such as Erdogan, Putin (continuing on from Soviets), Orban et al. (due to a steady supply of GOP grifters or 24/7 campaign consultants wandering the globe).
These dynamics allow autocratic leaders to bypass democracy via misinformed ageing electorates, sub-optimal ‘activist’ media, compromised conservative politics, (extreme or evangelical) religion and nationalism.
Well said Rossleigh. What a disgraceful standard our PM sets.
As usual Rossleigh, your article is very good! Having heard & read about Porter’s history with young women etc, I think he MUST stand down until his denial of a rape charge can be fully investigated. As for Slo Mo saying anything about this claim, how would he even know about it if he has not fully read it? Also IF Porter does not remember or denies anything about the alleged offence then why did he contact a lawyer many months ago? As far as I am concerned all this is just another cover up etc, which this fucking mob of lying, cheating, deceitful. so-called liberal, COALition just goes about its business, just deny, dismiss, & bluster their way out of anything they do not want to talk about, & accuse every one else of trying to undermine their (supposed) authority on good conduct by them!
Big swinging dickhead (thanks rossleigh) only gets away with his mob misrule is because the crinkled old bastard and the rest of the corrupt media and those so-called journos let him get away with no questions asked. He just smirks his way through question time and door stops, confident the fucked up media will never ask and he’ll never answer. Photo-ops with a fist full of dollars is his forte. The evening news bulletins led with the airline tickets give away, but nothing at all about the alleged rapist, the minister of defense and the violated liberal staffers. And no doubt there’ll more, lots more of the giveaways before the elections are called.
This country is fucked !!!!.
Rossleigh,your thought provoking article got me to thinking about what’s hovering in plain sight,the spectre of Fascism.Here’s a list of some of the characteristics of Fascism:
1)Constantly playing the nationalism card (flags,pins,sitting in tanks and (dud) planes)
2) Totalitarianism(are we there yet?) and corporatism
3) emphasis on militarism ( Hello China)
4)Obsession with national security (Hello Spud
5)Disregard for Human rights
6)Contempt for intellectuals and artists
7)Rampant sexism
8)Sympathetic media (with the emphasis on pathetic)
9)Serves the material interests of it’s supporters.
10)Labour power is suppressed.
11) Obsession with crime and punishment
12)Rampant cronyism and corruption
13)Fraudulent elections (Sports rorts,regional grants rorts, etc.etc.
14)Placing stooges in the judiciary in order to subvert the public interest
Which of the above CANNOT be applied to the Liar’s band of shitkickers?
Harry, aren’t you a bit late, mate? I got there nearly thirty years ago. Karl Popper elaborated on the ephemeral nature of democracy sometime in the middle of last century. And Plato reflected on the inevitable decomposition of deliberative democracy nearly two and a half millenia ago.
But never mind. Better late than never.
Besides, why do you make that out to be a problem anyway? You should be happy:
Yeah, thanks for that Arnd,the tide always turns,but I’m impatient for justice to be done, as I’m fast running out of time.By the way, Michael Rennie played Harry Lime in the TV series,but you already knew that,and we have our very own cuckoo clock in the form of that fucking idiot McCormack.
Who did the phone data wipe? Possibly the same unknown phantom data wiper that attempted to clear porter the putrid’s Wikipedia bio. I wonder if this same nefarious unknown has spirited away Ms. Higgin’s alleged rapist. But, all’s good, we’re all innocent having never inhaled, abused, raped, lied, demonstrated supreme hypocrisy, pork barreled marginal seats, held the legal system in contempt, smirked and smirked and smirked some more, been an all knowing swinging big dickhead, relied on the cheese and kisses to explain that raping and abusing women is an extremely horrible experience (for the victim that is). Jeez, she was only a woman, so that’s alright then.
Welcome to the new fascist Australia, where men are men and women better learn their place if they know what’s good for em. Grab your half price flight, visit lnp marginal electorates, keep the bullshit going so we don’t need to think about toxic work environments, that somehow the liar from the shire has emerged as the final arbiter on all things legal, particularly if it involves the abuse of women, unemployed, aged, etc.; $80 billion submarines, a fucked NDIS, aged care recommendations, F-35 fighters that sections of the yank media are calling a 1.7 trillion dollar disaster, that we have a lying pack of scum suckers masquerading as a government, that the gas companies are set to receive a shit load of money (must be fuck all jobs, the smirking jerk refuses to answer that question).
Look, over there, another dead cat on the table, how good’s the footy, team Australia takes to the air, quick, what else can these spivs and shonks announce. Rape, abuse, bullying, lies, deceit, na mate, not here, nothing to see, move along.
My sentiments exactly, Viking.
Reynolds, the fence post in disguise, issues formal apology and retraction to Ms. Higgins. Amazing what the threat of legal action can bring about. Also the ex boyfriend of the victim allegedly raped by porter the putrid, James Hooke, says he had conversations with the victim and porter over a few years, quite willing to appear before any inquiries, under oath.
Look, smirk & mirrors, is that a bus? Are you in danger, given where you’re standing, of going right underneath?
Vikingduk,that’s not a bus the Stuntmaster’s looking at,it’s a road train.Are we on the cusp of the great unravelling?
Doubts are being aired even in Murdoch’s garbage pamphlets.Things are definitely looking up.Porter won’t be back,like all bullies ,he’s a coward,ditto the rest of the Liar’s conscience free hypocrites.
Are we on the cusp of the great unravelling, asks Harry Lime. Mate, that’s what dreams are made of. How good would it be to see the sanctimonious smirking fucking jerk exposed. Can’t someone leak these documents that alleges putrid porter is a rotten rapist? Very few seem to be inclined to read them among the ruling crime cartel.
Remember. March4Justice, Monday 15th, check Facebook for locations. Apparently, the Parliament House March is designed to encircle that den of iniquity, marchers will turn their backs in an effort to show these rotten fuckers the contempt that they so willingly show us.
Presumption of innocence, in the law, is interestingly variable in light of the admissible evidence. It seems the police only had her evidence, which with her death become inadmissible, but may have a role in corroborating other evidence?? Is their hope that my presumption that porter’s form suggests that guilty is an acceptable presumption will enthuse the NSW coppers to reopen and give a little rethink? I think of lawyers and doctors with the poor the former get more gov cash if they keep the poor longer whilst the latter get paid but once so a guilty plea is worth the pursuit. In WA that is one reason why the Aborinal incarceration rate is high?.