The resignation follows details emerging that Christian Porter received donations to fund his defamation lawsuit against the ABC.
Christian Porter has resigned from his post as Australia’s Minister for Industry, Science and Technology a week after revealing he received donations to help fund his defamation case against the ABC for its coverage of his sexual assault allegations. The funds were provided to Porter via a blind trust, which was set up so Porter did not know how much money he received, where it came from, and who manages it. The resignation was announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday afternoon. The prime minister said Porter chose to resign due to a “conflict of interest” existing between protecting the identity of the donors and not distracting government from its work. “Ultimately, I decided that if I have to make a choice between seeking to pressure the Trust to break individuals’ confidentiality in order to remain in Cabinet, or alternatively forego my Cabinet position, there is only one choice I could, in all conscience, make. Consequently, I provided the Prime Minister with my resignation earlier today,” Porter said in a subsequent statement. In that statement, Porter also took the opportunity to continue denying the sexual assault accusations that were laid against him, saying the ABC ignited a “trial by media” based around a narrative presuming guilt.
