Former attorney general Christian Porter could have to cough up $1MILLION in legal fees after suing ABC over story about rape allegations against him
- Former Cabinet minister has been hit by a new bill over his bid to sue the ABC
- The bill for a secondary legal action has come in at close to $550,000
- It’s on top of legal fees already estimated to run at around $500,000
- His legal team have demanded an investigation into how the bill is so big
Former attorney-general Christian Porter is facing legal bills of up to $1 million over his attempt to sue the ABC over rape allegations against him.
The case was never fought in court after he did a deal with the ABC in May to end legal proceedings early with no apology or settlement.
But both sides still managed to run up huge fees. The ABC said the cost of the legal action against it was $680,000.
Mr Porter’s own fees were estimated at $500,000, but the ABC agreed to pay $100,000 towards the cost of his mediation legal fees.
Now he has been handed another bill of almost $550,000 for a second legal action related to the case.
Former attorney-general Christian Porter (pictured) is facing legal bills of up to $1million after his attempt to sue the ABC over rape allegations against him
Mr Porter had been suing the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan (pictured) over an article which published allegations that a senior cabinet minister raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988
Mr Porter sued the ABC and reporter Louise Milligan over an article that published allegations a senior cabinet minister raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988 when he was 17.
He later acknowledged he was the minister referred to in the article but denied all allegations of rape.
The claims were never tested in court as the alleged victim killed herself before police inquiries were able to be completed.
Mr Porter assembled a high-powered legal team to lead the case against the ABC in the Federal Court, including defamation expert Sue Chrysanthou SC, who also represented the actor Geoffrey Rush against accusations of sexual harassment.
Mr Porter assembled a high-powered legal team to lead the case against the ABC in the Federal Court, including defamation expert Sue Chrysanthou SC (left). She had also recently discussed the case with Jo Dyer (right), a close friend of the woman who had made the allegations against Mr Porter
But Ms Chrysanthou also recently discussed the case with Jo Dyer, a close friend of the woman who made the allegations against Mr Porter.
The two met after the rape allegations came to light but despite Ms Chrysanthou never representing Ms Dyer, the Federal Court decided there was a conflict of interest.
Ms Chrysanthou was stood down from Mr Porter’s team and the court ordered both the barrister and the former cabinet minister to pay Ms Dyer’s legal fees.
The alleged rape was said to have occured after a school debating competition. A young Christian Porter is seen here taking part in the tournament
On Tuesday, the Federal Court heard Ms Dyer’s legal fees came in at close to $550,000 sparking protests from Ms Chrysanthou’s barrister, Anne Horvath.
She questioned how the bill ran so high so quickly, insisting it was a ‘substantial sum for what was a reasonably confined dispute,’ reported the Daily Telegraph.
‘We don’t know who did what when, we’re not able to interrogate it at all,’ she said.
The court ordered detailed timesheets to be provided to show how the bill was calculated.