The Players

Christian Porter.
The Blind Trust.

He ran Social Services when Robodebt went live and launched the social impact market with Morrison. Then he became Attorney-General.

Someone paid part of his legal bill through a blind trust. We still don’t know who.

Newsprint cut-out of Christian Porter’s head and shoulders.

What He Did

  1. September 2015 to December 2017He is social services minister while Robodebt is built and rolled out.[2]
  2. 8 August 2017With Treasurer Scott Morrison he announces the plan to develop Australia’s social impact investing market.[1] The Instigators
  3. December 2017He becomes Attorney-General.[2]
  4. 14 September 2021He declares that a blind trust called the Legal Services Trust made a “part contribution” to the costs of his defamation case against the ABC. He doesn’t know who the donors are.[3]
  5. 19 September 2021He resigns from the ministry rather than ask the trust to name them.[4]
  6. February 2022Before leaving parliament he registers two new companies, a law firm and a consultancy.[5]
  7. 2 February 2023He tells the Robodebt Royal Commission he takes responsibility for the scheme.[7]
  8. 7 July 2023The Royal Commission finds he “could not rationally have been satisfied of the legality” of Robodebt on the basis of his general knowledge of the policy process.[2]
  9. 2023He is called to the WA Bar.[6]

Questions for a Real NACC

  • Who put money into the Legal Services Trust, how much, and what each donor wanted from government before or after.
  • Who paid for Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers, and whether any of the same people funded both.
  • What advice he had on Robodebt’s legality before he signed off on it.
  • Who the clients of his law firm and consultancy are.
Linda ReynoldsDefence, the NDIS and the office. Read it The PlayersEveryone on the list. Read it

Sources

  1. Scott Morrison and Christian Porter, Developing Australia’s Social Impact Investing Market, 8 August 2017. https://formerministers.dss.gov.au/17344/developing-australias-social-impact-investing-market/
  2. Sydney Morning Herald, Robodebt royal commission report, live coverage, 7 July 2023; The West Australian, Former WA MPs Christian Porter and Michael Keenan criticised in Robodebt royal commission report, 6 July 2023. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/robo-debt-royal-commission-report-live-updates-20230705-p5dlww.html https://thewest.com.au/politics/former-wa-mps-christian-porter-and-michael-keenan-criticised-in-robodebt-royal-commission-report-c-11207708
  3. ABC News, Christian Porter’s legal fees part-paid by mystery donor, 14 September 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-14/christian-porter-legal-fees-paid-mystery-donor-defamation-abc/100461294
  4. ABC News, Christian Porter resigns as minister over conflict of interest, 19 September 2021. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-19/christian-porter-resigns-as-minister-over-conflict-of-interest/100474754
  5. Crikey, Christian Porter closes shop, 6 February 2025. https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/02/06/christian-porter-law-firm-abc-defamation-cases/
  6. WA Bar Association, Christian Porter. https://wabar.asn.au/barrister/porter-christian/
  7. ABC News, Christian Porter tells Robodebt royal commission he takes responsibility, 2 February 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-02/robodebt-scheme-government-royal-commission-christian-porter/101922706
  8. Photo: Commonwealth of Australia, CC BY 3.0 au, via Wikimedia Commons. Cut out and halftoned by Enough. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christian_Porter_Portrait_2015.jpg

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