shifty&shadyminister,

I get the impression that in the interview Turnbull was suggesting that someone might have bumped her off to stop her from spilling the beans.

But who would want to do something like that?

Starting to look like something out of an Agatha Christie murder mystery: 'Murder On The Canberra Circuit'.

I guess the police will just have to round up all the usual suspects and give them the old polygraph test.

Mr Odious and uneducated.

What do you think of this analysis?

I will enjoy watching the ABC squirm.

"But the defamation law will ask the ABC to prove more than just what it actually reported. Porter’s lawyers say the story raised “imputations” – impressions in the minds of readers – well beyond those words. Imputations are the “vibe” of the story taken as a whole. In this story, the key impression Porter’s lawyers will argue was conveyed to readers is that he, as a matter of fact, “brutally raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988”, and that this contributed to her taking her own life.

Assuming the judge accepts these imputations, if it wants to defend itself on the basis that the article was true, the ABC will need to prove that the rape actually occurred. They will also need to prove that it contributed to the woman’s suicide. The police cannot prove these things. The ABC cannot prove these things. Nobody can.

Or, as The Australian’s Chris Merritt gleefully put it: “Milligan and the ABC are in a dreadful position. Their best option is a long, grovelling apology accompanied by a very large cheque. They have been snookered.”

shifty&shadyminister,

Why can't the police investigate the woman's allegations and determine if a crime was committed by the person she named?

Historians examine cases that occurred hundreds of years ago and are able to work out what happened. So why can't the police work out something that happened recently and where people who have knowledge of the event are still alive to give their account.

shifty&shadyminister,

There's also now Turnbull's suggestion from his interview that the woman might have met with foul play.

Surely if true this would warrant a police investigation.

shifty&shadyminister,

I just found this news item on the web:

http://www.news.com.au/national/politics/exboyfriend-of-christian-porters-accuser-reveals-new-details-about-alleged-rape-case/news-story/28106f04e81f33d1da74113c2ba69881

This is not good. This is not good at all. And it's not even an ABC news item.

This is going from bad to worse. We can't have people talking about other people all the time.

Someone has to pay for this.

Let's just forget anything ever happened and move on. I know! Let's go to Hawaii for a holiday!

Mr uneducated,

The police cannot investigate without a complaint and so far there is no complaint and no case.

Note that hearsay has never been admissible in a court case. Thus the ABC has no case.