58 Facts About Christian Porter

Christian Porter was a Member of Parliament for the Division of Pearce from 2013 to 2022 and a member of the Liberal Party of Australia.

From Perth, Christian Porter attended Hale School, the University of Western Australia and later the London School of Economics, and practised law at Clayton Utz and taught law at the University of Western Australia before his election to parliament.

Christian Porter is the son of the 1956 Olympic silver medallist, Charles "Chilla" Porter and the grandson of Queensland Liberal politician, Charles Porter, who was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1966 to 1980.

Christian Porter first entered the Legislative Assembly after winning the seat of Murdoch in a 2008 by-election following the death of the sitting member, Trevor Sprigg, and he was elected to the new seat of Bateman at the 2008 general election.

Christian Porter denied the claim and launched a defamation case against the ABC.

Christian Porter resigned from the front bench in September 2021, after media reports revealed that he was a beneficiary of a blind trust relating to his legal action against the ABC.

Christian Porter's father was Charles "Chilla" Christian Porter, who won the men's high jump silver medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics and was director of Western Australia's Liberal Party during the 1970s and 1980s.

Chilla's father, Charles Robert Christian Porter, was a Queensland Liberal state MP between 1966 and 1980 and served in the ministry of Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Christian Porter was educated at Hale School, and was selected for Australia's national schools debating team.

Christian Porter later studied at the London School of Economics for a Master of Science in political theory, from which he graduated with distinction at the top of his class.

Christian Porter spent a year as an advisor to the Federal Minister for Justice and then began working for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as a senior state prosecutor.

Christian Porter was first elected to the Parliament of Western Australia in the now defunct seat of Murdoch in the February 2008 by-election following the death of the standing member Trevor Sprigg.

At the September 2008 election, Christian Porter contested and won the newly created seat of Bateman following the abolition of the seat of Murdoch in the 2007 redistribution.

Christian Porter was appointed Attorney-General and Minister for Corrective Services after the election, having held the equivalent shadow portfolios prior to the election.

In 2009, Christian Porter proposed Western Australia follow the other states by introducing legislation that would prevent members of outlaw motorcycle gangs associating with each other.

On 14 December 2010, Christian Porter was sworn in as Treasurer of Western Australia.

Christian Porter retained the portfolio of Attorney-General, while the Corrective Services portfolio was transferred to Terry Redman.

The court agreed with Christian Porter and quashed the payout in 2012.

Christian Porter oversaw the planned introduction of the harshest organised crime laws in Australia in 2011 which would see stronger penalties for organised crime gang members, particularly outlaw motorcycle gangs, for all manner of crimes including associating with one another.

The bill that Christian Porter planned to introduce, the Criminal Organisation Control Bill 2011, would see outlaw motorcycle gangs defined as Declared Criminal Organisations.

Christian Porter became parliamentary secretary to the Prime Minister on 23 December 2014 and held that position until 21 September 2015.

Christian Porter was a part of the speaker's panel from 18 November 2013 to 9 February 2015.

Christian Porter is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party.

On 20 September 2015, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced that Christian Porter would replace Scott Morrison as Social Services Minister as part of a Cabinet overhaul.

In May 2020, Christian Porter conceded that the Robodebt recovery scheme had "no legal basis" and was "unlawful" but refused to apologise for it.

One of Christian Porter's roles was to manage the Cashless Welfare Card, and increased its use in various communities.

Christian Porter spoke of his pride in the outcomes of the policy.

Christian Porter relinquished the social services portfolio to Dan Tehan.

Christian Porter hailed the negotiations as a success, with McManus stating that; "We had been concerned that several employer groups had been advocating for a widespread removal of workers' rights akin to WorkChoices".

In December 2020, Christian Porter introduced a bill to merge the Family Court of Australia with the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, citing administrative efficiencies.

Scott Morrison said this was a compromise due to advice from the solicitor-general regarding whether Christian Porter could remain Attorney General while taking legal action against the ABC.

Christian Porter resigned from cabinet on 19 September 2021 after concerns that he had accepted anonymous donations via a blind trust to cover his legal expenses.

Christian Porter denied his imminent retirement in November 2021, but then announced in a press release on 1 December 2021 that he would not contest the 2022 federal election and would instead retire from politics, opting to spend more time with his family.

In February 2022, Christian Porter announced that he would be returning to the legal profession and hinted that he will be writing a book after he left Parliament.

Christian Porter set up a trust to operate two companies he has formed.

The companies, Henley Stirling Lawyers Pty Ltd and Henley Stirling Consultants Pty Ltd, have Christian Porter listed as the sole director.

In July 2022 Christian Porter was acting for underworld figure Mick Gatto in a defamation case against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

On 28 March 2023, Christian Porter was engaged by Zeph Investments, Clive Palmer's Singapore-based company, to represent them in a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Australia for AUD$296 billion over the alleged loss of contractual entitlement, "moral damages" and "sovereign risk", in relation to an iron ore project for which Palmer's company, Mineralogy, had already lost a lawsuit.

Christian Porter was listed as a contender for Cleo magazine's eligible bachelor of the year in 1999.

In 2008, Christian Porter married Jennifer Negus, a former colleague and a granddaughter of former independent senator Syd Negus.

Christian Porter took paternity leave after his wife gave birth to their first child the day after being sworn in as the social services minister.

In November 2020, it was alleged on Four Corners that, although married, Christian Porter had kissed and cuddled a colleague's political staffer in a public setting.

Christian Porter denied the allegation and said that the staffer in question had denied to Four Corners that the event occurred, but that the denial was not mentioned in the report.

Christian Porter again denied the allegation on the Perth radio station 6PR.

Not long after he said he had raised the alleged incident with Christian Porter, Turnbull promoted Christian Porter to the position of attorney-general.

Christian Porter attributed the criticisms made by Turnbull to a falling-out between the two men during the 2018 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spills, the event which ended Turnbull's prime ministership.

Christian Porter had written a long statement for her solicitor in 2019, and had contacted several politicians and police.

Christian Porter died by suicide in 2020 and her statement was sent anonymously in February 2021 to the prime minister and several other members of parliament.

Christian Porter announced on 3 March 2021 that he was the person named in the allegations.

Christian Porter announced he would take immediate leave to look after his mental health following the accusations.

On 15 March 2021, Christian Porter launched a defamation claim against the ABC and reporter Louise Milligan, for publishing the allegation.

Christian Porter's claim argued that although the original allegation did not name him, he was "readily identifiable" and that the article was intended to harm him.

Christian Porter withdrew the defamation claim on 31 May 2021, with the ABC paying the costs of mediation and appending an editor's note to the original article stating that "The ABC did not contend that the serious accusations could be substantiated to the applicable legal standard".

In September 2021, Christian Porter revealed to Federal Parliament in an interest declaration that the defamation case was funded in part by an anonymous donor, though he did not indicate the value of the donation nor his overall legal fees.

Christian Porter received criticism from Malcolm Turnbull, who described the situation as if Christian Porter had said "my legal fees were paid by a guy in a mask who dropped off a chaff bag full of cash".

Christian Porter tendered his resignation from the frontbench on 19 September 2021.

On 20 October 2021, the Coalition government blocked a bid from the Australian Labor Party opposition to have Christian Porter investigated by the House privileges committee over whether he had breached parliamentary rules over his financial disclosures, despite Speaker Tony Smith having ruled that there was a prima facie case for further scrutiny.

In November 2021, a parliamentary committee announced they would ask Christian Porter to declare the ultimate source of funds.