Trial by Media !

The basic tenet of the Australian justice system is that a person accused of a crime is deemed to be innocent until guilt is established in a court of law.  It is the duty of the prosecutor to present sufficient evidence to convince a court that a law has been broken and that crime will be punished by whatever penalty is enshrined in the law books of the state involved.

The exception to that rule seems to apply to the crime of rape.  Anonymous letters accusing a cabinet minister of rape fifty-three years ago, long before he won a seat in parliament, much less rose to head a ministry, has been circulating widely in Canberra.

Copies of this letter were received by the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, an ex-prime minister and the ABC which promptly put it to air but deleted the identity of the accused.  As a result, this rape charge is hanging over the heads of all who hold ministries in our present government.

The Feminist movement is shrill in its demand that this minister be relieved of his portfolio and stood aside.  It is doubtful if this charge can ever be proved - or disproved - in court because the rape victim  returned to Adelaide in June and took her own life.  Despite the passage of time, no official statement had been made to New South Wales police and consequently they had suspended any investigation into the matter.

In Canberra circles, the name of that minister is widely known.  Innuendo is rife and this brings intense pressure on the prime minister, considering the nation may go to the polls before the end of this calendar year.   The opposition is dealing with a rape claim within its own ranks and the opposition leader has stood aside from making political capital from the issue.

Rape is a horrendous crime and this victim claims it happened to her when she was sixteen years old.  Quoting from the anonymous letter, ex -prime minister Malcolm Turnbull commented that it seemed " a pretty horrific " rape and the woman kept extensive diaries that might be helpful at any coronial or other enquiry.

The Feminist movement has been very successful in driving from office predators who use the power of  the positions they hold to coerce women into unwanted sex, sometimes by the physical act of rape.  The power of social media can make life untenable to any man so named even if proof capable of convincing a court is impossible to obtain.  The stigma sticks, and the accused are often driven from office.

Now it seems this tactic is intruding into politics.  Even if this man is notorious in government circles for using his ministerial power to force underlings to submit to his sexual advances a charge needs to succeed in a court room and a penalty delivered according to law.

Politics is a dirty business and the reputation of a political party can be sullied by carefully placed innuendo.  What is suggested in this anonymous letter deserves investigation, but whatever outcome needs to satisfy the rigorous demands of the legal system.