Thousands will travel to Canberra, Australia Monday to protest Attorney General Christian Porter, a member of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government, after an accusation that he raped a girl in 1988 when he was a teenager, Reuters reports.
Why it matters: The 43 planned protests across the country are likely to put more pressure on Morrison, who has refused to consider an investigation into Porter after police shut theirs down for lack of information. Porter has denied the allegation, saying he will not resign.
- According to Reuters, a meeting outside the parliament building is expected to have around 85,000 in attendance.
Morrison will now miss two cabinet members when parliament resumes Monday. His Secretary of Defense Linda Reynolds is facing calls to resign for failing to report that a government staffer came to her with a new allegation of rape against an unnamed colleague. Reynolds and Porter are both on sick leave, according to Reuters.
- The two developments have led to a reckoning and a national conversation about the sexual misconduct of Australia’s most powerful politicians.