PORTER BACKPEDALS

Note: This story discusses sexual assault and suicide.

A spokesman for Christian Porter has conceded to news.com.au that while the attorney-general does not recall any contact with his accuser after a debating contest weekend in 1988, “if there is some information that there was some form of contact in the early 1990’s, that is not impossible and it’s not a case of disputing that possibility”.

Porter told reporters during his denial of historical rape allegations on Wednesday that he had never met his accuser again, however the woman’s unsworn affidavit alleges they had dinner in Perth in 1994.

Separately, the woman’s family has released a statement issuing support for “any inquiry” that would shed light on her death, whether it be a colonial inquest or independent investigation.

While Scott Morrison earlier rejected calls for a new process, Sky News reports that, if the prime minister does launch an inquiry, he could include claims against Bill Shorten. The former Labor leader, who also rejected historical claims, was questioned along with his complainant as part of a case closed by Victoria Police in 2014 after the Office of Public Prosecutions found “there was no reasonable prospect of conviction”.

All panelists on last night’s Q+A supported calls for an independent inquiry into Porter’s allegations save for Nationals Senator Susan McDonald, who stuck with Morrison’s line and invoked “kangaroo courts” and “courts of public opinion”; lawyer and friend of the deceased woman Dhanya Mani instead called for High Court inquiry, while journalist Samantha Maiden argued for a coronial inquest.

PS: Elsewhere, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Brittany Higgins has demanded a public apology by Linda Reynolds for calling her former staff member a “lying cow”, under threat of defamation over the “demeaning and belittling statement”.

1800 Respect: 1800 737 732; Lifeline: 13 11 14; ABC Everyday’s guide to self-care amid this news cycle.

TSUNAMI WARNING WITHDRAWN

Authorities in New Zealand have withdrawn an earlier tsunami warning which was sparked after a shallow, 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the country’s north-eastern coast early this morning.

Guardian Australia reports that while there have not been any immediate reports of serious damage or causalities — residents of Gisborne reported light to moderate shaking — residents have been asked to remain alert, however "there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

COAL COMFORT

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, former chief scientist and current “special adviser on low-emissions technology” Alan Finkel is conducting a global lobbying blitz to assure allies such as the UK, America, and Japan that Australia has a plan to achieve net zero emissions.

The Morrison government has not released or legislated any plans beyond a relatively-paltry 2030 target of 26-28% below 2005 levels, and readers may remember Finkel as the architect of one of many emissions-reduction mechanisms rejected by the Coalition, the Clean Energy Target.

The news comes, as RenewEconomy reports, after United Nations secretary-general António Guterres called on leaders of OECD nations, including Australia, to present plans for the phase-out of thermal coal use by 2030.

ASSISTED DYING BILL TO BECOME LAW IN TASMANIA

Finally, Tasmania’s House of Assembly has passed a Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill, which the ABC explains is set to become law as it heads back to the state’s Legislative Council after being introduced by Independent MLC Mike Gaffney last year.