“All parties have agreed to not pursue the matter any further,” the ABC said in a statement on Monday.

“No damages will be paid.

“The ABC stands by the importance of the article, which reported on matters of significant public interest, and the article remains online. ”

The February 26 article has since been updated with a statement confirming the “unnamed Cabinet minister” subject to a woman’s rape allegation was Porter but that the ABC “did not intend to suggest that Mr Porter had committed the criminal offences alleged”.

“The ABC did not contend that the serious accusations could be substantiated to the applicable legal standard – criminal or civil,” the editor’s note says.

“However, both parties accept that some readers misinterpreted the article as an accusation of guilt against Mr Porter. That reading, which was not intended by the ABC, is regretted.”

Porter filed a claim for defamation on March 15, alleging the story defamatory because it imputed he raped a 16-year-old girl in 1988 and that contributed to her taking her own life.

His lawyers have been contacted for comment.

“I stand by my journalism & proud to work (Four Corners) & grateful to the ABC & our brilliant legal team for supporting public interest journalism,” Milligan tweeted.

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