Photo taken on Nov. 2, 2020 shows the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. The Sydney Opera House reopened to audiences on Sunday evening, for the first time since March when it was forced to close due to the pandemic, breathing life back into the country's struggling performing arts sector. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter, the country's chief law officer, identified himself on Wednesday as the subject of a historical rape allegation, declaring his innocence and strongly denying the claim.

Politicians who last week received an anonymous allegation of an assault in 1988 had referred material to federal police. 

On Tuesday, police in New South Wales state, where the alleged assault occurred, said there was insufficient evidence to investigate the claim and closed the matter.

Seeking to end swirling speculation about the identity of the unnamed cabinet minister since the allegation was first reported last week, an emotional Porter said he was the subject of the claim. 

He said that the incident had never happened and he had not had a sexual relationship with the woman involved.

"I can only say to you that it didn't happen," Porter told a media conference in Perth.

He added that he was being asked to "disprove something that didn't happen 33 years ago."

Porter said all he knew about the allegation was what he had read in the media, but the details of the claim had never been put to him.

He said that he would not resign his ministerial position, but would take leave for a couple of weeks to "assess and hopefully improve" his mental health.

Police had said that the allegation could not be investigated because the alleged victim did not make a formal statement to them detailing her account before she committed suicide in 2020.

Reuters