Just under 90 per cent of 16,771 respondents agreed "most politicians in Australia will lie if they feel the truth will hurt them politically" and 94 per cent said any politician caught lying to the public should resign.

The results came on the back of a series of political scandals including "sports rorts", questions about who knew what about Brittany Higgins's alleged rape and the historical rape allegations against the former attorney-general Christian Porter.

Mr Porter is back in the news this week after he updated his register of members' interests on Monday to acknowledge "a blind trust known as the Legal Services Trust" had made a "part contribution" to cover legal costs he incurred in his recent lawsuit against the ABC and reporter Louise Milligan.

That suit was withdrawn with the ABC agreeing to pay mediation costs.

"As a potential beneficiary I have no access to information about the conduct and funding of the trust," his declaration stated.

Mr Porters' legal costs are believed to have been between $600,000 and $1 million. His declaration also noted his barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, had discounted her fees.

While it would be foolhardy to suggest, as some have done, Mr Porter is lying, his conduct certainly falls into a very grey area.

It also smacks of hypocrisy given Mr Porter was part of the wolf pack baying for Sam Dastyari's blood after the former senator disclosed he had received around $40,000 from the Yuhu Group as "support for settlement of [an] outstanding legal matter". Dastyari was forced to resign from Labor's front bench in 2016 and quit the Parliament in 2018.

While, as Anthony Albanese has said, Mr Porter's assertion he does not know where the money in the trust that aided him came from - or how much it was - doesn't pass the pub test that is not the most important issue.

The real concern is by accepting an undisclosed, but presumably not insignificant, sum of money from an unknown benefactor the former attorney-general has placed himself in a very compromising position.

While ever he remains in the ministry - or even just in the Parliament - there will always be the chance someone will disclose their role in assisting him in his hour of need and then request a quid pro quo.

Mr Porter has left himself open to suggestions he may have accepted a bribe, the very same issue that ended Dastyari's career.

To argue, as he and his supporters including the treasurer have done, that no laws have been broken, even if technically correct, still doesn't mean the conduct passes muster. He was, after all, until very recently, the most senior law officer in the land.

In the eyes of the public Mr Porter, like Caesar's wife - and every other member of any Australian parliament - must be above suspicion.

The incident is yet further evidence Australia is in desperate need of the National Integrity Commission first promised by this government almost three years ago.

An integrity commission gifted with the same powers as the ICAC in NSW would make short shrift of finding out exactly how much money changed hands and where it came from.

Unless Mr Porter is prepared to repudiate the gift - which appears highly unlikely - he is left with just two choices moving forward. They are to either disclose the source of the funds or to follow Mr Dastyari's example.

If he is unable or unwilling to make a decision then it is incumbent on the Prime Minister, whose patience must be wearing very thin, to make it for him.

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