Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to second the member for Clark's motion to suspend standing orders as a matter of urgency so that this chamber can immediately debate the need for the Attorney-General to end the prosecution of whistleblowers Richard Boyle and David McBride. Every day the government lets the prosecution of these two men continue is another day it's having a chilling effect on anyone who is considering revealing unlawful and other wrongful conduct inside the Australian government because these prosecutions send a very clear message: to blow the whistle is to bring the full force of the law down on your on head and the cost of courage is too high. As we seek to drive greater transparency across the processes of governing, we should be embracing whistleblowers. Indeed, many comparable democracies reward those who are brave enough to speak out. But here in Australia, our current track record tells people that if you blow the whistle you'll be prosecuted.

To be fair the prosecutions of Richard Boyle and David McBride commenced under the prior coalition government, but it is the Albanese government that has allowed the prosecutions to continue. Richard Boyle blew the whistle in October 2017 on the egregious use of garnishee notices by the Australian Taxation Office. His public interest disclosure was rejected by the ATO. The Senate examined how the ATO investigated it and found the investigation into his claim was superficial. He didn't give up. In November he went to the Inspector-General of Taxation to try again, and when the inspector-general rejected his approach on jurisdictional grounds, he finally went to the media. Only after the ABC exposed the conduct in the ATO was any action taken.

Ironically, the then minister ordered the Inspector-General of Taxation to conduct an inquiry. In May 2019, the Inspector-General released his review into the ATO's use of garnishee notices, stating, amongst other things, problems did arise in certain localised pockets with the issuing of enduring garnishee notices for a limited period, particularly so at the ATO's local Adelaide site. Richard Boyle was vindicated, and yet the prosecution initiated in January 2019 continues.

David McBride raised concerns about the unlawful conduct of a small group of soldiers in Afghanistan. When his concerns went unaddressed, he went to the media. We now know from the Brereton review that what David McBride blew the whistle on was true, and yet here we are with the first person facing charges in relation to Afghan war crimes being the person who revealed the crimes. This must stop.

The Judiciary Act 1903 grants the Attorney-General the authority to decline to proceed with the prosecution for an indictable offence. This power was granted to the Attorney-General so that he may discharge his ultimate responsibility to the parliament and the Australian people for the conduct of the prosecution process with due regard for public interest.

To date, in these two cases, our Attorney-General has chosen to decline to intervene in these matters, stating that he has a strong view that, while he has the power to discontinue proceedings, this is reserved for very unusual and exceptional circumstances and requires careful consideration before it is exercised. If stopping the ongoing prosecution of these two individuals, people who stood up for our rights as a society and fought to ensure that others were brought to justice, isn't considered exceptional circumstances I'm not sure what would meet that criteria.

David McBride and Richard Boyle are being punished for speaking truth to power. It is time power stepped in to protect them. This chamber needs to support the member for Clark's motion and the Attorney-General needs to come and explain to us how he can't see that the prosecution of Richard Boyle and David McBride is unjust and not in the public interest. The issue must be dealt with as a matter of urgency and I urge the chamber to support Mr Wilkie's suspension motion.

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