ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle will face a criminal trial
The man who blew the whistle on intimidation practices within the Australian Taxation Office has lost a bid to have a criminal trial thrown out.
A former Australian Taxation Office employee who blew the whistle on the “intimidation tactics” of his employer during debt collection will face a criminal trial for speaking out.
On Monday, Richard Boyle, 47, learned his fate in the Adelaide District Court, where Judge Liesl Kudelka dismissed civil action to have the criminal charges thrown out.
Mr Boyle, a former ATO debt collector, had his Edwardstown home raided in April 2018 after expressing concerns about practices in the office, and telling ABC’s Four Corners that staff in Adelaide had been instructed to “start issuing standard garnishees on every case.”
He now faces 66 criminal charges, including disclosure of protected information, monitoring private conversations, and recording personal information.
Section 10 of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 states that an individual who makes a public interest disclosure is “not subject to any civil, criminal or administrative liability (including disciplinary action) for making the public interest disclosure.”
However, Judge Kudelka found that Mr Boyle would not benefit from the section.
“The applicant has made a claim that he is immune from any criminal liability,” she said.
“I have found that he is not protected by Section 10 of the Public Interest, Disclosure Act 2013 from criminal liability.”
On request from Commonwealth prosecutors, Judge Kudelka suppressed her judgment reasons until Tuesday afternoon, prohibiting media from revealing the grounds for her decision until that time.
A criminal trial date has been set for October this year.
The Human Rights Law Centre has called on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC to discontinue Mr Boyle’s prosecution, with senior lawyer Kieran Pender saying the decision was a “major blow for Australian democracy.”
“Whistleblowers should be protected, not prosecuted, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PID) was enacted to ensure just that,” Mr Pender said.
“The court’s decision that Boyle’s whistleblowing on wrongdoing within the Australian Taxation Office was not covered by the PID Act shows that the law is utterly broken.
“This prosecution, and that of war crimes whistleblower David McBride, are unjust and undemocratic.”
He said the decision highlights the need for law reform to ensure protections for whistleblowers are “real and don’t just exist on paper.”
“The Attorney-General should prioritise comprehensive reform to the PID Act and the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority. Whistleblowers make Australia a better place and our laws need to reflect that.”
Among supporters outside court, former Democrat politician Sandra Kanck said the decision was “simply incomprehensible.”
“This is a terrible decision,” she said.
“This is an injustice in the making. This man could end up in prison for speaking the truth.”