The South Australian District Court has dealt a fatal blow to public sector whistleblowing, basically making it impossible for anyone to safely blow the whistle. Rex Patrick explains the public interest travesty.
I attended the District Court last week when Judge Kudelka handed down her judgement in a Richard Boyle’s whistleblower defence case. The court was overcrowded with Richard’s supporters. It was standing room only. The media were there too.
Deep sighs could be heard as she read out her decision. Despite Richard having formally submitted a Public Interest Disclosure to high authority within the Australian Tax Office, the court ruled Richard was not immune from criminal prosecution in matters related to the Disclosure.
It’s a judgement that will cause anyone and everyone in the public service to abandon internal watch for maladministration, power abuse, misfeasance and corruption.
It’s those eyes and ears that are crucial to identify the breakdown of proper and ethical public administration. This decision will suppress that scrutiny and be a boon for unethical behaviour inside the public service.
Richard was an employee of at the Adelaide offices of the ATO.
On 12 October 2017 he lodged a Public Interest Disclosure about an unethical directive given by senior leaders to issue high impact enduring garnishee notices, a notice that allowed the ATO to empty a business’s back account, in cases where a less impactful method was more...
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