David McBride was not planning on speaking to reporters yesterday when he walked free from prison after more than two years behind bars.
But it turns out he had plenty to say from the passenger seat of his pick-up car, driven by family members who hugged him in the sunshine of a crisp Canberra morning.
There was news of a lung cancer diagnosis with surgery in a few weeks, gratitude for the attorney-general who granted him parole, and thanks to hundreds of supporters from across the globe who had sent him letters and cards while locked up.
He also gave a nod to his fellow prisoners, and even the prison staff, who helped make his "hard" time on the inside "a very positive experience … on the whole".
"I'm looking forward to seeing my dog. And my daughters. But particularly my dog," McBride laughed through the window.
But — perhaps ironically for a whistleblower — it was what went unsaid that piqued interest.
"Any message to whistleblowers, or about whistleblower protection laws?" he was asked by a journalist.
"No, out of respect for the attorney-general I'm not going to say anything political today,"
he said.
"Though I will at some point talk about those things."
McBride's battle began nearly a decade ago when he gave secret defence material to an ABC journalist for the...
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