Are we a nation that persecutes people who tell the truth?
WHISTLEBLOWER AND FORMER MILITARY LAWYER DAVID MCBRIDE (IMAGE: AAP/MICK TSIKAS)Original Source: ABC, Adele Ferguson
In two months, the Australian whistleblower David McBride will face a jury in a courtroom in Canberra. His court date will coincide with the start of another parliamentary sitting week. Across Lake Burley Griffin, the Albanese government will talk up its support for transparency, integrity and whistleblower protections. In the ACT Supreme Court, a whistleblower will go on trial.
McBride, a former army lawyer who served two tours in Afghanistan, is alleged to have leaked documents to the ABC that detailed allegations of war crimes committed by the Australian Defence Force. Several years before the Brereton report found credible evidence for these horrific claims, and well before the Federal Court found that former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith had murdered unarmed civilians while serving in Afghanistan, McBride’s whistleblowing is alleged to have led to ABC’s “Afghan Files” exposé.
