Man who blew the whistle on practices at the ATO pleads guilty to four charges

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A man who blew the whistle on practices at the Australian Tax Office has pleaded guilty to four charges, after nearly a decade of legal proceedings against him. Supporters of former ATO employee Richard Boyle say the case shows Australia's whistleblower protection laws are broken.

Transcript

00:00Richard Boyle walks silently from court hand in hand with his wife after admitting to Commonwealth criminal charges.

00:09We've seen Richard Boyle, who has been stripped of any protection under Federal whistleblower laws, plead guilty to helping all Australians.

00:18Boyle first raised concerns internally about the ATO's practices in October 2017.

00:24The former debt collector then went public, accusing the office of heavy-handed tactics to recover debts from small business owners.

00:32The 49-year-old originally faced 66 charges, but over time 62 were dropped.

00:39Four charges remained, which he's now pleaded guilty to in South Australia's District Court.

00:44Those charges include making a record of protected information and using a listening device to record private conversations.

00:52This has been a long saga that's taken a lot out of Richard Boyle.

00:56He should be wearing a big S on his chest as a superhero instead of a conviction.

01:03Boyle's supporters argue the case has shown that whistleblower protection laws in Australia are fundamentally flawed,

01:11urging the Federal Government to do more for those who speak out.

01:15Human rights advocates have weighed in as well.

01:17It's a case that shows that Australia's whistleblowing laws aren't working,

01:21and it reminds the Albanese government that reform is overdue and urgent.

01:26This is a really sad day for Australian democracy, for whistleblowing and for Richard Boyle.

01:32Boyle will return to court in August for sentencing submissions.

01:36Well, once they said, this is a great happened,

01:39they just kept going.

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