Afghan war crimes whistleblower David McBride languishes in prison while war crimes perpetrators roam free. David McBride writes for MWM on politics and whistleblowers.
As most of MW readers will know, I’m presently serving a five year sentence for the crime of being a whistle blower. From within my prison I watch the much vaunted National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) continue to do nothing, the Office of Special Investigator (OSI) continue its fumbling, and Ben Roberts-Smith travels the world.
While there is much more to government than simply law, justice and transparency, the fact that Labor promised so much in this space but delivered so little shows they can’t be trusted to deliver what they promise in any area. They certainly don’t deserve to be re-elected to office on the basis of their promises versus their actual treatment of whistleblowers.
Over the next three weeks Labor will promise the world, and announce a raft of ideas that will sound plausible, one of which is likely to be the Whistleblower Protection Authority. While this sounds good, as the idea of the NACC did before it, it is likely be just as much a disappointment. At least if historical performance is any guide.
As with the NACC and the OSI, the WPA will likely be staffed with specially appointed government-friendly staff who are well aware of their unwritten brief: act busy, do nothing.
It’s the system
Probably only one thing is guaranteed about this election: that in three years time Australia will be in worse shape that it is now. That is because our system promotes ‘window-dressing’: pretending to do good things with expensive PR and media campaigns, while actually doing the opposite. The party which tells the biggest boldest lies, and makes promises that it has no intention of keeping, will win. Australia will lose. A hung parliament is our only hope for progress.
If you want to understand the concept of window-dressing, all you have to do is consider how Labor came in on a promise of more transparent government, a better deal for women and climate action. Its hard not to smile in a black-humoured way when those three things are now considered in light of the last three years.
The Albanese Government is now in the process of offering a similar package of plausible and attractive policies to voters. Chances are they will be returned, just. But its a certainty that they won’t keep their promises this time any more than they did last time. A strong cross-bench however may compel them to keep their word.
We don’t need a new government in Australia, we need a new system of government. Nor is this an impossible dream. The only thing that makes this impossible right now is that the two major parties act in concert to stop it.
They are on a good thing, and they don’t want anything to change much to change. When Labor wanted the NACC to remain secret they went to Dutton, their supposed ‘sworn enemy’. They both love AUKUS in equal measure, claiming its a good deal for Australia, when it’s really just a good deal for the major parties.
Merry-go-round
MWM readers will know all this. The only way to get real change in this country is with a minority Labor government. Despite the fact that the media give them equal air time to the government, there is now little chance of Dutton forming a government. This time.
But 2028 will be a different prospect. We need to act now to keep ‘Morrison 2.0’ out in 2028, and putting Albanese back in charge, unfettered will make a Dutton victory inevitable. Albanese likes to style himself as the Joe Biden of Australian politics, and he is. But all know what happened after Joe Biden, and why.
I’m reluctant to tell anyone how to vote, its their choice, and the individual characteristics of each electorate are their own to decide. That said, I can’t be accused of not putting my money where my mouth is. I’m in jail because I stood up to Govt who has lost respect for truth and law, and the nation of Australia, and sacrifices our nation for their own selfish re-election campaigns.
So it is not hypocritical of me to ask MWM readers to vote strategically this election: for independents and minor parties. Nor do they have to be on ‘the left’. Don’t forget those conservatives who stood up for Julian Assange for example. But a vote for Labor is a vote for Liberal, next time, and it keeps our nation on this awful merry-go-round of sleaze, pretence and inaction that will surely destroy what we, and our parents worked so hard to create for our children. Australia can do better. But it starts with us.
Editor’s Note: David has appealed his conviction and sentencing and is awaiting a decision by the Bench of the ACT Supreme Court. In the event of a loss on either, he intends to appeal to the High Court. You can help to fund his legal defence here.
David McBride an Australian whistleblower and former Australian Army lawyer who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2013. He is awaiting trial after providing details of war crimes to the ABC.