The Attorney-General has been urged by the Greens to drop the federal government's case against a Tax Office whistleblower, calling it "a chilling example for future whistleblowers".
It comes months after Mark Dreyfus promised to protect "genuine" whistleblowers in connection with the work of the national anti-corruption commission, tipped to be introduced next week.
But the first law officer has continued to resist calls to drop the Commonwealth's pursuit of former Australian Taxation Office debt collection officer Richard Boyle.
Mr Boyle is facing life in prison after he released information about unethical debt recovery practices by the Tax Office to the media.
NSW Greens senator David Shoebridge said the Albanese government's reluctance to drop the charges was affecting its credibility on integrity.
"Continuing the case against Mr Boyle is already damaging the integrity of the protected interest disclosure scheme and it is impacting the credibility of your government's promise to protect whistleblowers," he wrote in a letter last week to Mr Dreyfus.
"The only purpose in continuing the charges is to seek to punish Mr Boyle so that his case stands as a chilling example for future whistleblowers."
Mr Boyle is one of a number of high-profile whistleblowers who have been pursued by the Commonwealth in recent years.
He lodged a public interest disclosure in 2017 upon changes within the ATO forcing staff to use harsher debt collection tactics, including the use of orders that require a bank to hand over money from a personal or business account without the permission of the taxpayer.
He then took the information to the media after the disclosure was dismissed by the tax agency.
A parliamentary report released in 2020 found the ATO had conducted a "superficial investigation" into his concerns.
Senator Shoebridge said Mr Boyle needed to be spared if the Albanese government wants to be taken seriously on integrity.
"The ongoing prosecution of ATO Whistleblower Richard Boyle is a test for the Albanese Government's commitment to the protection of whistleblowers and supporting transparency and accountability," he told The Canberra Times.
"The seriously unethical debt recovery practices in the ATO are the real crime here, not the person who blew the whistle on them.
"Green lighting another secret trial of a whistleblower is a serious affront to the millions of people who voted for decisive action on integrity.
"The Attorney-General rightly recognises the protected interest disclosures scheme requires an overhaul, we can't let Richard Boyle be sacrificed waiting for this reform to happen."
Mr Dreyfus, who first introduced the law as attorney-general nearly a decade ago, told ACM last year it had been a "great disappointment" to watch his legislation become neglected after an election loss to the Abbott government shortly after.
"I was quite conscious that it was not a perfect scheme," Mr Dreyfus said.
"It was an appropriate scheme but needed to be in operation for some years and then be reviewed."
A review into the laws, conducted by respected public servant Philip Moss, was handed to the former Coalition government in 2016, offering 33 recommendations to improve avenues for whistleblowers in the public sector.
Mr Dreyfus said he was considering those recommendations. His office was contacted for comment.
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