Oliver Schulz has been charged with war crime murder over a shooting in Uruzgan province in May 2012.Credit:
“There is a very real prospect that the first Australian to be jailed over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan will be the whistleblower,not the perpetrators. There is no public interest in prosecuting whistleblowers,” Pender said.
“Brave people who speak up about wrongdoing – whether it be human rights violations,government misconduct or corporate misdeeds – make this country a better place. They need to be protected and empowered,not prosecuted.”
A spokesman for Dreyfus said the Attorney-General could not comment on matters before the court.
Pender’s comments come as another blow was dealt to whistleblower protections this week,when ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle lost his legal bid to be prosecuted under Commonwealth whistleblower protections. Boyle was charged with 24 offences over collecting information about heavy-handed debt collection tactics on taxpayers. He is appealing the court decision.