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Richard Boyle

Fearing the truth – Australia’s government institutions – ATO

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Richard-BoyleIn April 2018 we were intimately involved in the production of the ABC Four Corners program ‘Mongrel Bunch of Bastards’. The program exposed evidence of the ATO’s abuse of small business people. The program brought real ‘grunt’ to our campaign to reform the ATO. And we have to say that in our observation the ATO has improved since then. There’s still much to be done, but it is better.

Included in the Four Corners program was the profiling of Richard Boyle. Richard was a case officer in the ATO who exposed ATO abuse of small business people and he explained this on the program. The consequence of this is that Richard was charged and is being prosecuted. Richard has become one of Australia’s most high-profile whistleblowers. He faces a lengthy jail sentence if convicted.

In the production of the program, and subsequently, SEA has had considerable dealings with Richard. In July 2022, SEA released a statement joining the call for the charges against Richard to be dropped. In the statement we explain our dealings with Richard as well as our view of him and his whistleblower actions. We said:

…in our view the charges against Richard must be considered within the ambit of Richard’s whistleblower activity as it exposed malpractice within the ATO.

…Richard’s whistleblowing action (and the activities related to that) were done in order to protect taxpayers from garnishee activity by the ATO which breached the ATO’s own procedural requirements.

In all our dealings with Richard we have found him to be a person of the highest ethical and moral standards.

Our statement provides the full details of the independent investigations into Richard’s whistleblowing. Those investigations detail the maladministration of the ATO at the time and, in our view, effectively support the propriety of Richard’s exposure of the truth.

This Monday (18 September 2023) the ABC 7.30 Report ran a full segment on Richard Boyle. This time they interviewed a small business taxpayer (Dirk Fielding) who Richard had helped in 2017 and who, through the ATO’s actions, has been used to generate Richard’s prosecution. Dirk refers to the prosecution as ‘insanity’.

Further, last week some 30 MPs and Senators joined the call to have the charges against Richard dropped. We again join that call and reiterate the reasons for the dropping of the charges as we explained in our statement of July 2022.

ATO watchdog to be closed down/neutered?

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ATO-watchdog-robodebtIf there are two things to be learnt from the current Royal Commission into the Robodebt scandal, it’s that governments can and do ‘get it wrong’ and that governments can and do inflict massive harm on individuals.

In the Robdebt affair the Australian Taxation Office supplied the income data of tens of thousands of welfare recipients to Services Australia, the federal government’s welfare department. The data was misused by Services Australia resulting in up to 200,000 people who didn’t owe the government anything being hounded by the department over incorrectly assessed debts. The scheme was illegal but the department pushed ahead anyway.

Some might say that the Royal Commission is political payback by the Albanese government against the Morrison government. That’s nonsense. The inquiry is an important investigation into how government can ‘stuff up’ even while claiming to be acting in the public interest. Lessons must be learnt, and remedies implemented to limit the misuse of government power over individuals.

That’s why we are deeply concerned to read media reports of a push to dismantle the independent ATO watchdog, the Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman. The Tax Ombudsman is a small federal government department that is legislatively charged with investigating complaints against, and reporting on the performance of, the ATO.

In our view the ATO hates this oversight because it creates some measure of transparency. The ATO has a powerful media unit that pumps out stories about how perfect the ATO is. But we know that the ATO gets things wrong on too many occasions. Take this one example.

In the Robodebt Royal Commission the ATO has given evidence that the ATO remained silent about the illegality of the Robodebt program in order to protect the Human Services Department (Services Australia) from adverse publicity. The ATO wanted to show solidarity with other government departments. In fact, the ATO should have spoken up, but they didn’t. This is what happens in governments.

Good public servants will often see the protection of the institution as more important than the protection of ‘the people’, even when government inflicts harm on the people. On the other hand, public servants can have their lives destroyed if they tell the truth. Look at the treatment of ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle.

Governments need to have strong internal watchdog departments. This is what the Taxation Ombudsman does. The Ombudsman has a legislative charter to watch the ATO. Such internal watchdogs act as early warning radar systems. They make for better, more transparent government. They reduce the ability of government to harm ‘the people’. Who knows? A Services Australia watchdog might have prevented the Robodebt scandal.

We’re writing to the Prime Minister and others to ask for commitments to retain the Taxation Ombudsman. In fact, we’re asking for reform and an increase in the Ombudsman’s powers. A parliamentary committee last year recommended just this. Read our summary ‘One Giant Step for Taxpayers – ‘Taxpayer Rights’.

The truth needs to be told about the ATO.  Drop the charges against Richard Boyle

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richard-boyle-protestEarly this week the trial for ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle was to start in the Adelaide District Court. However, Richard and his entire legal team came down with Covid and the trial could not proceed.

But the trial cancellation didn’t stop us joining a rally of citizens calling for Richard’s case to be dropped. In the photo are SEA members Annette and Tina making our views known. The Australian Financial Review gave Richard’s case good exposure on Monday.

Background

On 9 April 2018 an ABC Four Corners exposé was aired that exposed malpractice and small business abuse by the Australian Taxation Office. Ex-ATO debt collection officer Richard Boyle featured in the program, detailing malpractice in the ATO’s debt collection division. Essentially the ATO was raiding people’s bank accounts in defiance of its required rules.

Richard had lodged an internal report to the ATO detailing the malpractice which was ignored. Richard then followed lawful whistleblower procedures in going public. However, the ATO still went after him, initially with charges that would put Richard in jail for 161 years.

Richard’s report on ATO malpractice was subsequently proven to be accurate by both the Inspector-General of Taxation and the Small Business Ombudsman. A Senate Committee criticised the ATO.

Why the charges should be dropped

We have detailed why the charges against Richard should be dropped. See our full reasons here.

In summary, our reasons include:

  • Richard’s whistleblowing was the moral thing to do. This impacts upon the appropriateness of the prosecution.
  • The charges against Richard are the product of a witch-hunt.
  • The length and expense of a trial is a waste of public resources.
  • There is a need to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice.

In undertaking Richard’s prosecution, the Commonwealth risks creating the impression of conducting a cover-up of evidence of maladministration by the ATO. If not a cover-up, then at least a diversion from the truth. This seriously diminishes the confidence of the public in the tax administration system. Further, it seriously diminishes trust in the justice system itself, by delivering the potential impression that the justice system is likewise involved in covering up maladministration by the ATO.

Stop prosecution/ persecution of ATO whistle-blower Richard Boyle

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richard-boyleIn a truly important development, Labor’s new Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus MP, has ordered the dropping of charges against whistle-blower lawyer Bernard Collaery. Collaery had supported an ex-spy who exposed a 2004 Australian spying operation in East Timor.

We ask Mr Dreyfus to now seriously consider the dropping of charges against ATO whistle-blower Richard Boyle.

Richard was charged in 2019 with offences that would have put him in jail for 161 years. This occurred after Richard exposed serious misbehaviour inside the ATO in their debt actions against small business people. Richard went public with this in 2018 on the Four Corners exposé of the ATO’s bad behaviour.

Richard’s reporting of ATO misbehaviour has proven accurate in the following years. Further, a Senate inquiry heard that because the ATO ignored Richard’s internal reporting, this led to investigations from the Inspector-General of Taxation, the media and so on.  Even an ATO-funded survey found that the ATO acted unfairly.

Australian whistle-blower laws are supposed to protect public servants who follow set procedures, principally issuing public interest disclosure documents. The legislation on this supposedly facilitates “… disclosure and investigation of wrongdoing and maladministration in the Commonwealth public sector…” What a joke this law is.

Richard followed public interest disclosure processes but that didn’t give him any protection. The ATO went after Richard anyway.

In our view Richard Boyle is an Australian hero. He exposed the truth about  the bad behaviour of the ATO.  In our view, the ATO is not just in the business of prosecuting Richard but rather of persecuting him. Why? In our view it’s because Richard is being used as an example to all other ATO officers. The message is clear. Don’t tell the truth. Don’t expose when the ATO does the wrong thing.

In the United States, whistle-blower protection laws are robust and have a long history dating back to the Civil War. The US recognizes that government must be transparent and accountable if government is to serve the people properly. Protecting people who declare the truth is an essential part of open, transparent and good government.

We congratulate the new Albanese government and AG Mark Dreyfus for dropping the charges against Bernard Collaery. Previous Coalition governments have shown no interest in protecting whistle-blowers but have been active in their persecution. The Albanese government seems to be using a firm broom to sweep up a major mess on this one.

Mark Dreyfus has let it be known that he is reviewing other whistle-blower cases, but has not confirmed if Richard Boyle is one of them. We ask that Dreyfus do for Ricard Boyle what he has done for Bernard Collaery and drop the charges.

We consider this an important step toward better government and a better ATO.

Explosive, gobsmacking statements by Tax Commissioner raise serious concerns about democracy, the rule of law and cover-up

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Perhaps we thought we’d seen just about every ‘trick’ by the ATO, but the statements by the Tax Commissioner to the Senate on Wednesday (23 October) go to an entirely new level. The ATO ‘battle bar’ has just been raised, big time!

What has motivated the Commissioner is the ‘Right to Know’ public campaign being conducted by a large coalition of Australian media interests against the government’s suppression of free speech. This week ‘Right to Know’ released its first television/on-line advert. The opening ‘punch’ in the advert asserts that the ATO can take money directly out of people’s accounts “but you’re not allowed to know…”

The Tax Commissioner denies that the ATO does this. He said to the Senate  “We use garnishees and other firm actions only after these attempts to engage the taxpayer have failed.”

We can advise Senators that this statement by the Commissioner is wrong and misleading.

We have firm, documented evidence of at least one occasion where the ATO emptied someone’s bank account without telling that person. The person did not even know that the ATO had raised a debt against them. The person did not receive notice from the ATO until ten days after the ATO cleaned out their bank account. This evidence has been supplied to a formal government investigation into the ATO.

The Tax Commissioner went further. He attacked the two public ATO whistleblowers. He divulged highly personal information which, in the case of Richard Boyle, is subject to criminal court proceedings.

The printed version of The Commissioner’s statement is here. An online video version is available here. You can access the key comments in the video by going to the following time-marks:

(duration time) 01:03:00 — Commissioner denies Right to Know allegation of ATO taking money without people knowing.
(duration time) 01:06:30 — Commissioner begins attacking Richard Boyle.
(duration time) 01:15:20 — Commissioner claims IGT report cleared the ATO. (Note: This is untrue.)
(duration time) 01:22:00 — Commissioner finishes opening statement.
(duration time) 01:25:30 — ALP Senator Katy Gallagher asks questions.
(duration time) 01:28:30 — A shocked Senate Committee suspends proceedings to privately consider what to do.
(duration time) 01:37:45 — The hearing restarts. Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick makes comments.
(duration time) 01:46:20 — Finishes.

Note the restrained but shocked reaction of the Senators.

There has been massive media coverage. Including The Australian (‘Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan flays media over ‘whistleblower’ coverage’), The Age/SMH (‘Tax Commissioner attacks ‘out of control’ press over whistleblower reporting’), The Mandarin (‘ATO responds to press freedom campaign’),  the ABC (‘Tax boss Chris Jordan hits back at ATO whistleblowers and media reporting’), the AFR (‘ATO boss Chris Jordan attacks whistleblowers’), the SMH/Age (‘”Absolute devastation”: The whistleblower who will “never work again” after helping tax watchdog’), the SMH (‘ATO appalling in its treatment of public servant, says Fair Work Australia’)  and the SMH/Age (‘ATO’s Chris Jordan seeks to shoot the messenger’).

Following the Senate hearing, Greens Senator Whish-Wilson has asked for the Tax Commissioner’s statements to be ‘expunged’ from the official Hansard. The media report states that “Senator Whish-Wilson requested this happen given information provided by Mr Jordan ‘went beyond what was public knowledge’, was subject to pending court proceedings, and the individuals named had no immediate right of reply”. But can what has been said so publicly be ‘undone’? Justice is at stake!

It would be for a court to decide, but has the Tax Commissioner just made a fair trial for Richard Boyle now impossible? Has the course of justice been perverted under parliamentary privilege?

The behaviour of the ATO reminds us repeatedly of the banks denying financial misbehavior, the churches denying sexual abuse by clergy, large firms denying underpayment of workers and more. In those instances the large organizations’ behaviour seems to fit a set pattern which involves:

  • Denying the evidence of their bad behavior.
  • Attacking the people who expose the bad behavior.
  • Claiming the organization is nonetheless good.

Every time the pressure builds until there is an explosion. When that happens:

  • The truth overwhelms the denials by the large organization.
  • All hell breaks loose.
  • The top people in the organization are forced to resign or are sacked.
  • The task of cleaning up the organization begins.
Because the ATO is an arm of government, ‘all hell breaking loose’ will not happen until the government considers that the ATO is doing damage to it politically. Events are inevitably heading in that direction. The question is: How long will it take for the Morrison government to reach that conclusion?

We need your help to defend democracy from an aggressive ATO bureaucracy—Richard Boyle GoFundMe

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This is a very special appeal for your help to defend against the ATO small business bully.

We’re asking you to contribute to the legal defence fund for Richard Boyle, the ATO whistleblower. We consider Richard a hero for democracy. He exposed the truth about ATO abuse at great personal risk to himself and his family. We must support Richard.

Richard is facing a staggering 161 years in jail under ATO prosecution. Mass murderers don’t face this. It demonstrates the vindictiveness of the ATO.

Richard provided key evidence in the Four Corners exposé ‘Mongrel Bunch of Bastards’, which aired last year. The program triggered a tsunami of media, parliamentary and official reports that continued throughout 2018 and into this year—all confirming the ATO’s bullying behaviour.

The facts of Richard’s situation are as follows:

  • He worked for the ATO for some 13 years specialising in the debt-collection area. That’s the area where the ATO can take money from your bank account without your permission or knowledge. The ATO can do this if they think you owe money. No proof needed!
  • Richard witnessed the ATO undertaking aggressive and dubious processes to grab money.
  • He lodged an official, internal ATO report on this. He was told to shut up and ignore the ATO’s bad behaviour.
  • Richard then lodged an official report to the ATO investigator, the Inspector-General of Taxation and told his story on Four Corners.
  • The ATO raided his house and sacked him.
  • Now the ATO is prosecuting Richard.
  • The official Inspector-General’s Report confirmed Richard’s allegations of ATO misbehaviour as did several other official reports.

The ATO has a river of money to fund its prosecution of Richard. Richard is unemployed.

There are times when we must stand together. Otherwise democracy and the rule of law mean nothing. Richard is a hero. We need to stand with heroes. Richard deserves to have the funds to conduct a proper legal defence. That’s the least that we can do. Please give.

It doesn’t matter how small your contribution. But please give what you can afford.

You can donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.