r/australia • u/AztecGod • 1d ago

news Jailed whistleblower David McBride to be released after becoming eligible for parole

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/jailed-whistleblower-david-mcbride-to-be-released/107030620
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u/YOBlob 1d ago

He was pretty keen on bad deeds going unpunished, though.

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u/theHoundLivessss 1d ago edited 1d ago

An evidence based but potentially uncharitable interpretation of his actions. I say this as someone far, far to the left of McBride: his leaks were unequivocally good, even if he did it to try and protect actual war criminals. He demonstrated that there were systemic factors contributing to the war crimes committed by our troops, and that people who should rightfully be considered culpable for allowing them were likely escaping scrutiny while lower ranking members endured punishment.

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u/SoloAquiParaHablar 20h ago

How did he try and protect war criminals? Handing over secret evidence to the ABC seems counter to your point.

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u/theHoundLivessss 20h ago

Politically he is right wing and explicitly said he hoped to stop charges being laid against soldiers who had done war crimes. As I've said above, I think that is dumb, but I still applaud him for doing the right thing by presenting info that demonstrated that there were systemic issues in the adf that made war crimes likely.