00:00It was a sombre mood inside the courtroom today with some of Richard Boyle's supporters
00:06visibly distressed as they heard sentencing submissions from his defence and the prosecution.
00:12The former Australian Tax Office debt collection officer became an internal whistleblower in
00:17October 2017 after becoming concerned about certain operations including allegations of
00:23heavy-handed tactics on taxpayers who owed the ATO money. Back in May he pleaded guilty
00:29to disclosing and making a record of protected information, using a listening device to record
00:34private conversations and recording another person's tax file number. In court his defence
00:41asked the judge to consider that Mr Boyle has no prior convictions and believed he was genuinely
00:46acting in the public's interest. They also outlined the significant personal and financial impact of
00:52the ongoing legal action. A supporter says it's been a challenging time. Richard has been
00:58dragged to hell and back. I know this because there's been times in which I've you know called
01:05him and got involved to try and assist him get through some really hard times. Mr Boyle's defence
01:13also said he's remorseful and has a low risk of re-offending. I'm hoping that her honour will
01:19simply make a no conviction ruling and then Richard can get on with his life.
01:28The prosecutors want the judge to record a conviction. They described Mr Boyle's actions as a very serious
01:34breach of the law and said prison time is warranted but they're not opposed to it being suspended.
01:40Mr Boyle shook his head from the dock as the prosecution disputed elements of his remorse. The judge
01:47will hand down her sentence later this month.
Comments