In regard to the latter, Australians will understand that one of the cruelest results of his incarceration is that David and Jake, his much loved registered carer dog, have been separated.

I can verify that, wherever we went in Sydney, David needed Jake to be with him at all times. As a result David, and especially his dog are grieving terribly.

As yet, no major Australian newspaper or media outlet beyond Canberra has followed up this important story of what I argue are cruel and unusual punishments at the AMC.

When I inquired of two editors of widely read national  newspapers why they are not now covering or investigating David McBride’s current situation, their response was exactly the same. McBride pleaded guilty.

But Australians need to be reminded that, at his trial, David McBride’s lawyers planned for a public interest defence. They argued that knowledge of criminal behaviour regarding the war in Afghanistan was in the public interest.

When Judge David Mossop ruled that there can be no public interest defence in regard to Australian Defence Forces  personnel, Mr McBride had no other option than to plead guilty to the charges against him.

Surely it indisputable that most followers of mainstream media would  find it strange, if not repugnant, that in the year 2024 the legal duty of our defence forces is to the British monarch and not to the Australian people!

Despite the negative media response, it is pleasing to report that there have been some important positive developments.

As a result of the CityNews piece outlining what I regard as David McBride’s “inhumane” treatment while imprisoned in Canberra, a leading Australian professional, Alex Kaye, contacted his father, Robert Kaye SC who works in Sydney.

Alex has informed me that Robert Kaye SC is pleased to assist Mr McBride pro bono in order to support his legal team in the ACT Court of Appeal. This could be of considerable help to David’s lawyer, Ms Eddie Lloyd, who although currently on extended leave is pursuing David’s case. It is also newsworthy that one of his most active supporters is his ex-wife, Sarah McBride.

Tony Wakeham, a close neighbour in the Sydney suburb of Redfern, and a fellow advocate of publicising David’s current conditions at the AMC, has just told me that  he is now prepared to talk on the record about David’s physical and mental deterioration. Readers may remember that some of Mr Wakeham’s email about David’s poor treatment formed part of my piece published last week in CityNews

But since then, some deeply disturbing revelations about prisoner mistreatment at the AMC have been sent to me

The parents of a son incarcerated with David in Canberra have informed me that, while conditions in the prison may look fine on paper, many of them are currently not being adhered to. If required, both parents are also willing to talk to the media, if their revelations do not cause their son to be targeted. For that reason, I have not included their names or addresses

Today I received this powerful statement from their son.

“Although AMC is a prison in a jurisdiction with human rights legislation, there is no mechanism in place to ensure that the policies and practices of the prison are actually compliant with human rights. This results in conditions that directly contrast the protections that have been enshrined in human rights instruments to protect those deprived of their liberty from abuse.

“In AMC, phone calls, visits, exercise, education, health care, food purchases, even being held in accommodation that aligns with a prisoner’s security classification are considered privileges, all to be withheld on a whim ( my emphasis),

“The result is a dangerous and hostile environment where rehabilitative endeavours are all but prohibited. Couple this with the punitive emphasis that the ACT places on its parole processes, imposing onerous conditions that make community reintegration impossible, and the causes of the ACT’s criminal justice failures start to become apparent.”

It will come as no surprise that a 2021 report by the Australian Productivity Commission recorded the ACT as having the highest  recidivism rate in the country.

As David McBride’s fellow inmate at the AMC has written: “This is not simply an issue for bleeding hearts: anyone opposed to state sanctioned cruelty, who believes in the rule of law, or considers community safety to be a matter of import should be calling for this prison to be overhauled, and those who oversee the practices of the AMC held to account.”

Given the fact that the AMC houses about 400 prisoners, and David McBride has only been imprisoned since May, the deaths of two prisoners in his time there surely should be enough for someone in authority to  take notice of what is occurring and for the media to conduct a thorough investigation.

Although on leave McBride’s lawyer Ms Lloyd said: “We are looking forwards  to seeing justice delivered and David free – back with his daughters, friends and in the wider Sydney community. But we cannot do this without the public’s support. As the federal government will spend millions of dollars opposing the appeal we are asking the Australian public to donate to his online legal fundraiser.”

This is at chuffed.org/project/davidmcbride.

If Australians want to know more about David McBride, I strongly suggest that they they buy or borrow his revealing  book, The Nature of Honour, which is available on his website.

It may be pertinent to remind Australians  that, for 28 years,  I served on the Queensland Parole Board and the NSW State Parole Authority. During that time I visited many prisons. Thus I am deeply conscious about how inmates should, and perhaps more importantly can, be treated.

Ross Fitzgerald AM is Emeritus Professor of History and Politics at Griffith University. Three of his many books are about alcoholism and addiction. Professor Fitzgerald’s most recent publication is a boxed set of four Australian political satires, The Ascent of Everest (Hybrid Publishing, 2024), co-authored with Ian McFadyen of ‘Comedy Company’ fame.

‘Inhumane’ treatment of imprisoned David McBride