reflect any actual belief that the conduct did not involve criminal offending at the time that it occurred.
Mental disorders
184․ Counsel for Mr McBride submitted that the court should find that, prior to and during the period that he engaged in the conduct of taking the copies of the ADF documents home and then passing some of them on to journalists, he suffered from a number of mental disorders which materially contributed to his offending. It was submitted that the court should find that he developed PTSD during his deployment in Afghanistan in 2011 and particularly in the latter half of 2013.
185․ Counsel for Mr McBride principally relied upon the evidence in Mr Borenstein's report, which records the first diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder in 2013 and Mr McBride's medical discharge from the Army in 2017 following a diagnosis of PTSD. Mr Borenstein expressed the opinion that, during the offending, Mr McBride was suffering from symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder and combined Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders as well as PTSD. He also expressed the opinion that the level of disturbance to his thought, mood, volition, perception and memory impaired Mr McBride's emotional wellbeing, judgment and behavioural choices.
186․ The foundation for the opinion of Mr Borenstein is undermined by what Mr McBride told the author of the intensive correction order assessment report:
Mr McBride acknowledged his consumption of alcohol had escalated prior to and during the commission of the offences. He also recognised his diagnosis of PTSD had come shortly after the offending occurred. Despite this, he denied that alcohol or his mental health played a role in his decision to offend. He stated he was currently [abstinent] from alcohol and still believed he made the correct choice. Mr McBride also advised he believed his PTSD was, in part, caused by the offences.
187․ Notwithstanding Mr McBride's denial, there is no basis upon which to reject the statement in Mr Borenstein's report that "in 2013, following return from deployment to Afghanistan, he was diagnosed to be suffering with Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD". It is not clear whether it was his underlying personality or his declining mental health which led to him becoming obsessed with the conduct of senior management of the ADF. Both propositions appear to be consistent with Mr Borenstein's opinion. However, it is likely that the stress caused by the years of offending conduct after his return from deployment contributed to the decline in his mental health. It is in that context that it is possible to accept the opinion of Mr Borenstein that during the offending period Mr McBride was suffering with symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder, combined Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders and PTSD. It is also possible to accept that his mental health condition made a material, if only minor, contribution to his offending conduct.
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