system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: When someone whistleblows illegally, why does that seem that the whistleblower always gets charged for their crime, but the people they expose get away scot free?

Especially seems to be the case with any government corruption or like that new story about Tony Abbott's corrupt scholarship for his daughter. Seems like breaching privacy is far more enforced than the actual corruption being exposed.
gpt
Unfortunately, despite constant assertions to the contrary, it's because the law is not applied equally even in countries we treat as the pinnacle of democracies. 

Being a powerful government figure or a strong organization routinely trumps being a lone individual.

Powerful forces can rally better legal defense, greater public outreach, greater influence in the public conversation, exhaust and outlast your resources, or potentially subvert the legal process altogether through careful maneuvering or the generous application of 'funding' and 'favor' in the right places.