New evidence proves Australia’s whistleblower laws are failing
The Australian parliament must reform public and private sector whistleblowing law and establish a whistleblower protection authority to address the urgent need for accessible, legal support and protections for whistleblowers, the Human Rights Law Centre said on release of a new report.
The report follows the launch last week of the Human Rights Law Centre’s Whistleblower Project: Australia’s first dedicated, specialist legal service for whistleblowers.
Cost of Courage: Fixing Australia’s Whistleblower Protections compiles every whistleblower protection case to proceed to judgment across Australia and found there has not been a single successful decision for a whistleblower under the primary federal public or private sector laws. This is the first-time there has been such a comprehensive review of all whistleblowing cases.
Whistleblowers continue to face detriment within their own workplaces for speaking up about wrongdoing. They continue to be sued by their employers for speaking out; some are even being criminally prosecuted. Currently David McBride is facing prosecution for exposing war crimes in Afghanistan; Richard Boyle after revealing aggressive debt collection tactics at the Australian Taxation Office.
To coincide with the report and the launch of the Whistleblower Project, Essential Media conducted polling on the attitudes of Australians towards whistleblowing. More than two-thirds of respondents supported stronger protections for whistleblowers (71%), while 68% of respondents thought that whistleblowers should not be prosecuted by the government when they speak up in the public interest. A majority of respondents agreed that whistleblowers made Australia a better place (64%) and thought that the ongoing prosecutions of two whistleblowers should be dropped (58%).
Cost of Courage sets out key reforms, that if enacted, could see Australia’s whistleblowing laws at long last deliver on their intended purpose: to empower whistleblowers to be vital agents of accountability and justice.
A foreword by two of Australia’s leading investigative journalists, Adele Ferguson AM and Nick McKenzie, welcomes the report’s call for “greater practical and legal support for whistleblowers.” The pair add: “Protecting and empowering whistleblowers will lead to more transparency, more accountability and more impactful public interest journalism.”
Read: Cost of Courage: Fixing Australia’s Whistleblower Protections
Kieran Pender, Senior Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre:
“People who courageously speak up when they see something wrong are vital to ending cultures of impunity. They should be recognised as human rights defenders, not punished. Our laws should protect these individuals and hold accountable those in power who breach human rights, yet Australia is lagging behind global standards.”
“In recent years, courageous whistleblowers have braved risks to expose malpractice in the banking sector, environmental destruction, misogyny at the highest levels of our public institutions, abuses in offshore detention centres and war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan. But what don’t we know because prospective whistleblowers are staying silent?
“The Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC should fix the law and establish a whistleblower protection authority, to ensure that whistleblowers are protected, not punished and prosecuted.”
The Whistleblower Project
The Human Rights Law Centre’s has launched Australia’s first dedicated, specialist legal service for whistleblowers. The Whistleblower Project will provide expert legal support so whistleblowers can safely reveal wrongdoing under the protection of law, ensure the wrongdoing they disclose is dealt with promptly and fairly, and have an advocate who protects their rights. The Whistleblower Project will also continue the Human Rights Law Centre’s proud tradition of advocacy, law reform and policy work to strengthen whistleblower protections in Australia.
Read: Cost of Courage: Fixing Australia’s Whistleblower Protections
Media contact:
Thomas Feng
Media and Communications Manager
Human Rights Law Centre
0431 285 275
thomas.feng@hrlc.org.au