A group of crossbenchers have joined forces to announce a new Bill to establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority that would safeguard those who speak up about corruption and wrongdoing.
Dr Helen Haines, Jacqui Lambie, Andrew Wilkie and David Pocock have said they will introduce their Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill to parliament after the summer break.
The Bill would introduce new protection laws for whistleblowers, while also establishing an independent agency to enforce the laws. It would safeguard whistleblowers across the public and private sectors.
“It is unconscionable that whistleblowers are still being prosecuted in Australia for doing the right thing and speaking up against wrongdoing,” Wilkie said on Tuesday.
“Whistleblowers make Australia a better place, but the government is failing to provide adequate support and protections, and is instead hell-bent on punishing anyone who speaks up and deterring those who might.
“A Whistleblower Protection Authority is long overdue and is something the Labor Party promised before the 2019 Federal Election. The government must end the war against whistleblowers by supporting my bill. Only then can we ensure whistleblowers are protected, not punished, prosecuted or imprisoned.”
The Bill will be introduced by Wilkie and Haines in the House of Representatives and by Senator Pocock and Senator Lambie in the Senate during the first two sitting weeks of 2025.
Professor A J Brown AM, Chair of Transparency International Australia, noted there was insufficient oversight in existing approaches.
“We welcome the ongoing attention being placed on this vital issue across the political spectrum, for example as recently endorsed by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations report on the consulting sector, arising from the PwC scandal,” Brown said.
“Current piecemeal approaches aren’t working, especially due to lack of practical support, insufficient oversight and little enforcement of the protections.
“We look forward to the next steps in existing government reviews of both public sector and private sector whistleblowing laws – and to this Private Members Bill providing a tangible demonstration of what is possible, and needed, as part of these much-needed reforms.”
Former Logan City Council CEO Sharon Kelsey, who was dismissed from her role after reporting the misconduct of former mayor, Luke Smith, said she supported the whistleblower protection bill. Kelsey is now a member of Transparency International Australia’s national whistleblowing advisory group.
“As someone who has experienced the challenges firsthand, I know how critical it is to have robust protections and practical support for those who speak up,” she said.
“This Bill can provide a model for the practicable, enforceable safeguards that will ensure whistleblowers are supported, and not left carrying impossible burdens for doing the right thing.”
In Australia and across the world, trust in government is currently at an all time low. Recently, Dr Helen Haines, who has long advocated for better integrity in politics, suggested the new National Anti Corruption Commission had got off to a “disappointing start”.
The Australia Institute has also highlighted the key role that whistleblowers play in climate integrity. For years, environmental whistleblowers have helped expose wrongdoing of the government and private companies.
Meanwhile Kieran Pender, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said whistleblowers in Australia continue to face challenges in speaking up.
“At the Whistleblower Project, Australia’s first legal service for whistleblowers, we see firsthand the difficulties faced by whistleblowers in speaking up about government and corporate wrongdoing. Australia’s democracy suffers as a result,” Pender said.