As part of their electoral campaign, the Greens have announced a plan to protect public interest whistleblowers, including a Whistleblower Protection Commissioner, and legislation to ensure public servants can participate in the democratic process outside of work.
ACT Greens Senate candidate Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng and Senator Larissa Waters, Greens co-deputy leader and public sector spokesperson, said this would protect the independence, integrity, and democratic rights of Australian public servants.
In 2016, the Moss Review highlighted the need to strengthen the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 and improve protections for whistleblowers, they said. More than five years later, the Greens believe, the government has failed to act on most of the key recommendations. This has left whistleblowers vulnerable and reluctant to call out misconduct, which only benefits those who want their misconduct to remain hidden, they claim.
Dr Goreng Goreng, herself a public interest whistleblower, said she was pleased the Greens recognised that public servants can face considerable risks for calling out corruption, lies, and misuse of public money.
“I have been in the position where I knew the government was lying, and had to weigh up the public interest in disclosing that against the risk of losing my job,” she said. “My decision resulted in the government spending more than $3 million taking me through the courts, forcing me to sell my home and ultimately bankrupting me, and ending...
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday alleged that the entire press conference conducted by Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Gaurav Gogoi was based on material supplied by ...