Support for stronger whistleblower protections has reached an all-time high. The Labor government has an opportunity to fulfil its promises and deliver meaningful change.

Recent polling research shows 87% of Australians support stronger legal protections for whistleblowers. This is an all-time high, and a slight increase on what were then record high support levels one year ago.

The polling, undertaken by the Australia Institute in partnership with the Human Rights Law Centre and Whistleblower Justice Fund, also found that four in five Australians (81%) think that whistleblowers make Australia a better place.

Levels of support are high across all Australians, regardless of voting intention – from One Nation to the Greens. Whistleblower protection is an issue that unites the public.

Time to act

These results are salient given recent events. Just weeks ago, KPMG Australia’s CEO and other senior leaders resigned over the mishandling of a whistleblower’s complaint. The whistleblower raised concerns that confidential client information was being misused to win major, lucrative auditing contracts.

These concerns only came to light after Labor Senator Deborah O’Neill raised them in the Senate, under the protection of parliamentary privilege.

The scandal has rocked corporate Australia and entangled many beyond KPMG. Lendlease has dropped KPMG as its auditor, ending a 68-year-long relationship. Several investigations are underway: the parliamentary joint committee on corporations...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiowFBVV95cUxOdDlheUEtUEFjazVIN3BFVEJj...