Whistleblowers could receive multimillion-dollar rewards for disclosing corporate and government wrongdoing under a plan being advocated by crossbench politicians, lawyers, academics and transparency bodies.
A similar arrangement in the United States has resulted in whistleblowers receiving rewards of up to $US104 million ($159 million), as was the case for former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfeld in 2012, which advocates said was often necessary because of the career damage caused by speaking out against wrongdoers.
Clancy Moore, chief executive of Transparency International Australia, said whistleblowers were the most important factor in bringing issues of harm into the spotlight but “too often they end up punished and not protected”.
Sharon Kelsey, who was fired after reporting the misconduct of a former Queensland mayor, said blowing the whistle should be safer. “Standing up for what’s right shouldn’t have to come at the great personal cost it currently does,” Ms Kelsey said.
Establishing a reward scheme is one of 10 design principles underpinning a Whistleblower Protection Authority Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is being urged to establish in the government’s next tranche of reforms.
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