The 2020 annual reports for Saskatchewan’s Ombudsman and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner, Mary McFadyen, were tabled in the Legislature today. While some complaints to her Office continued . . .
The paper, authored by Ananian-Welsh, finds the laws create significant barriers for whistleblowers wanting to make their concerns public.
To be shielded by law, whistleblowers must almost always raise the issue internally first, and allow time for it to be investigated.
Only if the internal investigation is inadequate can they go public and, even then, it must be not against the public interest to do so.
The information the whistleblower discloses must be “disclosable conduct” – for example, illegal conduct, corruption, maladministration, or the abuse of public trust – and they must only say the bare minimum when talking publicly. No protection is offered for those blowing the whistle on intelligence matters externally.
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Blowing whistle on flawed laws
Employees and journalists who expose organisational corruption are in danger of criminal charges under severe and complex national security laws, according to University of Queensland academics.
UQ Law School’sDr Rebecca Ananian-Welsh and journalism academic Professor Peter Greste said the new laws would have made criminals of many whistleblowers who took their stories to the media in the past.
“Aside from COVID-19, the key stories from recent times have been about misconduct and abuse of power – by governments, banks, the Australian Defence Force, even parliamentary staffers,” Dr Ananian-Welsh said.
“All of those stories depended on whistleblowers, on people who’ve seen things go wrong inside government and businesses, and then went to the press as a whistle of last resort,” she said.
Pender said the case showed the urgent need for reform of Australia’s whistleblowing laws.
“The fact someone can be threatened with 160 years’ prison for exposing misconduct in the tax office highlights an urgent need for change,” he said.
Independent senator Rex Patrick was at court on Thursday in support of Boyle.
“I am proud to stand beside him in support. He is a hero,” he told the Guardian.
Patrick has begun discussions with the attorney general, Michaelia Cash, to express his strong view that it was not in the public interest to prosecute whistleblowers.
“The attorney’s attention has been drawn to the issue and this may well be her big first test,” he said.
The committee met once in early March but has yet to advertise seeking applicants for the job.
Created 40 years ago, the ombudsperson’s office in B.C. investigates some 8,000 complaints a year from the public about unfair government administration. Its jurisdiction includes provincial government ministries, Crown corporations, hospitals, health authorities, public schools, colleges, universities, local governments and regional districts.
In the last few years, the government has also tasked it with conducting investigations under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, whistleblower legislation aimed at protecting public sector employees who report allegations of wrongdoing.
The recommended budget for the office for 2021-2022 is $10.8 million, an increase of about 15.3 per cent from the previous year.