Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Minimising secrecy and maximising transparency are obviously building blocks of a healthy democracy and are to be applauded, so the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026 is a worthwhile bill and is obviously supportable. It's supportable not just because of what it does but also because of the way it reminds us of what the government isn't doing, which is why I move the amendment circulated in my name. I move:

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia has been described as 'the most secretive democracy in the world' due to the proliferation of national security, counter-terrorism and secrecy laws, and the lack of whistleblower and public interest journalism protections; and

(b) despite the Labor party promising in its 2021 platform to overhaul and improve Australia's whistleblower protections, only small changes have been introduced to date, and protections remain patchwork and inadequate; and

(2) calls on the government to:

(a) introduce comprehensive reforms to the Public Interest Disclosure Act and the Corporations Act to better protect whistleblowers;

(b) introduce comprehensive reforms to the Crimes Act and Criminal Code Act and Evidence Act to better protect public interest journalism and media sources;

(c) establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority to oversee public and private sector whistleblowing; and

(d) establish a federal whistleblower rewards scheme encouraging whistleblowers to come forward and expose wrongdoing".

I pursue this matter at this time because, frankly, whistleblowers matter. They're one of the most fundamental building blocks of our democracy and one of the fundamental ways that we bring genuine transparency to the way this country is run. Where would we be? Where would we be without someone like Toni Hoffman, who you'd recall was the nurse at Bundaberg Hospital who blew the whistle on Dr Patel and the tragic deaths that occurred there over a period of years? Where would we be without Alan Kessing? He was the Sydney Airport customs officer who blew the whistle on the security lapses at Sydney Airport. Where would we be without Jeff Morris? He blew the whistle on misconduct at CommBank and the incompetence in ASIC and was one of the reasons we ended up having a royal commission into the financial services sector. Where would we be without Richard Boyle? He blew the whistle on the egregious conduct at the Australian Tax Office in Adelaide. David McBride blew the whistle and provided the evidence of war crimes in Afghanistan.

In my own work, there have been a number of whistleblowers that I've helped facilitate the disclosure of their information. You might remember the information that was revealed about Crown Casino, and I'm mindful of the whistleblower who provided me with the video footage of a group of young men in a private gaming room laundering literally an Aldi freezer bag full of cash, estimated to contain about $2 million—all because of a whistleblower. Troy Stolz, a former ClubsNSW compliance officer, provided the evidence of non-compliance with money laundering and counter-terrorism legislation at up to 95 per cent of registered clubs in New South Wales. What about the AFL whistleblower, the doctor from Melbourne, who revealed the evidence of secret drug testing within the AFL? Where would we be without the very brave Hillsong Church whistleblower? I think it was in this chamber on her behalf that I tabled something like 17 folders of hard evidence of shocking financial misconduct by the leadership of Hillsong Church.

These people should be celebrated, but instead they're ridiculed, persecuted, charged and jailed. Just look at those examples I've given you. Toni Hoffmann was undermined and ridiculed. Alan Kessing was charged and convicted. Jeff Morris, the bank whistleblower, was sacked by the bank. Richard Boyle from the ATO was charged, and mercifully there was no conviction recorded. David McBride, of course, is in jail only several kilometres from where we meet today. Troy Stolz was taken to court by ClubsNSW. The AFL whistleblower was ridiculed within the AFL and beyond. The Hillsong whistleblower is before the court as we speak. In fact, there's an AAP story circulating today about what's going on there. In other words, the protections just don't work for these people, whether they are in the public sector and are relying or leaning on the Public Interest Disclosure Act or whether they are with the private sector, perhaps relying on the relevant sections of the Corporations Act. They're just not working.

There was in fact—this is very timely—no better evidence of this than the report in the Australian Financial Review just three days ago on 10 May regarding Neometals executive Christian Reiche, who thought he was a whistleblower when he flagged governance and strategic risks at the battery technology company. In fact, I met with Christian Reiche about a year ago, and, from memory, one of the issues was an allegation of theft of intellectual property when it came to whatever Neometals was pursuing. I'll read this from the FinReview, so I'll get it right:

In a major judgment, the Full Federal Court has backed the company's decision to make Reiche redundant, finding that because the board and CEO subjectively believed his complaints were unfounded, or it was simply "part of his job to raise such matters", he was not protected by whistleblower laws.

For those who are listening to me and who are struggling to understand what I just said, I don't understand it myself. I think, in other words, this whistleblower was witness to serious misconduct, he spoke up, he thought he had the protection of the relevant part of the Corporations Act, but, because the management didn't regard him as a whistleblower, he was not protected by the whistleblower protections.

This is not a criticism of the court in any way, because the court entirely appropriately applied the law as it stands. The issue is that the law is a crock. In fact, isn't it interesting that there has not been one successful whistleblower in a compensation claim under both the federal public sector and the private sector whistleblower laws—not one successful claim for financial compensation under any of those laws since they've existed. Surely that is all the evidence we need that they need to be improved.

I'm delighted to see the Attorney-General in the Federation Chamber, and I do note that the government has been working on reform for some time. In fact, for at least the last four years, the Labor government has been talking about reform and have acknowledged the need for reform. Consultations have come and gone. I think consultations are forthcoming on the Corporations Act. But we measure success by outcomes, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act has not been amended in any substantive way, except for a few technical changes—dotted a few i's and crossed a few t's. There hasn't been the deep reform of the Public Interest Disclosure Act that is needed. I don't think the Corporations Act has been touched since Senator Rex Patrick did fabulous work in the Senate some years ago to get those provisions put in. So, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas, through you, I say to the Attorney-General: we've really got to get cracking on this, not just the PID but the Corporations Act as well. I find it unfathomable that Christian Reiche was witness to misconduct. I've spoken to this man personally. I am satisfied that he was witness to misconduct. But because the management at Neometals didn't regard him as a whistleblower—they thought it was just part of his normal job to observe things like intellectual property theft—the relevant part of the Corporations Act didn't apply. That's a very timely example that I'm able to bring to the Attorney-General's attention through you, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas.

Of course, it's not just amending those acts; there is also the pressing need for an independent whistleblower protection authority, as exists in a number of countries around the world. The fact is that whistleblowing in this country is diabolically difficult; it's incredibly difficult. For a start, you've got to be able to safely collect evidence of your complaint. We saw with Richard Boyle, the ATO whistleblower, that although, from memory, the court understood he was a whistleblower they found he wasn't protected by the relevant act because his collection of evidence was not covered by the act. Well, how can you blow the whistle if you can't collect evidence? The legislation is complex. Frankly, unless you're a lawyer in this area or unless you can go to something like an independent whistleblower authority to get advice, you're behind the game right from the start. There's such a high likelihood that you're going to stumble and fall foul of the law, just like Richard Boyle did. Fortunately, there was no conviction recorded against Richard Boyle in the end.

Apart from understanding the law, you need someone to mentor you through the process. Take the Public Interest Disclosures Act; there is a convoluted process with a series of hoops you have to jump through, and you need someone figuratively hold your hand and guide you through all those hoops, otherwise you will run afoul of the law. That's something we need to turn our minds to. It's come up from time to time in public utterances by the government, it exists in a number of other countries and it's something that would be very worthwhile.

I won't detain the House any longer. I will just say in closing that, yes, minimising secrecy and maximising transparency are building blocks of a healthy democracy and are to be applauded. I say, through you, Deputy Speaker Mascarenhas, to the Attorney-General: this is a worthwhile bill, and I hope it has the unanimous support of everyone in this House and in the other place, but it's almost a clarion call to get moving on all the other stuff—the big stuff, the more important stuff, the more helpful stuff, the stuff that will show whether or not this government has real integrity and is committed to minimising secrecy and maximising transparency and to celebrating the people who speak up and speak truth to power. I rattled off about 10 examples here of particular individuals. We should also be mindful of the thousands of Australians who speak up in all sorts of ways, whether it be about the organisation they're a member of, about the business they're an employee of or maybe about their local council. There are any number of things where people speak up, and for many of those whistleblowers it ends in tears. They will be bullied in the workplace, they'll be managed out or they'll be blatantly sacked. They will be ridiculed and marginalised. It leads to financial troubles. It leads to relationship troubles. No wonder the suicide rate for whistleblowers is markedly higher than the baseline rate in our community.

Whistleblowing in this country is almost impossibly difficult. I'm pleased people like Toni Hoffman, Allan Kessing, Jeff Morris, Richard Boyle, David McBride and Troy Stolz have enjoyed the publicity and the public support they have, but spare a thought for the thousands of other Australians who speak up and the local paper won't even give them the time of day—let alone having a story on the news that night, let alone capturing the attention of the media for a protracted period of time to make their case and to sandbag their position and be in a stronger position publicly.

In closing, while all of the hullabaloo caused by whistleblowers might well be a bugbear for organisations, it is nonetheless grist to the mill of Australia's democracy. Whistleblowers must be supported, and indeed celebrated, and not be the tall poppies that some people make them out to be.

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