Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to introduce the chamber to a woman named Sally McDow. She was made redundant after she blew the whistle on corporate malfeasance at Origin Energy in 2015. After she did that, but before she was made redundant, she found herself undermined, derided, marginalised and threatened with termination, before finally being made redundant. She emerged as one of the lucky ones. Her life was relatively intact, she was a highly experienced lawyer and she had a very close and supportive family. So Ms McDow was able to withstand the immense pressure and she was also able to find herself a new sense of purpose. She, in fact, launched the first ever court case that tested the strength of Australia's corporate whistleblower scheme in 2016, and she created her own law firm, CPR Partners, a firm that supports fellow whistleblowers and also trains corporations on their obligations. She says that the people who she has helped have had their lives all but destroyed for speaking out. In her words, 'No-one wants to be a whistleblower because it is just a fate worse than—well, you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.'

Australia's current private sector whistleblower laws are fragmented and confusing. Civil remedies are limited. Claimants are exposed to legal cost risks.