The Australian Government has finally released a discussion paper for fixing whistleblower laws but there are some serious shortcomings.
Join the Greens in calling on the Albanese Government to deliver whistleblower laws that will protect brave truth tellers.
The new whistleblower laws need to be strong enough to ensure whistleblowers can speak up for the good of all. This means there needs to be a whistleblower commission in the corner of whistleblowers, rewards for those who have risked everything to tell the truth, and laws that let whistleblowers get help to stand up for what’s right.
The Government must also intervene to drop the prosecutions.
Right now there are two high profile whistleblowers currently facing prison sentences for the crime of telling the truth.
David McBride told the truth about Australian war crimes in Afghanistan and the Commonwealth Government has ensured he can’t rely on the fact he did this in the public interest.
Richard Boyle blew the whistle on the tax office’s equivalent of robodebt and also faces a lengthy prison sentence under current broken whistleblower laws.
The Greens are calling on the Government to:
- Stop the prosecutions of genuine whistleblowers
- Commit to strong whistleblower laws with:
- A fully-funded whistleblower commission
- A clear focus on the public interest
- Financial support for whistleblowers