Whistleblowers Australia Inc. is an
association for those who have
exposed
corruption or any form of malpractice, especially if they were then
hindered
or abused, and for those who are thinking of exposing it or who wish
to
support those who are doing so.
Please use the link at the left for contact information, or
scroll
down for membership details.
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2009 National Conference and AGM of
Whistleblowers Australia
5 & 6 December 2009
Conference Theme: Blowing the Whistle in the Workplace
The Conference and AGM will be held at Aquinas College at The
University of Adelaide. An invitation and further information may be
found in the PDF file WBA_2009_Conference.pdf.
Conference fees are low, and low-cost B&B accommodation is also
available in the college.
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Whistleblowers
A person is a whistleblower by her/his actions and does
not
need
to be registered or identified with any organisation.
The goal of Whistleblowers Australia (WBA) is to help
promote
a
society in which it is possible to speak out without reprisal about
corruption,
dangers to the public and environment, and other vital social issues,
and
to help those who speak out in this way to help themselves.
WBA uses two main approaches to achieve this goal. The first
is to
encourage
self-help and mutual help among whistleblowers, and the second is to
support
campaigns on specific issues.
Self-help and mutual help
The best ways for whistleblowers to succeed in their own
efforts is
for
them to develop their own skills and understanding and to exchange
insights
with others in similar situations. WBA facilitates self-help by
providing
articles and leaflets to whistleblowers and by publishing a newsletter.
The organisation facilitates mutual help by holding meetings of
whistleblowers
and supporters, and by providing contacts with like-minded individuals
and groups.
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Campaigns
WBA supports initiatives and ongoing efforts to create a
culture
where
people can speak out without reprisal. Some campaigns are the following:
- Whistleblower legislation. Whistleblowers can be protected
by
laws
against
reprisals. In 1996 there were five whistleblower acts in Australia,
with
no conformity between them. All have severe flaws and have been
criticised
by whistleblower organisations. One problem is that they provide no
protection
against attacks in the first place.
- Free speech for employees. Repressive legislation and
bureaucracies
inhibit
many workers from making disclosures. This legislation needs to be
repealed.
The right of private sector employees to speak out on issues of social
importance also needs to be promoted.
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The Organisation
WBA began as Whistleblowers Anonymous in 1991, and was
incorporated
is its present form in 1993. Membership is open to anyone who supports
the goals of the organisation. Members include charity workers,
church
employees, corporate employees, doctors, police, public servants,
researchers,
teachers and concerned citizens in general.
WBA has a committee or contact in each state, plus a
national
committee.
Some of the state committees organise regular meetings for
whistleblower
self-help and mutual help. The national committee maintains links
between
state groups, handles memberships, produces a newsletter and helps
promote
campaigns.
In the few years since it was set up, WBA has accomplished a
great
deal.
It has promoted whistleblower legislation, called for royal commissions
into corruption and generally given whistleblowing a much higher
profile.
Just as important is its quiet work in supporting individual
whistleblowers.
It provides enormous benefits from shared expertise, moral support,
access
to research, and links to relevant networks.
Nevertheless, there are limits to what WBA can do. It
does not
normally
act as an advocate for individual whistleblowers. It has only minimal
funds
obtained from memberships. All committee members act on a voluntary
basis.
Unfortunately, WBA does not have the resources to campaign on any
individual's
behalf. What WBA can do is provide information and contacts so that
whistleblowers
and their supporters can become more effective in achieving their own
goals.
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Unauthorised News Releases in the Name of
Whistleblowers
Australia, Inc.
Readers should note the following Policy on News Releases,
Comment
to Media, etc. that was passed as a motion at the AGM on 1
December,
1996, in Sydney:
Any member of the national executive can issue a news
release or
comment to the media. In normal circumstances, news releases should be
checked first with another member of the executive, typically the
president,
vice-president or director. In all cases, approval should be sought in
advance from anyone whose name is given in a release. The same sort of
policy should be followed by branches, with variations depending on
branch
structure.
At present, there is no State Branch or media office in Victoria,
although
WBA does have contacts in that State. Only approved news releases may
be
considered to be genuine news releases from Whistleblowers Australia.
The
current office-bearers on the National Committee may be found on the
following
page: http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/contacts/au_wba/committee.html.
(This link should open in a new page; if it does not, you may need to
change your browser setting or right-click the link and select the menu
option to do so.) |
Membership
Membership of Whistleblowers Australia costs $25 per
annum. Here
is a link to the application
form.
Membership includes a subscription to our newsletter, The Whistle.
Associate Membership is also available for $12 per annum
to
people on low incomes. (Excludes The Whistle.)
The activities of Whistleblowers Australia Inc. depend on
voluntary
work by members and supporters. We value the ideas, time, expertise and
involvement of our members and supporters.
Whistleblowers Australia is funded entirely from membership fees,
donations
and bequests.
This site is maintained by the NSW Branch of Whistleblowers
Australia.
We encourage all netizens
to boycott and dissociate themselves from the following senders of
spam/UBE: Dr.
Jeffrey C. K.
Lim (PI ETA Consulting
Co) mailto:marketing@pi-eta.com marketing@pi-eta.com and
Stephen Clark (Steve Clark) mailto:sclarkp@bigpond.com
sclarkp@bigpond.com.
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