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The overall goal of
Whistleblowers Australia Inc. 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 supports initiatives and ongoing efforts to create a culture in
which people can speak out without reprisal. The following are some
long-running campaigns:
- Free speech for employees and
others. Repressive legislation and bureaucracies inhibit many
workers from making disclosures. Comprehensive legislative reform is
needed to enshrine the right of private- and public-sector employees
and others to speak out on matters of social importance in the wider
public interest.
- Immunity from prosecution for
journalists. Current legislation places a journalist at risk of
prosecution for contempt for refusing to reveal a whistleblower's
identity in court proceedings. Comprehensive legislative reform is
needed to enshrine the right of a journalist to put the public's right
to know ahead of any government or other interest without fear of
prosecution in the absence of any national security risk.
- Challenging defamation
restraints. Australia's defamation laws are mainly helpful to
the rich and powerful and frequently operate to prevent the exposure of
harmful, possibly corrupt behaviour by way of confidential settlements
that deny the public its right to know. Legislation needs to be
reformed to limit satisfaction to a full public correction of the
alleged defamatory statements prominently displayed in the news media,
together with a full disclosure of the grounds of settlement.
Defamation suits should not be permitted to remain a litigation
opportunity.
- Whistleblowing legislation.
Whistleblowers can be protected by laws against reprisals. In 2010
there are whistleblowing acts in every state and territory, with no
conformity between them. All have severe flaws and have been criticised
by whistleblower-supporting organisations. One problem is that they
don't actually provide protection against attacks in the first
place.
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