Helen Haynes and David Pocock Launch Whistleblower Report

Australia was once the world leader in whistleblower protection, but has lagged far behind for more than two decades, a new report reveals Wednesday.

Independent MP Helen Haynes and Senator David Pocock launch ‘Australia’s Whistleblower Protection: A Commonwealth Roadmap’ to call on the government to reform whistleblower protections.

Produced by Griffith University, the report presents a 12-step roadmap to improving protection.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfuss has proposed new legislation to increase protections, but Dr. Haynes and Senator Pocock say more needs to be done.

It follows Monday’s parliamentary address from a colleague Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, He said he was handed thousands of pages of documents by coal industry whistleblowers.

Dr Haynes said Australia fell behind and had an opportunity to once again be at the forefront of best practice.

“What we’re seeing now is that when procedures against whistleblowers fail, when groups and companies turn on whistleblowers, federal agencies are now tasked with independent investigations of those people. No,” she told ABC Radio.

“They don’t have a safe home and it’s not clear what to do.

“I think (reform) is really necessary.”

Dr. Haynes tried to implement reforms through the Honesty Commission Act introduced during the Morrison administration, but the Albanian government’s National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill contained increased protections but still had holes. .

“They need to be rectified and they need to be rectified very quickly,” she said.

A report released Wednesday outlines the need for an independent whistleblower protection agency.