STATUTES AMENDMENT (PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE) BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 27 May 2011.)

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (11:02): The member for Bragg, Ms Vickie Chapman MP, tabled the Statutes Amendment (Public Interest Disclosure) Bill 2010 in May 2010. The bill seeks to amend various provisions in the Public Sector Act 2009, the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993 and to affect the role of the Commissioner of Public Sector Employment and the Ombudsman.

The honourable member's bill considers that these amendments will enable greater opportunity for disclosure in the public interest. The Whistleblowers Protection Act facilitates the disclosure, in the public interest, of maladministration and waste in the public sector and of corrupt or illegal conduct generally.

This act provides both a means by which such disclosures may be made and appropriate protections for those who make disclosures. The Public Sector Act already requires that each public sector agency must ensure that there is a designated response officer for the purposes of the Whistleblowers Protection Act. Regulation 7 of the Public Sector Act requires reporting of the number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to the responsible officer.

The Public Sector Act also enables the Commissioner for Public Sector Management to investigate or assist investigations of matters in connection with public sector employee conduct as required by the Premier or, at least, at the request of the public sector agency. The commissioner may also investigate matters on the commissioner's own initiative, including on receipt of public interest information under the Whistleblowers Protection Act. Regulation 11 of the Public Sector Act requires the annual report of the commissioner to contain the number of occasions on which public interest information has been disclosed to the commissioner under the Whistleblowers Protection Act.

For information that is a public interest disclosure, the protection of the whistleblowers act automatically vests in the person making the disclosure. The bill does nothing to enhance the present scheme and may in fact unwittingly detract from its objectives. There is a need for all potential misconduct or inappropriate behaviour in or related to the public sector to be properly dealt with in line with the provisions of the following:

the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995, which contains provisions promoting honesty and the avoidance of conflict of interest by people in or affiliated with the public sector, and for dealing with instances of dishonesty and conflict of interest; and

the Code of Ethics for Public Sector Employees, which requires all public sector employees to report instances of improper conduct to the relevant authority.

The proposal to permit employees to disclose information to the media if the person in government to whom it had initially been disclosed had not acted on it 'within a reasonable time frame' is inherently problematic, as what is reasonable will inevitably be a matter of opinion and argument. Furthermore, how is a potential whistleblower to know whether their information has been acted on? For example, it may be that the person receiving the information has properly commenced making inquiries. Disclosing information to the media may frustrate any investigation and may also prematurely alert the alleged perpetrator.

The fact an investigation is occurring in this context is, for the most part, not a matter of public knowledge. Persons who disclose public interest information have no entitlement to be kept aware of the progress of an investigation, only the outcome of their disclosure. It is questionable whether the Public Sector Act is the correct legislation to contain extensive provisions for this disclosure, investigations and reporting of public interest information. However, this could be considered further. I think few would argue that there is a good case for review and amendment of the Whistleblowers Protection Act, but this should be carried out in a holistic way, rather than as proposed in the bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Pisoni.