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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-05-27 Daily Xml
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STATUTES AMENDMENT (PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE) BILL

Introduction and First Reading

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (10:58): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Public Sector Act 2009 and the Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993. Read a first time.

Second Reading

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (10:59): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Whistleblowers Protection Act 1993, in particular section 5, outlines immunity for appropriate disclosure of public interest information. A disclosure is made to an appropriate authority pursuant to the provisions of that act if it is made to a minister of the Crown or a number of other government agencies and officials. This legislation is consistent with balancing the need for protecting the business of government in its necessary work and, in particular, the need to ensure that employees in the Public Service, in their contractual arrangements, clearly understand and recognise the importance of the confidentiality of information that comes before them in their work.

We all know that from time to time it is important that events or information coming before a member of the Public Service be reported and, essentially, this legislation ensures that public servants know to whom that information can be reported and also that they are protected against prosecution or civil action that may arise as a result of their speaking out. That is particularly pertinent in the case of this government, where there have been many examples of this.

I will refer today to one of those examples, which I experienced when I was shadow minister for health. There was blanket suppression, a crushing of the right of anyone who happened to be employed by the Department of Health to have any say or make any statement contrary to the government's policy regarding its intention to bulldoze the Royal Adelaide Hospital and rebuild it down the other end of North Terrace. Employees were vilified by the minister, memorandums were issued, and threats were made regarding their future employment as a result of their speaking out as ordinary members of the community and daring to criticise the government.

The opposition believes that this umbrella of suppression over the ordinary people of South Australia, including public servants, needs to be remedied. The amendments in this bill ensure a public interest disclosure provision enabling greater opportunity to make a statement in circumstances where it is in the public interest and the disclosure reported.

These amendments provide a number of areas of extra protection. One protects disclosures made to the media where matters have already been disclosed internally or externally. That is, for example, where the public servant has gone to the minister or their boss within the department but that party has not acted within a reasonable time, having regard to the nature of the matter, and the matter threatens immediate serious harm to public health and safety. This is entirely consistent with recommendations put at the federal level in its review, and the Liberal Party considers it is absolutely imperative that this be included.

The annual report provided by each sector must include a description of the agency's public interest and disclosure and investigation system, and contain information about disclosure of public interest information to the responsible officers, as well as the outcome of those investigations, as part of the mechanism to ensure that this is implemented. Of course, there are definitions of public interest information, with the insertion of the act of victimisation, to ensure there is immunity for appropriate disclosures under this provision.

The role of the Ombudsman is amended to provide for a practice or procedure relating to the handling of an investigation of a disclosure of public interest information, also providing that an act or omission in a response to the disclosure of public interest information is an administrative act. This enables us to utilise the Ombudsman's protection in terms of the supervision involved in ensuring this occurs.

There are in the principal act many other areas that we consider need some reform, but this is consistent with what has occurred federally. We consider that there is a high level of need in this state for this provision, and this bill will go some way to ensuring that we have that balance, in light of the conduct of the government to date on these matters. I urge members to support this bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Sibbons.

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