Dr Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Justice spokesperson
The Greens are proud to see our Bill to fix the Public Interest Disclosures Act 2002 pass the House of Assembly this evening. It was heartening to see both the Liberal and Labor Parties, and the crossbench, support our whistleblower legislation in the wake of the ‘Motion for Respect’ Report.
As the law currently stands, a whistleblower with information regarding Members of Parliament could only disclose it to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, or President of the Legislative Council. This is the case even if the information is about the Speaker or the President themselves.
It is a different set of rules than for other public officials – where a whistleblower can go to the Integrity Commission or Ombudsman.
We are pleased to have tripartisan and crossbench support for our legislative fix for whistleblowers, to protect against reprisal. It is a good sign as we move forward as a Parliament with workplace reforms for respect and safety.
The current system could too easily have been exploited for political purposes. There was an obvious need for change.
The Greens are very proud of the Parliamentary unity ticket on our important whistleblower reforms. MPs and their staff should be accountable to the same set of rules as other public officers, and it’s appropriate the whole House supported our amendment Bill.