Whistleblowers call for input to review

ISLA MacGREGOR, Whistleblowers Tasmania

Whistleblowers Tasmania were very disappointed with the scantiness of the Directions Paper on the PID Review.
The Review has skirted around the core issues at stake with good PID Laws. Only 8 submissions were received, two of which were from Whistleblowers Australia.

This is indicative of a lack of understanding in the concerned community of how vital good PID legislation is to any new anti-corruption body in Tasmania. PID legislation is like the small print on an insurance policy – don’t read it and you’re up the creek without a paddle. The Government ignored Whistleblowers Tasmania’s advice when drafting the first PID Act.

The Directions Papers recommendations have not changed the primary mechanisms within the current Act which has led to the failure of being used by whistleblowers.

It is disheartening to reflect on all the chest thumping that went on by the members in opposition, academics and legal eagles over the Parliamentary Inquiry into Ethics while not one of them has scrutinised the PID Act. The devil is always in the detail.

The time and money spent by the community to get the Ethics Inquiry up and running and of course the Inquiry itself will come to naught if the recommendations in the Directions Paper are implemented.

Considering the Government intends to slash 800 jobs from the Public Sector and that there has been no allocation in the recent budget for a new anti-corruption body, concerned members of the community need to get back to the job of keeping Government accountable and get their submission on the PID Act into the Justice Department by the 26th June.