Page 4681 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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I think it is important to recap exactly what this legislation does. First and foremost, we believe that this Bill sends a message to every public servant in the Territory - not that they are all doing a bad job; quite the opposite - that there is now something happening. It says to them that, if there is something happening in their workplace that they do not believe is right, now there is something that they can do about it, without fear of reprisal.
Mr Berry: What about the legislation that is already there?
MRS CARNELL: I will talk about that, if you like, as the committee reports did. It gives our public sector employees real power to act on any sort of improper conduct that happens in their particular areas of influence. We believe that that is very appropriate. Not only does it protect them in times when they are looking at a promotion, Madam Speaker; it also stops them being hassled in the workplace and it stops transfers that a particular public servant does not want. My Bill goes beyond the public service as well, Madam Speaker, as, I am sure, everybody in this house would be aware.
The legislation will establish procedures to encourage employees to disclose any illegal or improper conduct or to identify waste of public resources. It protects people who come forward from any reprisals they might face because of these disclosures, and it ensures that any disclosures made about improper conduct will be properly investigated and acted upon. It also protects persons who resist any efforts by an employer to make them commit a crime or to conceal any sort of offence. This sort of legislation is being looked at, or has been enacted, all over Australia. As we know, there has been a quite significant committee process carried out in the Federal parliamentary area. A very good committee report was tabled in August this year. Many of the parts of my legislation here are paralleled by the recommendations made by the Federal committee in the area.
The amendments were circulated last night, as everybody would be aware. They are not dramatic amendments, but they are the amendments that were recommended by the committee. A recommendation of the committee that I totally support is to substitute for the word "corrupt" the word "disclosable". I agree with the Select Committee on the Establishment of an ACT Public Service when they expressed some concerns about the word "corrupt". I think that, when I actually appeared before the committee, I also made the comment that I could see the problems. I am sure that Nick Greiner shares the concern about that word, because a lot of the problems from which he suffered were due to the fact that the word "corrupt" has all sorts of connotations in the community generally. They were certainly connotations that I did not anticipate when I used that word initially in the definitions. I think that changing the word "corrupt" to "disclosable" is substantially better, and it gets over any of the connotations that could exist with that particular word.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! It being 12.30 pm, the debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 77, as amended by temporary order.
Sitting suspended from 12.30 to 2.30 pm
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