One of the nation's highest-profile corporate whistleblowers has accused the federal government of "fiddling while Rome burns", labelling integrity reforms as hypocritical considering the Commonwealth is still pressing ahead with two prosecutions.
Jeff Morris is a former Commonwealth Bank wealth adviser, whose decision to lift the lid on corrupt practices within the organisation helped trigger the banking royal commission.
In a submission to a Senate committee reviewing proposed changes to the nation's public interest disclosure (PID) regime, Mr Morris said the entire system needed an overhaul.
"It seems surreal to me that this question is even being asked in circumstances where the government is currently actively involved in prosecuting whistleblowers David McBride and Richard Boyle, having only recently discontinued the prosecution of Bernard Collaery," he said.
"To be amending the minutiae of the PID in these circumstances seems to be fiddling while Rome burns.
"The PID is manifestly unfit for purpose, in fact I believe it was a retrograde step, a cruel hoax holding out the prospect of a safe harbour which instead lures whistleblowers into the valley of death that is our legal system."
David McBride is currently being prosecuted for allegedly leaking top secret defence information to the ABC, while Richard Boyle is before the courts after disclosing unethical debt recovery practices within the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has knocked back demands to drop the case against Mr Boyle.
Late last year, Mr Dreyfus ordered the case against lawyer Bernard Collaery be dropped.
He had been charged with helping a former spy known as Witness K reveal details of an alleged spying operation in Timor Leste.
'Whistleblower protection agency'
Mr Morris, who was made a Member of the Order of Australia last month, urged the government to go much further than its planned legislative amendments.
"Imagine the amount of corruption in our society that would be exposed if all potential whistleblowers felt safe to come forward," he said.
"What would be required for this?
"A whistleblower protection agency covering all public and private sector whistleblowers, with the power to directly protect whistleblowers from retaliation, ensure their information is acted upon properly by the appropriate agency and award compensation to whistleblowers."
When announcing the proposed reforms in November last year, the attorney-general said the legislation would "strengthen protections for disclosures and introduce protections for witnesses" across the public sector.
Mr Dreyfus said it was only the first stage in reforming the PID, and noted the government would "also consult widely on whether there is a need to establish a whistleblower protection authority or commissioner".
The intention was to have the first round of reforms in place at the time the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) commenced operation in the middle of 2023.
Activist group GetUp shares Mr Morris's concerns, arguing the proposed changes "cover little of what is needed to fix our broken laws".
"The amendments are a continuation of the same piecemeal approach that has seen everyday people fall victim to inconsistencies and gaps in these laws," the organisation said in its submission.
The Centre for Public Integrity also backed calls for a whistleblower protection authority, to sit within the NACC.
