letter to Attorney General (QLD) concerning whistleblower laws

Attorney General and Minister for Justice

GPO Box 149

BRISBANE QLD 4002

Dear Attorney,

Review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010

I write on behalf of the Council in relation to the above.

During the election campaign Mr Tim Nicholls, then shadow Attorney General, was quoted in the Australian on 24 OCT, 2024 as follows:

Mr Nicholls said an LNP  government would be “committed to delivering whistleblower protections and restoring integrity to government”. “While Labor has deliberately dropped the ball on whistleblower protections because their heart has never been in it, the LNP will introduce a new PID Act to better protect whistleblowers who call out wrongdoing,” Mr Nicholls said

I also note that in your charter letter from the Premier the following is listed as a key deliverable:

Deliver whistle-blower protections and restore integrity to government by introducing a new Public Interest Disclosure Act to better protect whistle-blowers who call out wrongdoing.

Justice Wilson’s report was published in June 2023. Whilst your government has been in office for only just over 12 months, we have no doubt that the bureaucracy has been working on this topic since the report was released. In our submission this matter requires urgent attention.

Therefore, I write to inquire as to when you propose to introduce the new Public Interest Disclosure Act.

I look forward to your reply.