A chief objective of our site is to keep its users informed of current media and other publications on whistleblowing and related activities.

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Media

Newspapers (Local, National & International)

More workers are blowing the whistle in Japan, but the risks are still great -Martin Fackler
New York Times 9 June 2008

"A decade ago, corporate whistleblowing was almost unheard of in Japan. A person's place of employment was part of his identity, and unflinching company loyalty was the highest of virtues. But the unquestioningly obedient salary earner is becoming a relic, the result of a broader transformation of Japan and the global economy."

"Now, lawyers and economists say Japanese workers are beginning to speak out — despite a still-potent risk of ostracism because of the widely held view that such disclosure constitutes betrayal. "

Phoning It In  John Mc Partlin CFO Magazine  27 February, 2007

.. recent study of nearly 200,000 whistleblowing reports of alleged infractions, almost two-thirds of the complaints were made via hotlines without first alerting anyone in management, and few prove to be false alarms,"

The Law Report - 7 November 2006 - Whistleblowers and the Law  

ABC Presenter Damien Carrick

Producer Anita Barraud

Interview with Toni Hoffman, Whistleblower, Dr Jayent Patel scandal, Bundaberg Hospital, Dr AJ Brown,Head, Whistleblower Project, and director, Integrity and Corruption Research at the Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University and Guy Dehn, Director, Public Concern at Work, UK.

Listen Now - 07112006 |  Download Audio - 07112006

Transcript

ABC - Inside Business 29 August 2004 "Big Brother is watching"

Features Glenn Birrell talking to reporter Luisa Saccotelli on the Your-Call Service

Glenn Birrell:-

"Your-Call uses a web-based solution, which provides the employee with the ability to report concerns in the workplace 24/7, 365 days of the year. If they are on the weekend, unable to sleep - and that's generally the experience we've had - they're then able to log on to our website and submit their information"

Click on the link: http://www.abc.net.au/inside business/content/2004/s1187437.htm

Articles & Publications

Whistleblower protection laws need national revision: new issues paper 2 November 2006

A new issues paper released by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman and Queensland Ombudsman suggests:

"A coherent, national approach to the revision of whistleblower protection laws needs to be considered by Australian governments"

Media Release (PDF, 118KB)
Public Interest Disclosure Legislation in Australia: Towards the Next Generation? - Summary (Final Version) (PDF - 157KB)
Public Interest Disclosure Legislation in Australia: Towards the Next Generation? - Full Paper (Final Version) (PDF - 786KB)

ASIC hails NAB traders guilty verdict©28 May 2006 Sydney 2006

"The corporate watchdog says a guilty finding against two former National Australia Bank traders shows dishonesty will not be tolerated.

Former NAB foreign exchange options dealers David Bullen and Vince Ficarra were found guilty on Friday of a string of charges relating to an unauthorised trading scandal that rocked the bank in 2004, costing it hundreds of millions of dollars.

Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) chairman Jeffrey Lucy said the verdicts showed those who breached their duties as company officers could cause significant damage to a company's interests.

ASIC will not tolerate dishonest conduct by company officers, and as yesterday's decision by the jury demonstrates, the community will not tolerate dishonest conduct either......

Two other traders on the desk, blew the whistle on the phony trades on January 9, 2004 and the bank lost $326 million as it closed down the losing positions.

Whistleblower says over 100 air RAV worries Monday 1 May 2006©ABC Central Victoria

"A whistleblower who raised concerns about the running of Rural Ambulance Victoria (RAV) says more people are coming forward to give evidence.

Wayne Dyer has met the State Services Authority over his claims of bullying and mismanagement.

Mr Dyer says the authority told him more than 100 people have come forward with their concerns, which is a surprise.

"There is a culture of fear within the organisation, fears for their jobs etc if they were to stand up and raise their various concerns," he said.

"I think now that the inquiry has been announced, I think people's attitudes have changed somewhat."

Bullying rife in public service By Farrah Tomaz in January 16, 2006The Age©

"Bullying and harassment are prevalent throughout Victoria's Government departments and public agencies, and many workers are unwilling to complain because they fear it will do them more harm than good.

The Government's own research, based on a survey of 14,000 public sector workers, found that more than one in five had been bullied or harassed by colleagues or managers in the past year. A further 40 per cent had witnessed others being abused.

Most respondents reported that the bullying took the form of psychological harassment and/or verbal abuse.

Despite the Government's pledge that whistleblowers in the bureaucracy are protected by legislation, one-third of respondents believed they would suffer if they complained about workplace problems. Half were not aware of Victoria's whistleblower protection laws. Others suspected nothing would be done if they spoke up."

Pay heed to non-financial info, says Enron whistleblower by Cindy Tham 5 September 2005 Edge Daily
"A company’s non-financial information such as corporate governance and culture as well compensation system could ultimately impact its financial ability to weather a crisis or avoid being another Enron, said Enron whistleblower Lynn Brewer.

She said post-Enron legislation like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US, aimed at increasing transparency, was not sufficient to curb a repeat of big accounting fraud cases.

There was an obvious conflict of interest when auditors were paid by the companies they audited, which was why independent organisations were needed to assess the integrity of a company, she said."

Funds blow whistle on ethics by Leon Gettler 25 June 2005 The Age©
"Australian companies are not doing enough to promote sound business practices.

An overwhelming majority of boards from Australia's top companies are not monitoring unethical business practices, such as price fixing, bid rigging, insider trading, secret commissions and kickbacks, according to research commissioned by big superannuation funds.

It found 83 per cent of companies listed on the S&P/ASX 200 Index had no formal oversight of bad business practices.

More than half (52 per cent) had codes of conduct that did not tackle responsible marketing and promotion issues and truth in advertising. And 46 per cent did not publicly disclose policies protecting whistleblowers. It found that 46 per cent made no mention of training with regard to product safety or handling material hazardous to public health."

"Whistleblower ended fuel price scam" by David Killick and Melissa Jenkins 18 March 2005 AAP©

"For Trevor Oliver, enough was enough. A call from his petrol distributor telling him to jack up fuel prices 10c a litre – or else – was the final straw.

Just before Easter 1999, Mr Oliver picked up the phone and blew the whistle on a price-fixing scam that had been robbing Ballarat motorists for years – a scam that this week cost its participants a staggering $23.3 million in fines. "

"Whistleblowing in Australia - transparency, accountability..but above all, the truth" Parliament of Australia Research Note 14 February 2005, no 31, 2004-2005, ISN 1449-8456
Covers changes to Trade Practices Act 1974 & Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act providing increased protection to whistleblowers

AICPA Addresses Fraud in Audit Committee Guidance Accounting WEB.com January 26 2005©(PDF 22KB)
As part of its ongoing fraud-prevention program, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants today issued guidance to help U.S. audit committees understand one of the most significant of fraud risks: management override of internal controls.
John Morrow, AICPA Vice President said,
“All audit committees, even those not covered by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, should seriously consider establishing a whistleblower hotline,” said Morrow. “It’s the number one method for catching fraud at the management level.”

“Protecting the Family Name” Generations – Family Business Magazine December 2004
by Glenn Birrell CEO Your-Call©(PDF 22KB)
...."Unless employees feel safe, secure and have the support of the company board and senior executives to report illegal, unethical or inappropriate behavior confidentially and anonymously, the top managers and directors will remain in the dark and the business will be put at risk.

....We need to create an environment or workplace culture that makes it easier for employees to speak out and provide them with a mechanism that is more in tune with the times. Workers are saying that they do not want to be subjected to a face to face interview or interrogation over the telephone and run the risk of being misunderstood or misquoted. They just want a promise that their information will be received immediately by executive management and investigated."

Family Business Australia - website www.fambiz.com.au

"Cascading good governance through the organisation" by Glen Peters EBF Issue 17 Spring 2004 (PDF 577 KB)  
" For governance to be effective, a company needs to be sensitive to employee attitudes to corporate ethics. Above all, it needs to encourage an environment in which employees are not afraid to question and challenge instances of corporate impropriety. And it needs to ensure that employees understand the implications of their code of governance on expected behaviour. Increased clarity as to how the enterprise works will improve reputation and minimise the likelihood of any large scale meltdowns of the type which have dominated recent headlines."

Greedy young men help fraud survive © APP The Age 8 November, 2004 (PDF16 KB)
KPMG Forensic National Managing Partner David Van Homrigh said "the profile of the typical fraudster was a 31-year-old man, acting alone, usually in a non-management position at the victim organisation and with no known prior dishonesty.
His motivation was usually greed, with gambling a close second, and he will usually misappropriate about $337,734 before he is detected by a colleague 13 months after the commencement of the fraud."

ASX Releases

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