In response to the report handed down yesterday by the Federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, Transparency International Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre are calling on the Albanese Government and all parties to commit to implementing the recommendations in full.
The government-chaired committee examined PwC’s breach of confidentiality, structural governance weaknesses, professional standards and regulations of consultancy firms, protection of whistleblowers, and competition in the sector. The report made 40 recommendations.
Clancy Moore, CEO of Transparency International Australia said:
“The ethical failures and breach of trust by PwC was motivated purely by profit and reinforced by the structural weakness in the governance of Australia’s Big Four consultancy firms. So we commend the committee’s thorough examination of these issues and encourage all parties to commit to implementing all of the 40 recommendations contained the report.
“The proposals to set-up a proper regulator, increase accountability and penalties, better protect whistleblowers, and for large firms to come under the Corporations Act and meet ASX corporate governance requirements will boost much needed integrity and help rebuild trust in the sector.”
Professor AJ Brown, Griffith University Public Policy Expert and Chair of Transparency International Australia said:
“Effective whistleblower protections are now the single biggest gap in the Commonwealth’s integrity and regulatory regimes — making improved, consistent protections and a strong whistleblower protection authority a vital objective that should be committed to by the Government and all parties for the next term of parliament.”
“The work already done by the Attorney-General examining public sector laws, combined with the committee’s recommendations, and the soon-to-commence statutory review of Corporations and Tax regime whistleblower protections, makes this the perfect time for the government to forge a single, coherent plan for ensuring any whistleblower can speak up under federal laws and be properly supported and protected.”
Kieran Pender, Acting Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
“Corporate misdeeds, government wrongdoing and institutional coverups have only been brought to light because of brave whistleblowers speaking up – they need to be protected for doing so.
“The Albanese Government has recommendations sitting on its desk from numerous inquiries and expert reports to fix our broken whistleblower protection laws. It’s time to implement these reforms, including establishing a whistleblower protection authority, to ensure that all whistleblowers, whichever their sector, are protected, not punished.”
Read the submission