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The Whistle, July 2013

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The Whistle, July 2013 “All that is needed for evil to prosper is for people of good will to do nothing”—Edmund Burke The Whistle No. 75, July 2013 Newsletter of Whistleblowers Australia Media watch PS workers face more misbehaviour, including conduct on Overall, the centres have received Twitter and Facebook. A new clause budget cuts from the PPF component scrutiny of behaviour will make employees liable if they of 10 per cent across the board and Noel Towell have not acted with honesty and in- more for specific programs such as for Canberra Times, tegrity during the hiring process. training, the Aboriginal legal access 27 May 2013, pp. 1–2 Employees can now be disciplined for service and the child support access misconduct action … where a person service. NEW information-sharing powers for has provided false or misleading Legal Aid has also received a $10 public service bosses will mean federal information in connection with their million budget cut for next year. government workers face more scru- engagement as an APS employee, i.e. What is as troubling as the shrink- tiny of their behaviour, attendance and pre-commencement misconduct, ac- age of funding for the most disadvan- even web browsing. Looming public cording to the advice. taged is a state government edict that sector legal reform will allow senior The code of conduct will apply in whatever money is available is condi- management to share workers personal connection with the employee’s em- tional on a cut in the free speech of the information across agencies for use in ployment, rather than only in the CLCs. misconduct investigations and hiring course of employment, with the This little provision is set out in a decisions. commission pledging that the code will government document called “Princi- The new powers are part of a suite not seek to regulate employees’ private ples for Funding of Legal Assistance of changes to the Public Service Act lives. Bosses would have to prove a Services” and it says “funding will not that will give the bureaucracy a much genuine link between the worker’s job include activities which may reasona- tougher disciplinary edge from July 1. and their behaviour before any bly be described as political advocacy Under the new rules, an agency head punishment could take place. Sanc- or political activism”. This includes may use personal information where tions available vary from a simple lobbying, advocacy by “traditional and the use is necessary or relevant to the reprimand through to fines, demotions social media”, rallies and demonstra- exercise of the agency head’s power as and dismissal. tions for “causes seeking changes to an employer, a considerable widening government policies or laws”. of the scope of the rules. This affects some CLCs more than Previously, bosses were allowed to others. CLCs that are advocating law use or share personal information only Cash for no comment reform are much more worried about when they could show it was neces- tramples free speech the fallout from the no lobbying, no sary. But from July, information about Richard Ackland campaigning requirements. an employee’s misconduct record and Sydney Morning Herald, any sanctions imposed could be used 31 May 2013, p. 33 when considering a job application, promotion or a move between ag- BEND over and take your cuts. The encies. headmaster is dishing out the cane to a variety of backsides, most of whom don’t deserve any punishment at all. The law and justice community is not immune from the pounding. Front- line community legal centres (CLCs) are the latest to be whacked, with cuts ranging from 27 per cent for the Environmental Defenders Office — punishment for taking action against Information supplied as part of a job mining interests? — to 18 per cent for application could be retrieved and used the Public Interest Advocacy Centre — in misconduct investigations and com- punishment for a big disability case puter log-in records could be used to against RailCorp? There are some salutary examples on check if a worker is showing up to CLCs are organisations that repre- hand. The south-west Sydney and work or accessing unauthorised re- sent the most vulnerable and disad- Marrickville legal centres are jointly cords. Personal information could also vantaged. To a large extent they take involved in a project directed at what be used to detect the use of inappropri- the pressure off Legal Aid with civil they regard as unfair practices by ate websites. and family law work and are partly private car parking operators. They say Other changes to the public service funded through the Commonwealth, there are about 200,000 car owners code of conduct will extend bosses’ Legal Aid’s budget and a milch cow who have been subject to relentless power to punish staff for off-the-job called the Public Purpose Fund (PPF). and “questionable” debt collection 2 The Whistle, #75, July 2013 methods. To remedy the situation “outrageous … and anti-democratic” The pint-sized Manning arrives at involves lobbying relevant government policy. court some mornings sandwiched officials. The “no pay if we don’t like what between two seemingly enormous CLCs were also active in lobbying you say” agenda is not confined to the military guards, and so looks more like for reform of legislation affecting Liberals. Late last month the Gillard a schoolboy being hauled before the tenants in boarding houses. Many government stumped up $350 million headmaster. And arguably he has given others have repeatedly raised concerns of industry help for the Tasmanian the “headmaster” what he wants — in about injustices in the bail laws. The logging industry. admitting that he leaked the 700,000- Illawarra Legal Centre is running a It is part of a restructure subsidy, plus diplomatic and military papers he class action against the Common- compensation for displaced workers, has pleaded guilty to about half of the wealth in relation to the alleged paying out forest contracts and charges against him and says he’ll do ineffectiveness in collecting child sup- managing new timber reserves. All 20 years in jail. port and child maintenance through the very good. Nope. The prosecution is pressing Child Support Agency. However, there is also what is ahead, determined to see Manning The state did request the Common- known as a “durability” clause in the convicted on the charge that he wealth add the same free speech funding contract, which requires the “helped the enemy,” which is punish- restrictions to its funding agreements, environmental movement stop pro- able with death, but in the case of the but Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus testing about native forest logging. The former military intelligence analyst, refused. Australian Financial Review drew the prosecution says it would settle for Consequently, an attempt to run a attention to this free speech stomp, but life behind bars with no chance of media campaign to publicise the child it has gained little traction elsewhere. parole. support issue may not attract official Not only are the Australian Conser- reprisal. vation Foundation, the Wilderness NSW’s “principles for funding” Society and Environment Tasmania follow an unhappy history of govern- expected to lay down their placards, ment outlays being made conditional but they are supposed to silence other on recipients keeping schtum. Even protesters. though Liberals have now redecorated Prime Minister Julia Gillard said as themselves as the saviours of free much herself: “The obligation is on the speech, it was a particular device in signatories … to do everything they vogue during the Howard era. can to use their abilities to silence You might remember that, at one those who haven’t gone with the Bradley Manning point, in order for charities to qualify mainstream consensus.” for GST education and training fund- Richard Denniss, of the Australia The question then, is why? ing, they were asked not to criticise the Institute, says the consequence of Media lawyers see it as an attempt GST. A clause in the training contract disobedience is that if either house of to establish a chilling precedent — a said organisations must favourably the Tasmanian Parliament believes warning to all would-be leakers of acknowledge the contribution of the there has been a “substantial active national security information that they Commonwealth. protest” then forest reserves will be would be risking lengthy solitary Then, in 2003, the Howard govern- reopened for logging. confinement, as endured by Manning, ment recruited the IPA (Institute for We’re on the threshold of an excit- and the prospect of death or spending Paid Advocacy) to do a study of ing new era — cash for no comment. the rest of their life in jail. welfare and aid organisations who Describing as “ruthless” the admini- received Commonwealth money. The stration’s pursuit of “anyone who government was seeking to create new One man releases any information or talks about requirements about “acceptability” for government malfeasance or the abuse funding or tax breaks. faces the machine of power,” former US Army colonel Then treasurer Peter Costello also Bradley Manning’s treatment is a and diplomat Ann Wright told Fairfax raised the spectre of tax penalties for warning to all would-be leakers that Media: “The government wants to put charities that offended government they risk death or life in jail, writes an end to whistleblowing.” sensibilities. Paul McGeough. The “helping the enemy” charge is The latest development is opposi- Sydney Morning Herald, under the 1917 Espionage Act — used tion foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie 8 June 2013, News Review p. 10 just three times in its first 92 years, but Bishop’s campaign to turn off gov- used six times in Obama’s first term as ernment dollars for individuals or THE Obama administration is going for president.
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