APRIL 2007 Newsletter of Whistleblowers Australia Media Watch
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“All that is needed for evil to prosper is for people of good will to do nothing”—Edmund Burke The Whistle NO. 50, APRIL 2007 Newsletter of Whistleblowers Australia Media watch Sorry … Jan did behaviour. But if that level of criminal Vic: Whistleblower cop activity goes on in our workplaces, it do the right thing suggests there’s something about the claims union bullying Hugh Mackay nature of the workplace itself that Australian Associated Press Sun Herald (Sydney) loosens the moral constraints govern- 11 February 2007 4 March 2007, p. 65 ing other aspects of our lives. Readers of this column have sent in Victoria’s police force is led by a IT’S clear from readers’ responses to countless examples of poor behaviour “mate-ocracy” under the control of the the recent column about the bullying of at work, often involving bullying and highly influential police association, a nurse that our workplaces often almost always involving bad outcomes whistleblowers say. throw up the greatest moral challenges for the people who speak up. Your And they say the so called mate- we face. stories suggest that the moral climate ocracy rewarded loyalty more than Many people seem capable of in many workplaces is, indeed, ethics. behaving quite differently at work conducive to bad behaviour. Detective Senior Constable Peter from the way they behave with their Many readers took exception to my Kos, a former member of the police families and friends: less open, less recent suggestion that the nurse I association executive, has spoken out honest, more prepared to cut moral called Jan had perhaps entered “hazy about his fight with the union over corners — sexually as well as finan- moral territory” by complaining about paying the legal fees of detectives cially — and more prepared to treat the bullying of someone else in the accused of drug trafficking. each other badly. hospital where she worked. Now an Ethical Standards Depart- Perhaps it’s the sense of the The overwhelming view among ment member, Det Sen Const Kos was commercial imperative overriding all readers was that Jan had acted properly a union executive for three years. others that brings out the worst in and that we should speak up about He told the Nine Network today he some of us. Since the primary purpose bullying whenever it occurs, whether it was victimised for being a dissenting of business is to make a profit, the affects us directly or not. voice on the board when four police- temptations to behave unethically are A reader from Queen’s Park men sought legal funding to fight many and varied, and the pressures of reminded me that “it is morally correct corruption charges. the commercial marketplace can to oppose abuse in all its forms, and to The four, including Detective encourage recklessness in people who stand up for those who are victimised, Sergeant Glenn Saunders — a former might otherwise be fair, kind and no matter how difficult, for this is the senior vice-president of the union — reasonable. actual meaning of morality”. were later acquitted. Or perhaps it’s the nature of the A teacher, similarly, pointed out Last year, without Kos, the union workplace itself — a place character- that schoolchildren are now being agreed to pay the fees, the program ised by quite intense personal relation- taught to be part of a “telling” said. ships where people are more exposed community, in which victims and Det Sen Const Kos said there was to each other, in a wide variety of bystanders should speak up. an anomaly in the approval process in testing circumstances, than in most On reflection, I had drawn quite the 2003 when a sub-committee approved other areas of their lives, even includ- wrong conclusion about Jan. When we the funding, without his knowledge, ing marriage. consider the peculiar moral climate of between monthly meetings. Workplaces are often like hot- so many workplaces, there seems no “I was unaware that the funding of houses, generating pressure partly alternative but to speak up. Shine the their legal defence in relation to their from the need to meet deadlines and light in dark places. Always. committal (hearing) was held between goals (commercial and otherwise) and Will you lose your job as a result? meeting dates, which was not a normal partly from the need to get along with Many readers have, and some regret process.” all kinds of people you might not having spoken up. Were they right to In 2004 and again in 2005 the necessarily choose to spend so much do so? Of course, not only because board voted unanimously to reject time with. their courage will have left its mark, application. Research conducted in 2003 by but because the moral climate at work The program said confidential PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that will never improve until “speaking up” information was leaked to Saunders 47 per cent of Australian businesses becomes the norm. blaming Det Sen Const Kos and two had suffered from some form of others for rejecting the application, and economic crime — theft, fraud, despite requests the leak was never corruption, bribery — in the previous investigated by police. two years. The vast majority were Also, Union Secretary Senior committed by employees against the Sergeant Paul Mullett sent an email to companies they worked for. every delegate in Victoria saying Kos That’s actual crime we’re talking was spying on the union on behalf of about, not merely morally dubious PAGE 2 THE WHISTLE, #50, APRIL 2007 the media and force command, the It makes for horrific reading and the other tertiary hospitals? Are they program said. these are but a small selection of the squeaky clean? They may well be but Det Sen Const Kos, who now many more cases occurring over the would anyone at these institutions needs 24-hour security, rejected the 1990s. whistle blow after what has happened allegation made by the union. A whole decade when no one to Mr Moodie? Former corruption investigator spoke up. Then eventually the newly Why should we believe that the Simon Illingworth said investigating appointed chief executive, Michael culture of cover-up that reigned for 10 the police force was a dangerous job. Moodie, took note of what the nurses years at KEMH does not infiltrate our “It’s almost like a mate-ocracy, were saying about the clinical culture other tertiary hospitals? What if where loyalty above all else, in fact in at KEMH and blew the whistle. The anything is the current director-general some cases in the policing context it’s Government’s stated reason for not of health, Neale Fong, doing to find loyalty no matter what, or else,” he releasing the chapter earlier? That it out and to reassure us? said. would create problems for the families Shipped out to the South-West, Mr Victoria’s former deputy Commis- involved in reliving these events. Moodie set up a citizens’ jury and a sioner Bob Falconer said the union Yet in The West one mother coura- public forum to bring transparency to needed to lift its game. geously told of her very sad experience the workings of the area health service “In this state and others, they have at KEMH and how the publication of that he headed up there. These doggedly defended people accused of the missing chapter had at last brought mechanisms allow ordinary citizens to corruption and, dare I say, they have some sort of closure. have a say in the values underpinning ridiculed or lampooned those who The real reason the chapter was not the health system. Yet at a State level charge them,” Mr Falconer said. published? The doctors threatened the values continue to be set almost “I think that police unions should legal action if it was released! Note, it certainly by the doctors, very certainly lift the bar and that somewhere in their was not those who suffered and the without any sort of public scrutiny. articles … they should have something families of those who lost babies That needs to change. This is our there, and mean it, about professional- unnecessarily who were to be — the WA citizens’ — health service. ism, ethics and honesty.” protected. It was the doctors. Why did Many doctors I am sure are distressed Comment was being sought from the Government cave in to the doctors at what happened at KEMH. Yet since Sen Sgt Mullet and Victoria Police. and suppress that chapter? Would the the publication of the missing chapter, doctors really have taken legal action? I have seen no response from the AMA The Government should have called or from individual doctors. their bluff. They chose not to. Profes- Please, any of you good docs out Trust went missing sor Geoff Dobb, WA president of the there who care about the standing of with KEMH secrets AMA, stated in advance of the release your profession, now is the time to Gavin Mooney of the missing chapter: “I very much speak up. West Australian, 5th January 2007 doubt there is anything in it that would There are two messages from the serve the public interest by releasing it scandal at KEMH. The values under- I have great respect for the noble now.” pinning our health service are too profession of medicine. To care for Oh dear, what about accountability important to be left to the doctors patients and strive to reduce suffering and transparency, Professor Dobb? alone. And doctors and the Department is a marvellous way to make one’s The rest is history. The then direc- of Health must now work to regain the contribution to society.