Govt wants stronger protections for whistle-blowers

Workshops aimed to strengthen the law to protect whistle-blowers will being next week, following the case of Ministry of Transport fraudster Joanne Harrison (pictured). Photo / NZME

The Government is exploring greater protections for whistle-blowers, which it says it vital to enhance public and private sector service integrity.

This work follows the high-profile case last year of Ministry of Transport workers that raised concerns about fraudster Joanne Harrison, and then lost their jobs in a restructure that Harrison was involved in.

Harrison, a ministry senior manager, stole $726,000 from the ministry and was sentenced to three years and seven months, after charges were laid by the Serious Fraud Office.

In the aftermath, State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes ordered an investigation that found that the three ministry employees suffered disadvantage, including hurt and humiliation, but did not lose their jobs because of their whistle-blowing.

It also found that ministry workers were uncertain of the complaints process for whistle-blowers, and were fearful about the repercussions of speaking out.

The fallout included the resignation of Auditor-General Martin Matthews, who headed the Transport Ministry at the time and was still full of praise for Harrison, even after he was made aware of the wrongdoing.

A State Services Commission review was launched into the Protected Disclosures Act, and State Services Minister Chris Hipkins said a series of workshops will begin next week.

"It is crucial that employees feel safe to report cases of serious misconduct," Hipkins said.

"Anyone who raises issues of serious misconduct or wrongdoing needs to have faith that their role, reputation, and career development will not be jeopardised when speaking up.

"Getting this right is critical to building public confidence in the integrity of government and business in New Zealand."

Hipkins said recent analysis suggested that the law may not be working as effectively as it could, and lags behind international practice in a number of key areas.

The law aims to protect people who report serious wrongdoing in the workplace, but it requires an employee to first raise their concerns with their employer before they can go to an appropriate authority such as police.

The law does not protect employees who leak confidential information to the press.

The New Zealand public sector ranked ninth out of the 19 groups of public and private sector organisations in a study last year into 699 organisations in Australia and New Zealand.

The study said that out of the 10 public sector jurisdictions, the New Zealand public sector ranked eighth behind seven Australian jurisdictions.

Next week's workshops will be attended by stakeholders in the public and private sectors who have knowledge and experience with the law.

The aim is to gather perspectives on the key issues and challenges and discuss the benefits and risks of different reform choices.

Feedback from the workshops will inform the next step in the process, including the issue of a wider public discussion.