The system is broken – and government staff and public servants know it

The process undertaken by Peter Coaldrake for his integrity review must bring about better protections for those who face repercussions for exposing potential wrongdoing. Because take it from me, whistleblowing is not for the faint-hearted, writes Neil Doorley.

The “extensive consultation” process undertaken by Peter Coaldrake for his review must bring about better protections for those who face repercussions for speaking out to expose potential wrongdoing.

Because take it from me, whistleblowing is not for the faint-hearted – reprisals and career disruption through being demoted, fired or forced to quit are very real consequences of trying to “make things right”.

Neil Doorley worked for four different ministers during his time with Queensland Government. Picture: David Clark

The system is broken – and government staff and public servants know it. More than 14,000 Queensland public servants recently took part in the Crime and Corruption Commission’s “perceptions of corruption and integrity in Queensland state government departments survey”.

The survey found that while 65 per cent agreed that corruption happened in the Queensland public service, almost half (49 per cent) said they were not confident they would be protected from reprisal or victimisation if they reported their concerns.

The most common reasons for not reporting corruption included concerns it could affect their career (84 per cent) and the belief senior management would not do anything about it (77 per cent). A large percentage (72 per cent) agreed that more should be done to protect people who have reported corruption.

A major worry is the time it’s taking to conduct investigations. And there are concerns about the CCC’s so-called devolution principle, where the corruption watchdog is handing complaints back to the very same government departments who are the subject of the allegations.

For the sake of integrity in Queensland, let’s hope Professor Coaldrake’s recommendations prioritise whistleblower protections by allowing “secret” disclosures to be made to the CCC where only the corruption watchdog will know the identity of the complainant, and perhaps implementing caps on the time it’s taking to resolve important investigations.

Neil Doorley is a former media adviser to the Palaszczuk Government who provided a submission to Prof Coaldrake.