Dr Death Jayant Patel exposer backs ‘one whistleblower law’ push

The intensive care nurse who exposed Bundaberg’s ‘Dr Death’ has backed calls for nationally consistent whistleblower laws.

Toni Ellen Hoffman.

The intensive care nurse who exposed Bundaberg’s “Dr Death” has backed calls for nationally consistent whistleblower laws.

Toni Hoffman, who in 2005 blew the whistle on the gross negligence of surgeon Jayant Patel, said protections should be easier to understand and uniform across states. “The laws are nebulous; nobody really knows what they are, how you get whistleblower status, or what happens when you do,” she said

“It muddies the water even more when every state and the commonwealth has a different way of doing things. We are one country. Why do we not have one way to deal with this?”

Australia’s whistleblower laws are being strengthened ahead of the launch of a national anti-corruption commission, due to be running by mid-year.

The first tranche of legislation passed the lower house earlier this month and a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said government would “consult widely on further reforms, including whether there is a need to establish a whistleblower protection authority or commissioner”.

Transparency advocates, including Griffith University’s AJ Brown, are calling for nationally consistent laws and a federal commissioner with powers to investigate and intervene if whistleblowers suffer retaliation.

“Having done the right thing, a whistleblower should not then have to face the personal or fin­ancial burden of ensuring they are no worse off than if they hadn’t blown the whistle,” said Professor Brown, a Transparency International Australia board member.

A separate review of Queensland’s whistleblower laws, headed by former judge Alan Wilson, is considering an independent agency to investigate reprisals.

Professor Brown said in Queensland the Ombudsman was in charge of administering whistleblower laws but it was a secondary function of the agency. The corruption watchdog had enforcement powers but they were “not clear or strong enough”. “There are various people with various roles at the moment, none of which is sufficient or effective,” he said.

“What is really needed is a whistleblower protection function that could be located within the Crime and Corruption Commission or the Ombudsman, where the functions are brought together and beefed up to be a one-stop shop.”

Professor Brown said no Australian jurisdiction had a dedicated whistleblower protection commission but NSW was “taking steps in that direction”.

Ms Hoffman said all jurisdictions should have a “one-stop shop” to support whistleblowers and investigate reprisals.

“Knowing who you can go is ­really important,” she said. “We were being threatened with jail at different times and had a visit from the ethical standards branch who told us we could never go outside of the organisation (Queensland Health).”

Ms Hoffman said she went to 12 different people with complaints before she publicly blew the whistle in 2005. “We joked we would have to strip naked and hang from a tree outside Red Rooster to get someone’s attention,” she said.