Harsh treatment for whistle blowers?

In an article in SMH (5 June 2013) it is reported that informing a regulator like Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) of corruption may not be as easy as it might at first seems: "[i]f you've come across something rotten in the organisation you work for and are thinking of blowing the whistle to the corporate regulator, think twice".

The SMH report deals with a group of "whistle blowers" at the Commonwealth Bank who contacted ASIC in October 2008 with detailed information outlining "serious flaws" in the bank's financial planning unit. But, as reported, instead of ASIC moving quickly on the serious tip-off that one of the bank's top financial planners had engaged in systemic misconduct and his files were being "cleaned up", it took ASIC 16 months to take action and even more concerning is the lack of protection offered to the whistleblowers in the case.

One of the "whistle blowers" quoted said ''We dealt ASIC the cards to take 10 tricks but they settled for six . . . My whistleblower protection consisted of advising me to 'get out with what you have left'."

Although there have been bills in four states (QLD, VIC, NSW and NT) as well as the CTH aiming to protect whistleblowers, none have yet been assented into law.

Reading stories like this it is difficult to not wonder whether if citizens who takes it upon themselves to do the right thing were not referred to as "whistle blowers" a term which seems to have connotations of being a "tattle-tale" or "lag" instead of being someone who did the right thing, it might not go better for said "whistle blowers".

Source: Blow the whistle, face the music (SMH)

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