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Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill
The closing date for submissions is Thursday, 28 January 2021
This bill proposes to replace the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. This bill clarifies the definition of serious wrongdoing, enables people to report serious wrongdoing directly to an appropriate authority at any time, strengthens protections for disclosers, clarifies the internal procedure requirements for public sector organisations and the potential forms of adverse conduct disclosers may face.
Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill
This review of this bill has come to our attention at a time when many citizens are becoming more concerned about diminishing transparency, unobtainable accountability and reluctance or refusal by the powers-that-be to comply with laws and international treaties and when called upon to do so, to investigate breaches and to enforce them.
The main points I make in my submission are :
New Zealand is party to 7 core international human rights treaties of the United Nations. By signing up to these instruments, New Zealand has assumed obligations under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of everyone in New Zealand. This means that the State must refrain from actions that interfere with or curtail the enjoyment of human rights, protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses and take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights.
Watch : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoiYgi0FAFM
Two high profile cases ( that of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden ) have drawn attention for a need for
(a) education and information for the citizens of New Zealand about the existing means by which they can report on breaches of International Human Rights law and on international treaties such as the Geneva Convention.
Given that New Zealand is trading on its scrupulous reputation as the 'least corrupt country' ( https://www.transparency.org.nz/ ) it would seem consistent to provide asylum to such whistleblowers who are currently enduring INTIMIDATION AND REPRISALS https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Reprisals/Pages/ReprisalsIndex.aspx by the very States that stand to be implicated for breaches of the Geneva Convention and other International Human Rights laws by the evidence their work has made available.
(b) The right to expose breaches of International Human Rights laws and International treaties supercedes bi-lateral EXTRADITION TREATIES and provision must be made to ensure that whistleblowers are free to continue the valuable contribution their work provides for us all. i.e.
INCLUDE : Whistleblowers who are subject to INTIMIDATION AND REPRISALS due to extradition agreements are to be guaranteed safe passage to and asylum in New Zealand.
Click here to watch the videos of the First Readings of the Bill ( 2020-07-01 )