Story: Ombudsmen and officers of Parliament

Page 5. Ombudsmen – whistleblowing

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A warning whistle

In 1994 Neil Pugmire, then a nurse at Lake Alice Hospital, expressed concern to management about the release of dangerous psychiatric patients into the community. One such patient kidnapped and attempted to sexually violate a young boy, and indecently assaulted two other children. When Pugmire’s complaints were not taken seriously, he went public, gaining considerable sympathy. He was suspended and then dismissed from his job, but later reinstated by the Employment Court.

Sir John Robertson, chief ombudsman in the mid-1980s, advocated legislation to protect whistleblowers – public servants who had revealed wrongdoing within their organisations. However, the 1990 public service code of conduct threatened disciplinary action for unauthorised release of any information, no matter what the motive. By the early 1990s ombudsmen had received several complaints of victimisation from whistleblowers.

The system of whistleblowing in the public service was again brought to the fore in the aftermath of the investigation of the significant fraud carried out by Joanne Harrison against the Ministry of Transport, for which she was sentenced to serve a jail term in 2017. At the time a number of her colleagues claimed that they had been disadvantaged in their jobs after they attempted to raise their suspicions about her actions.

Legislative change

Under the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022, public-sector employees can reveal serious wrongdoing and claim legal protections against liability or adverse treatment. Types of misconduct which may justify disclosure include:

  • misuse of public funds, including the misuse of public funds or resources by the private sector
  • acts that pose serious risk to public health or safety (including, for example, bullying and harassment)
  • acts that undermine maintenance of the law, particularly the prevention, investigation and detection of offences and the right to a fair trial
  • criminal offences.

Can you whistle to the media?

One aspect of the Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 that remains controversial in some sectors is the lack of protection it offers to those who choose to go directly to the media with their concerns, rather than their own organisation or an appropriate authority. When the draft Act was under discussion TVNZ, for example, argued that extending protections to those who ‘leak’ to the media would help expose serious wrongdoing – and would encourage organisations to act when wrongdoing is alleged. It also argued that the media had helped bring to public attention important disclosures about alleged wrongdoing in the past. Such protections for people who go to the media are extended to employees in some countries.

Disclosure procedures

All public service organisations are expected to have internal procedures in place which set out a process in the event of a protected disclosure. Under the 2022 legislation, for the first time, an employee may raise a concern with an appropriate authority, rather than their own organisation, if they are not comfortable making the disclosure within their own organisation. This appropriate authority may be the head of any public sector organisation; any officer of Parliament (the Ombudsman, Controller and Auditor-General, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment) or the membership body of a profession. The Ombudsman has issued guidance to potential whistleblowers about how to make a protected disclosure.

Dealing with allegations

Within 20 working days of receiving the disclosure, the organisation or the appropriate authority must investigate the disclosure, address any serious wrongdoing, refer the disclosure to an appropriate authority, or decide that no action is required. The whisteblower must be told what action has been taken. The ombudsman has a wide role supporting the operation of the Act, including providing information and guidance to disclosers.

Protections

The Protected Disclosures (Protection of Whistleblowers) Act 2022 guarantees to whistleblowers reporting serious wrongdoing that they will be provided with confidentiality, that they will not be retaliated against or treated less favourably, and that they will be provided with immunity from civil, criminal and disciplinary proceedings.

How to cite this page:

David McGee, 'Ombudsmen and officers of Parliament - Ombudsmen – whistleblowing', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/ombudsmen-and-officers-of-parliament/page-5 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by David McGee, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 20 Jan 2017