CITATION: Mr Jim Leggat

Jim Leggate was an environmental officer in the Department of Mines and Energy. His efforts to fulfill his regulatory duties in the Department drew complaints from the industry.  Mr Leggate was passed over for promotion at DME and transferred to the Forestry Service at DPI.

The Connolly-Ryan Inquiry focused new light on the importance of the disclosures Jim Leggate has been making since 1992. Queensland taxpayers now face a huge bill to clean up the harm caused by an unregulated mining industry.

Estimates put the cost of rehabilitation of abandoned mine sites in Queensland at between $0.6 and $1 billion. In receiving this Award, Mr Leggate has joined a most distinguished group of previous Awardees Kerry Campbell (Basil Stafford Centre disclosures), Dr Brian Senewiratne (Princess Alexandra Hospital disclosures) and Bruce Grundy (the Shreddergate allegations).

“Jim has made principal contributions, both to professionalism and to whistleblowing,” stated Greg McMahon in his capacity as President of the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers of Australia. Mr McMahon and Mr Leggate are both on the list of nine Queensland unresolved whistleblower cases highlighted by two Senate investigations.

They were fellow employees in DPI. “For professionals in industry and government, Jim has reminded us of the value of the qualities of integrity and courage, in ensuring that our service as professionals remains service to the public interest, before our own.

For whistleblowers, Jim Leggate has demonstrated to the public at large the trap that fells many professionals in politicized bureaucracies - sometimes government policy can be the non-enforcement of government policy”.