Whistleblower Supporter of the Year Award
The Whistleblower Supporter of the Year Award recognises the contribution of persons whose actions have been of outstanding assistance to improving the circumstances for whistleblowers in this State.
1993-1995
An award was not made
1996
Mr Bruce Grundy, for disclosures made through the University of Queensland’s ‘The Weekend Independent’ newspaper, concerning the destruction of the Heiner papers by members of the government of the day.
A copy of the Citation is not held
1997-2001
An award was not made
2002
Mrs Julie Gilbert, whose disclosures brought to the attention of the public questioning about whether the Queensland Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions [DPP] and, subsequently, the Qld Justice system, may be in a state of politicisation, and whose disclosures also provided information tending to show that the DPP, and its sister DPP in NSW, may have been capable of bad practice, improper influences and/or naivety about sexual abuse in their assessments of proposals to prosecute select persons for abuse of children.
2003
Radio announcer Alan Jones for highlighting nationally the alleged politicization and capture of Queensland’s Justice system as may have been demonstrated by the imprisonment of Pauline Hansen.
2004
Bronwyn Bishop MP for the work of a Federal Parliamentary Committee in exposing alleged criminal acts by the Queensland Government over the destruction of the Heiner documents.
2005
The Bundaberg Hospital Patients Support Group for support to whistleblowers in Queensland Health.
2006
Barry ‘the Grasshopper’ Gomersall has been recognized for the open support he gave, while a public servant, to the calls for an inquiry into the destruction of evidence of child abuse at the John Oxley Youth Detention Centre.
2007
Journalist Piers Akerman for the coverage of the audit completed by a Queens Counsel (Rofe QC Audit) of allegations of suspected official misconduct by more than sixty public officials within Queensland.
2008
To a prominent lawyer who wishes to remain anonymous, who declared with other prominent judicial figures the law that should have been applied in addressing the destruction of the Heiner documents sought for legal proceedings.
A Citation was not written
2009
Tony Fitzgerald, formerly head of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, for his warnings to the Queensland Government that levels of corruption from the time before that Inquiry were returning to Queensland and to its institutions
2010
Julian Assange, the head of the Wikileaks organisation, for the facility that Wikileaks provides to whistleblowers seeking to serve the public interest while minimizing the retributions that are likely to be imposed upon them for this action
2011
Hedley Thomas, journalist, for the support given in coverage by his media column of the several voices of independent engineering expertise that may otherwise have been muted and suppressed by the politico-legal processes of the Queensland Flood Commission of Inquiry
2012
Jointly to David Rofe QC and Mr Rob Messenger … to David Rofe QC for completion of the Rofe audit into the legality of actions taken concerning the disclosures of destruction of the Heiner document, and to Rob Messenger for bringing to the attention of the public alleged improper practices by the CMC including the failure to interview key witnesses in CMC investigations into disclosures of wrongdoing
2013
Greg Williams, consultant, for his effective support given to multiple whistleblowers in their struggles against bureaucratic stonewalling by government agencies and watchdog authorities in Queensland
2014
Gordon Harris for his continuing efforts over many years to assist whistleblowers in general, and, in particular, to ensure a proper investigation of the abuse including sexual abuse of children while in the care of the Queensland State Government at the John Oxley Youth Detention Centre.
Citation
2015
An Award was made but is not being published at this time
A Citation was not written
2016
Crown Law solicitors Siobhan Parer and Jeremy Weston for allegations, reported in the media, about the tactics adopted by the government in liability cases against the government. The disclosure was made that the government had never in their experience complied with the model litigant principles.
2017
Journalist Matthew Condon, for his efforts in keeping before the public a number of historic crimes and other wrongdoing, the records about which the police and the government are allegedly keeping closed.
2018
An award was not made
2019
Andrew Wilkie MP and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, for the support given jointly to those in Parliament, and in the ABC, who have risen to oppose the weight of secrecy being imposed by the Federal Government upon (a) its own wrongdoing; (b) the wrongdoing of rogue agencies; and (c) the wrongdoing of allies.
2020
Academic and Consultant Dr Samantha Crompvoets for her continuing support of those in Defence and / or those affected by Defence whose mistreatment and detriments have yet to be addressed by any fair, proper and thorough inquiry.
2021
The Fassifern Guardian and Tribune for the support given, whereby the newspaper disclosed and resisted forces from government seeking to require journalists to betray their sources.