Top 10 Disclosures Requiring an Inquiry

The Near Future

QWAG has identified five inquiries that should be given priority within the Federal jurisdiction and five more from the Queensland state jurisdiction that have strong Federal associations or implications.

The question that QWAG poses about these proposed inquiries are:

1. How critical to the success of these proposed inquiries would be the disclosures from whistleblowers?; and
2. What would likely happen to such whistleblowers under current protection legislation

The Priority Inquiries Required In Federal And State Jurisdictions

Below are the priorities derived by QWAG for inquiries and royal commissions, given the state of knowledge of QWAG, its members and networks about the health of the existing legislation (and institutional and policy) frameworks in Australia and Queensland.

Those proposed inquiries are:

The Five Highest In The Federal Jurisdiction

1. Command Responsibility for the Killing of Afghani Persons
2. Child Sexual Abuse Unfinished – The Response by Police, Justice Authorities and Government
3. The Use of Secrecy Provisions to Suppress any Disclosures of Wrongdoing
4. Justice for all Members of Defence, including Reservists and Defence Public Servants
5. Governance of Trade Unions and Not-For-Profit Organisations

The Five Highest in the Queensland Jurisdiction

1. The Queensland Judicial System and the Judiciary
2. Flood Studies and Inquiries
3. Destruction & Disposal of Evidence
4. Transfers of Whistleblowers
5. Government as a Model Litigant

Learnings. The pattern that may be emerging from the above two lists is that the issues for the Federal Jurisdiction are mainly (80%) belonging to agencies and industries, while for Queensland the issues mainly (80%) pertain to the justice framework.

QWAG attributes that difference in significant part to the impact of Sword organisations in Queensland on the justice system, largely by non-enforcement of the law, tricks played upon whistleblowers seeking investigation of disclosures, and actions taken that denied proper consideration of matters before the Courts.