Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I take the interjection—have been cutting supplements pensioners received. I digress. I just wanted to acknowledge that good work by the shadow Assistant Treasurer, the member for Fenner, who is always looking to bring more clarity and more evidence from around the world to the issues that this House deals with. This area of whistleblowing is something on which he continues to do that.

I think what some of the other members, including some of the members opposite—I was here in the House yesterday listening to this debate when the member for Forde made some great comments, I thought. He made some honest comments, and what struck me when these comments were made was the lack of trust in government, the lack of trust in lawmakers and the despicable behaviour by people that was uncovered through the banking royal commission. So I acknowledge the comments that that member of the government made, and also those of the member for Parramatta, who I listened to as she relayed feedback from her constituents as she got around on the doors.

From Parramatta to Darwin, and the people that I represent in this place, it's the same. People believe that some of our most important institutions are lacking credibility, but I assure them, at least speaking for those on this side, that we are intent on rebuilding the ethical infrastructure of our country. What we will do in this space goes to exactly that. Whilst this bill is good, it doesn't go far enough. We support it, but it doesn't go far enough. We will go further in order to send a strong message to those who feel a dilemma because they know that something's going wrong and they want to report it. Those people we will protect. But we also want to send a message to those who seek to not pay their fair share that that won't be tolerated.

In the time that is remaining, I just want to acknowledge that there are a whole lot of people—some may even be listening to this. Or some listening to this may be trying to mentor or help someone through a difficult situation at their workplace. What I want to do in the time remaining is relay a good experience that I've had that has helped me work through a moral dilemma, a difficult ethical situation. It was an initiative that was started by the St James Ethics Centre. It's no longer run by them directly. It's an independent initiative, which has been going for about 20 years, called Ethi-call.

Ethi-call is a free, independent, national helpline, available to all Australians, which provides expert and impartial guidance to help you make your way through life's tough challenges. As I understand it, it is the only service of its kind in the world. Whether you are facing an ethical issue that is of a personal nature or a professional nature, it is a free service that is there not to give you legal advice but to help you work through the dilemma that you're facing. It's available day and night, seven days a week, by appointment. The laws that we are passing are designed to provide more protection to whistleblowers. But I wanted to let those listening know that, if they are facing a very difficult situation, they are not alone. Go to www.ethics.org.au and, with someone, you can work through that dilemma you may be facing.

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