Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

Well, it's not an appropriate example. It's an incorrect example. Whistleblower laws are totally different from this jurisdiction, and I say that as someone who used to be responsible for whistleblower policy in an ASX listed company. They are totally different, and one of the differences is that those whistleblower laws apply to large corporates. That's one of the issues we have. There's a huge difference between Westpac Banking Corporation on one hand and a small cafe on the other, and it's totally unreasonable to impose this cost philosophy on a small business just as you would apply it to Westpac Banking Corporation, ANZ, BHP or Rio Tinto. It's just absurd.

I say to the government: when you're considering this amendment, consider the red flags raised by the Australian Human Rights Commission, a fiercely independent statutory body that is at the forefront of prosecuting the case for human rights across this country; think about the concerns and red flags raised by the Law Council of Australia, whose members deal with these cases on a day-to-day basis; and accept the advice of the extraordinarily eminent Australian Kate Jenkins, the former Sex Discrimination Commissioner, who proposed and recommended the model that is contained in this amendment. With that, I'm happy to support the amendment.