From the desk of Roland Rocchiccioli

That a whistle-blower, whose disclosures are both in, and of, the public interest, may, as a consequence of daring, face possible trial and a jail sentence is too preposterous! Profoundly stupid!

Were it not for brave whistle-blowers, it is improbable the Price Waterhouse Cooper(PwC) and the casino scandals; the banking rorts and institutional child sexual and physical abuse which resulted in Royal Commissions; ADF war crimes in Afghanistan; and Robodebt, would have been exposed.

Probably, the banks would still have their snouts in our trough; and you would likely be declared delusional to believe the Catholic and Anglican churches, and the Salvation Army, were going to admit, of their own volition, to their monstrous past crimes. Any form of child abuse is as unacceptable now as it was back then! They knew it was wrong, and they acted with impunity.

Considering the transgressional gravity, it would not be unreasonable to wonder if PwC, who were paid millions of tax payers’ dollars, were working in the best interests of the nation! Puzzlingly, none of those involved were hauled before the courts. Surely, PwC’s flagrant overcharging might be deemed, by any reasonable judgement, defrauding the Commonwealth.

Human Right Law Centre senior lawyer, Kieran Pender, said: “If we want Australians to speak-up about wrongdoing — to prevent the next Robodebt, the next PwC scandal — we need to ensure thy will be protected and empowered, not punished and prosecuted. It is incumbent on the Albanese Government to act, and act now.”

As part of their election campaign, 2019, a led Shorten Labor government promised, if elected, to establish a whistle-blower authority.

Currently, the federal government is consulting on how to better protect whistle-blowers in the public sector; also, in the private sector they are reviewing whistle-blowers’ protections in the Corporations Act.

Sadly, success is measured by an accumulation of wealth. Consequently, the public moral compass is so tainted we would choose to punish the plaintiff – in this case the whistle-blower, and allow the culprit to escape with a reprimand.

The seeming complacency of consecutive governments to reverse the anomaly is baffling. It suggests a lack of urgency; a sluggishness to act in the best interest of the Commonwealth. Too often one is left wondering whether political incumbents’ concerns are for good governance, or staying in power. Idealistically, political pursuit is not ultimately about winning elections, but rendering important societal change.

Life is challenging, and nuanced. It is less challenging to sit on the edge and watch; to leave others to fight-the-good-fight. Those who have the daring to oppose public immorality — to expose the rampant venality — should not be crucified. They should be rewarded for their courage.

Indeed, in some countries whistleblowers are paid a percentage of any exposed corporate financial shenanigans.

A yearning for the days of yore achieves nothing. Change is inevitable. Inexorably, we are headed to a cashless society.

Slowly, but surely, the coin of the realm will disappear from our lives. Paying with debit and credit cards is sensible — except for when the system crashes! The 20th century was a technological revolution which controls our lives. For the most part, everyone under 50 is computer literate. Only those baby boomers stuck in a time-warp struggle with the innovations.

Transactional charges on cards are outrageous. In the United Kingdom and the European Union they are outlawed.

It is time the Australian government followed suit and introduced legislation – and sooner rather than later. They must go!

Roland joins Brett Macdonald radio 3BA 10.45 Monday morning.

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