Call to bolster whistleblower protection in Australia

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[Facilitator's note: Thank you to Charmaine Rodrigues, Constitutional Assistance and Political Dialogue Specialist, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP New York, for sharing this information.]

Whistleblowers can argue that their disclosures are in the public interest and potentially escape prosecution under a bill being prepared by the Greens party. Freya Newman, a former librarian at the Whitehouse Institute of Design, accessed student records showing Australian PM Tony Abbott’s daughter Frances Abbott had received an unadvertised $60,000 scholarship. Newman was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond this month after pleading guilty in September to one count of unauthorised access to restricted data.

Read the story by Michael Safi, in The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/dec/02/freya-newmans-ordeal-sparks-greens-bill-to-bolster-whistleblower-protection

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