The Labor-led parliamentary committee investigating KPMG's audit leaks has put pressure on the Albanese government to reform laws that could have protected the scandal's whistleblower. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.

The committee, which includes five Labor MPs, on 9 July asked Anthony Albanese to urgently fix whistleblower protections. On Thursday, it published a 30 July letter from Albanese's assistant minister, Patrick Gorman, acknowledging the concerns and saying Treasury was reviewing tax and corporate whistleblower laws.

The committee also shared its submission to Treasury's review, where it said Australian law failed to protect whistleblower and was "largely ineffective in deterring misconduct".

The laws had issues that were "long standing, well known, and have been well-ventilated over many years", demonstrated most recently by the KPMG whistleblower's difficulties, the submission reads.

The committee said it had made dozens of recommendations in the last decade, unanimously backed by members across the political spectrum and noted "the ongoing importance of all the recommendations made by the committee that have not yet been implemented by the government".

Committee's demands

The committee's key demands include:

  • 01Urgently fix whistleblower protection laws
  • 02Review tax and corporate whistleblower laws
  • 03Implement all previous recommendations

Government's response

Patrick Gorman's letter confirmed that Treasury is reviewing the relevant laws, but no specific timelines were given. This did not fully satisfy the committee, which is demanding swift action.

Context

The KPMG scandal highlighted ethical issues in the audit process. The whistleblower's difficulties showed the inadequacy of current legislation. According to the committee, these problems are not new and have been known for years, but remain unresolved.

The committee's recommendations have received unanimous support across political parties, underscoring the importance of the issue. However, the government faces criticism for not implementing many recommendations.

Conclusion

This case has once again demonstrated the weakness of Australia's whistleblower protection system. The committee is demanding immediate concrete action from the government, otherwise similar scandals may recur. Real changes are expected after the Treasury's review is completed.