Riley O’Keeffe

Maintaining integrity within the public sector is an integral component of responsible and good government. Theories of deviance suggest that as long as there are rules, there will be rule-breakers. Without proper or robust accountability mechanisms, public trust in government institutions would decline. Serious wrongdoing within the public sector, such as corruption, fraud or maladministration, is not within the public interest. Therefore, the inclination of public sector employees to speak up against serious wrongdoing is of vital importance in maintaining integrity within the public sector. The protections available for public sector whistleblowers must be strong enough to protect them from any possible detriment that may follow as a result of speaking up.

Public sector whistleblowing, also referred to as making a Public Interest Disclosure (‘PID’), is the action of identifying and reporting serious wrongdoing that affects the public sector. The Public Interest Disclosures Act 2022 (NSW) (‘new PID Act’) is one tool that can be used to ensure accountability and integrity are maintained within the public sector.

Benjamin B Saunders

I am grateful to Professor James Stellios and Leslie Gonye for their interaction with my book – from two very different perspectives.

The book is an expansion and development of my PhD research, which was a historical examination of the views of the framers of the Constitution regarding responsible government, completed in 2017. At the time, Professor Stellios encouraged me to develop further some aspects of my work, including giving further examination to the concepts of ‘popular sovereignty’ and the ‘sovereignty’ of the people, and also reflecting further on the doctrinal implications of my thesis.