The Whistle

Newsletter of Whistleblowers Australia

Go to Whistleblowers Australia page

These issues contain a large amount of information about whistleblower cases, analysis of problems, taking action, etc.

• 122: April 2025 (including "HR is not your friend"; "Gaslighting whistleblowers"; media watch)
  
  
• 121: January 2025 (including review of Josh Bornstein, Working for the Brand; reports from the 2024 WBA conference: Jeff Morris, Ross Sullivan, Barry Hicks, Chris Delforce, Margo Kingston; WBA AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2024
  
  
• 120: October 2024 (including Cynthia Kardell on David McBridge; review of Carl Elliott, The Occasional Human Sacrifice; media watch)
  
  
• 119: July 2024 (includes David McBride sentencing commentary; Carol O'Connor on UK subpostmaters; Michael Cole on whistleblower rewards; review of Matthew Syed, Rebel Ideas; review of Tom Lonsdale, Multi-Billion-Dollar Pet Food Fraud; media watch)
  
  
• 118: April 2024 (including Cynthia Kardell and Brian Martin on whistleblower protection; media watch)
  
  
• 117: January 2024 (including stories from the WBA 2023 conference: Sharon Kelsey, Michael Cole; review of Ralph Engelman and Carey Shenkman, A Century of Repression; WBA 2023 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2023
  
  
• 116: October 2023 (including Cynthia Kardell on whistleblower protection; media watch)
  
  
• 115: July 2023 (including Queensland's Whistleblower of the Year; Cynthia Kardell on the court judgement about Richard Boyle; media watch)
  
  
• 114: April 2023 (including "Remembering Margaret Love"; Carol O'Connor on whistleblowing research; Cynthia Kardell on Jeff Morris; review of Julius Getman and Terri LeClercq, Taking on Big Pharma; review of Todd Kashdan, The Art of Insubordination; Cynthia Kardell on Robo-dept; media watch; WBA 2022 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 113: January 2023 (including Cynthia Kardell's introductions of speakers at the 2022 WBA conference; Jane Anderson on financial costs of whistleblowing; Sharon Kelsey on her whistleblowing journey; media watch)
  
  
• 2022
  
  
• 112: October 2022 (including Jim Page on rescuing WBA; review of Albert Scheflen with Alice Scheflen, Body Language and the Social Order; Cynthia Kardell on the McBride and Boyle cases; media watch)
  
  
• 111: July 2022 (including Cynthia Kardell on politics and whistleblowing; Brian Martin, "Disinformation and whistleblowing"; media watch)
  
  
• 110: April 2022 (including Kim Sawyer in memory of Stan van de Wiel; media watch)
  
  
• 109: January 2022 (including Cynthia Kardell on WBA's history; Kim Sawyer on whistleblowing history; review of Tatiana Bazzichelli (ed.), Whistleblowing for Change; media watch; WBA 2021 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2021
  
  
• 108: October 2021 (including Brian Martin, "A whistleblower calls"; Cynthia Kardell on Carol O'Connor; Queensland Whistleblowers Action Group 2020 awards; media watch)
  
  
• 107: July 2021 (including Brian Martin and Cynthia Kardell on Witness K; media watch)
  
  
• 106: April 2021 (including Cynthia Kardell on Covid controls; review of Jason Ross Arnold, Whistleblowers, Leakers, and their Networks; media watch)
  
  
• 105: January 2021 (including review of Debra Meyerson, Rocking the Boat; "Former Archbishop Philip Wilson receives award"; media watch)
  
  
• 2020
  
  
• 104: October 2020 (including Karen Burgess, "Whistleblowing and mothering"; Cynthia Kardell on National Whistleblowers Day, and the Ruby Princess; media watch)
  
  
• 103: July 2020 (including review of Tom Mueller, Crisis of Conscience; Queensland Whistleblowers Action Group 2019 awards; Cynthia Kardell on the Ruby Princess; media watch)
  
  
• 102: April 2020 (including review of William De Maria, Trouble in the Land of Giving; review of Edward Snowden, Permanent Record; media watch)
  
  
• 101: January 2020 (including review of Peter Fox, Walking towards Thunder; review of Kate Kenny, Whistleblowing; Cynthia Kardell on financial services corruption; WBA 2019 conference reports: Lynn Simpson, Peter Fox, Brian Toohey, Quentin Dempster, Jeff Morris; WBA 2019 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2019
  
  
• 100: October 2019 (including Cynthia Kardell on Australian government attacks on whistleblowers; Kim Sawyer on Alwyn Johnson; Magdalene D'Silva, "A YouTube whistleblowing saga"; review of Robert I. Sutton, The Asshole Survival Guide; media watch)
  
  
• 99: July 2019 (including Cynthia Kardell on corruption in Australia; Kim Sawyer, "Courage without mateship II"; review of Ginger Gorman, Troll Hunting; media watch)
  
  
• 98: April 2019 (including Michael Cole, "A disturbing story from the not-for-profit sector"; Brian Martin, "Myth system or operational code?"; media watch)
  
  
• 97: January 2019 (including WBA 2018 conference reports: Maggie Dawkins, Sally Harding, Cynthia Kardell, Richard Gates; WBA 2018 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2018
  
  
• 96: October 2018 (including Cynthia Kardell, "National Whistleblower Day"; Brian Martin, "Whistleblowers versus evil"; media watch)
  
  
• 95: July 2018 (including Lesley Killen, "Is there life after whistleblowing?"; Kim Sawyer, "Retaliation"; Cynthia Kardell on Australian whistleblower laws; Queensland Whistleblowers Action Group awards; media watch)
  
  
• 94: April 2018 (including Cynthia Kardell on whistleblower protections; media watch)
  
  
• 93: January 2018 (including Cynthia Kardell on whistleblower protections; Lynn Simpson on her whistleblower story; WBA 2017 conference reports: Julia Angrisano, Richard Gates, Robert Tierney, David Carruthers, Kim Kirsner, Jozef Banas, Larry Vincent, Donald Parkes; WBA 2017 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2017
  
  
• 92: October 2017 (including Kim Sawyer, "Twenty-five years on ..."; Cynthia Kardell on National Whistleblowers Day; Cynthia Kardell, "Federal report falls short"; media watch)
  
  
• 91: July 2017 (including Robert Vaughn on whistleblowing in the US; Cynthia Kardell, "Whistleblower update"; media watch)
  
  
• 90: April 2017
  
  
• 89: January 2017 (review of Kevin Moylan, One Flew over the Kookaburra's Nest; Kim Sawyer, "A problem of culture"; Cynthia Kardell, "What makes a whistleblowing scheme effective?"; WBA 2016 conference reports: Jodi McKay, Karen Burgess, Jane Doe, Lynn Simpson, David Isaacs, Allan Kessing, Katrina McLean, Robina Cosser, Gabor Szathmari, David Vaile; WBA 2016 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2016
  
  
• 88: October 2016 (including Kim Sawyer, "The man who blew the whistle on Ned Kelly"; Brian Martin, "Ten tips for spilling the beans"; media watch)
  
  
• 87: July 2016 (including articles in memory of Lesley Pinson by Cynthia Kardell and Brian Martin; Jane Cole on family support for whistleblowers; Kim Sawyer, "That Burke quote"; review of Derek Maitland, The Fatal Line; review of Mark Hertsgaard, Bravehearts: Whistle-blowing in the Age of Snowden; review of Kevin Barry, Vaccine Whistleblower; media watch)
  
  
• 86: April 2016 (including Kim Sawyer, "The problem of whistleblowing advocacy"; Stacey Higgins, "Tips on using FOI"; Cynthia Kardell on public interest disclosures; media watch)
  
  
• 85: January 2016 (including WBA 2015 conference reports: Deborah Locke, Jim Page, Dave Reid, Tom Lonsdale, Michael Cole, Brian Martin; WBA 2015 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2015
  
  
• 84: October 2015 (including Cynthia Kardell on national whistleblowers day; Pam Swepson, "Protecting whistleblowers or protecting watchdogs?"; AJ Brown, response to Swepson; media watch)
  
  
• 83: July 2015 (including review of Scott Horton, Lords of Secrecy; review of Peter Bowden, In the Public Interest; media watch)
  
  
• 82: April 2015 (including Kim Sawyer, "The psychology of whistleblowing"; Cynthia Kardell, "Legal things to remember"; Brian Martin, "Getting around the gag"; media watch)
  
  
• 81: January 2015 (including articles in memory of Jean Lennane by Michele McKenzie, Fergus Fricke, Tony Sara, Jonathan Phillips, Debbie Locke, Cynthia Kardell, Brian Martin; Kim Sawyer, "Kill the messenger ... but not the message"; Brian Martin, "Leaking: practicalities and politics"; WBA 2014 conference reports: David Shoebridge, Peter Fox, Tara McCarthy, Jeff Morris, Joanne McCarthy, Simon Frew; WBA 2014 AGM minutes; media watch)
  
  
• 2014
  
  
• 80: October 2014 (including review of Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind; media watch)
  
  
• 79: July 2014 (including Cynthia Kardell, "Forced psychiatric assessments"; review of Luke Harding, The Snowden Files; media watch)
  
  
• 78: April 2014 (including Kim Sawyer, "Why good people do nothing"; media watch)
  
  
• 77: January 2014 (including media watch; "'Compulsory' medical assessments: a personal account; WBA 2013 conference report: Brendan Thomson, Peter Fox, Brian Hood, Jo Barber, David Vaux, Ying Morgan, George Masri; launch of Brian Martin's book Whistleblowing: A Practical Guide; WBA 2013 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2013
  
  
• 76: October 2013 (including media watch; Katherine Jaconello, "Canada's invisible government"; review of Margaret Heffernan, Willful Blindness; Kim Sawyer, "The increasing appeal of Lincoln's law"; extract from Brian Martin, Whistleblowing; Brendan Jones, "A whistleblower's guide to journalists")
  
  
• 75: July 2013 (including media watch; Robina Cosser, "So you're thinking of blowing the whistle?"; review of Sibel Edmonds, Classified Woman)
  
  
• 74: April 2013 (including media watch; review of Eveline Lubbers, Secret Manoeuvres in the Dark; review of Robert G. Vaughn, The Successes and Failures of Whistleblower Laws)
  
  
• 73: January 2013 (including media watch; WBA 2012 conference reports: Kathy Flynn, Allan Asher, Christine Milne, Allan Kessing, Wendy Bacon, Leigh Dayton, Gregor Urbas; WBA 2012 AGM minutes; Lotte Fog, whistleblowing poem 6)
  
  
• 2012
  
  
• 72: October 2012 (including media watch; eulogy for Keith Potter; Lotte Fog, whistleblowing poem 5; Whistleblowers Action Group Queensland, 2011 awards; review of Laura Crawshaw, Taming the Abusive Manager)
  
  
• 71: July 2012 (including media watch; Cynthia Kardell report; Lotte Fog, whistleblowing poem 4)
  
  
• 70: April 2012 (including media watch; Jacqui James, "Website for public service whistleblowers"; Cynthia Kardell, "Police investigating police"; Lotte Fog, whistleblowing poem 3)
  
  
• 69: January 2012 (including media watch; WBA 2011 conference reports: Brian Martin, Michael Cole, Gillian Sneddon, Jane Longhurst; WBA 2011 AGM minutes; Lotte Fog, whistleblowing poem 2)
  
  
• 2011
  
  
• 68: October 2011 (including Kim Sawyer, "The Act that wasn't there"; review of Kathryn Bolkovac, The Whistleblower; Christine Cameron, "Nurses in crisis"; review of Deadly Healthcare)
  
  
• 67: July 2011 (including media watch)
  
  
• 66: April 2011 (including media watch; Whistleblowers Action Group Queensland on flood professionals; extract from Kim Sawyer's book Trial with No Exit)
  
  
• 65: January 2011 (including media watch; review of Harry Markopolos, No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller; review of the film Petition; Peter Pyke, "Cops bash cops, too"; Farewell, Albert Lombardo; Brian Martin, "Responding to dissident scientists"; WBA 2010 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2010
  
  
• 64: October 2010 (including media watch; review of Eve Hillary, Sarah's Last Wish; Peter Bowden, "Whistleblowing in private business")
  
  
• 63: July 2010 (including media watch; review of Lincoln Steffens' The Shame of the Cities; Cynthia Kardell on the NSW Protected Disclosure Act 1994; AJ Brown, "Comments on Greg McMahon's critique" (published in the April issue); review of Glen McNamara, Dirty Work)
  
  
• 62: April 2010 (including media watch; Mim Dekker, "Compensation for whistleblowers and workers", with a comment by Cynthia Kardell; Greg McMahon, "Blowing the whistle on the whistleblowing project")
  
  
• 61: January 2010 (including media watch; Robina Cosser, "Dealing with a 'reformed policy'"; Peter Bowden, "The mistreatment of whistleblowers", with a response from AJ Brown; review of Greg Ogle, Gagged: The Gunns 20 and other Law Suits; WBA 2009 conference reports; WBA 2009 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2009
  
  
• 60: October 2009 (including media watch; Keith Potter on the Albert Lombardo story; Peter Bowden, "Whistleblower protection in New South Wales: moving backwards"; review of Leonard Felder, Fitting in Is Overrated)
  
  
• 59: July 2009 (including media watch; anonymous, "Chaos at medical practice"; Brian Martin, "Telling your story")
  
  
• 58: April 2009 (including media watch; Kim Sawyer, "The Dreyfus report"; Geraldine Macdonald (pseudonym for Lotte Fog), "Radiotherapy underdosing at Royal Adelaide Hospital")
  
  
• 57: January 2009 (including media watch; Anna Sternfeldt, "Tony Wong: whistleblower in prison"; Cynthia Kardell, "Woolly-headed thinking"; Anthony J. Evans, "Egalitarianism and the failure of whistleblower protection"; review of AJ Brown (ed.), Whistleblowing in the Australian Public Sector; WBA 2008 conference reports; WBA 2008 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2008
  
  
• 56: October 2008 (including media watch; John Wright, "Disruptive physicians"; Lisa Hamilton, "Victorian government guilty of detrimental action against whistleblowers"; Peter Bowden, "NSW government charades"; review of Harry Chambers, My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide)
  
  
• 55: July 2008 (including media watch; Carol Devine, "Whistleblower on medical error"; review of Norman Baker's The Strange Death of David Kelly)
  
  
• 54: April 2008 (including media watch; letter from Bill Toomer; review of The Courgeous Messenger: How to Successfully Speak up at Work; review of Keith Hunter, Trial by Trickery; Brian Martin, "Miceli and Near on blowing the whistle")
  
  
• 53: January 2008 (including media watch; Peter Bennett on Gerard Henderson; Kim Sawyer, "Evil prospers when good people do nothing"; Peter Bennett, "The Ruddoch FoI referral"; Peter Bowden, "Whistleblowing in the Public Sector: comments"; WBA 2007 conference report; WBA 2007 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2007
  
  
• 52: October 2007 (including media watch; Teresa Kiernan, "It's official: crazy citizens are on the increase"; John Wright, "Whistleblowing and doctors"; Kim Sawyer, "Whistleblowing legislation for the whistleblowers, not the legislators"; WBA national committee members exchange emails on "Reporting internally in the first instance")
  
  
• 51: July 2007 (including media watch; Peter Bennett, "A legal trap for whistleblowers"; Whistleblowers Action Group awards)
  
  
• 50: April 2007 (including media watch)
  
  
• 49: January 2007 (including media watch; "Whistleblowing on an anonymous website"; review of Simon Illingworth, Filthy Rat; Brian Martin, "Academics speaking out"; Mary Lander, "Challenging the misuse of psychiatric opinions"; WBA 2006 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2006
  
  
• 48: October 2006 (including media watch; William F. Toomer, "The Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP"; Peter Bowden on WBA submission about NSW Protected Disclosure Act; Jean Lennane, "John Kite finds justice at last - no thanks to ICAC!"; Don Eldridge, "Trudeau vs Goliath")
  
  
• 47: July 2006 (including media watch; Whistleblowers Action Group 2005 awards; letter from Tony Grosser; "Whistleblowers say no to the Ombudsman's office"; Muriel V Dekker, "How a whistleblower can't get maladministration corrected")
  
  
• 46: May 2006 (including media watch; Jean Lennane, open letter from WBA to the Prime Minister; Mary Lander, "RU486 - the untold story"; John Wright, "Sham peer review"; Darcy O'Neil, "Technology and the whistleblower"; Derek Maitland on the neoliberal alliance of government and business; Kim Sawyer et al., "The necessary illegitimacy of the whistleblower")
  
  
• 45: February 2006 (including media watch; Olga Parkes, "The apology & the family"; Keith Potter, "Involvement of the Deputy Crown Solicitor Perth in protection of criminology"; Brian Martin, "What to do when you've been defamed"; WBA 2005 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 2005
  
  
• 44: November 2005 (including media watch; Teresa Chambers, "A US police whistleblower's story"; John Suter, "Speaking about airports"; "Background to the apology to Peter Walsh")
  
  
• 43: August 2005 (including letters from Tony Grosser, Keith Potter and John Wright; Cynthia Kardell, "Finding a lawyer"; Peter Bowden, "Managing internal witnesses in the Australian public sector"; John Pezy, "Security surveillance"; Jean Lennane on the Gary Lee-Rogers inquest)
  
  
• 42: June 2005 (including media watch; Derek Maitland, "WBA - a way forward"; Mary Lander, "Psychiatric assessments forced on whistleblowers"; Peter Bowden, "WBA submission on NT whistleblower bill"; Don Eldridge, "FOI: foiled in Queensland"; Derek Maitland, "Blowing the whistle on fascist trends")
  
  
• 41: March 2005 (including media watch; pictures from the WBA AGM and conference)
  
  
• 2004
  
  
• 40: December 2004 (including media watch; Peter Bowden, "Whistleblowers can win"; WBA 2004 AGM minutes)
  
  
• 39: September 2004 (including media watch; Mary Lander, "WBA action"; Keith Potter, "Bulletproof government lies: how much longer?"; Jean Lennane, "NSW's Independent Commission Against Corruption - time to go?"; Brian Martin, "Dissent and whistleblowing"; Kim Sawyer, "Professional responsibility: whistleblowing"; "Wanted: poverty-loving writer to get around defamation restraints")
  
  
• 38: July 2004 (including media watch; Edward Regan, "Whistleblower legislation long overdue"; Kim Sawyer, "Request for inquiry into whistleblowing"; Peter Bowden, "Australian standard on whistleblowing"; Derek Maitland, "Police reform in NSW: Paul Herring's story"; Amanda Chang, "Misconduct at UNSW"; Jean Lennane, "Deaths of convenience: possible homicides in which police are suspected of being involved"; Jean Lennane, report on Gary Lee-Rogers inquest)
  
  
• 37: April 2004
  
  
• 36: January 2004
  
  
• 2003
  
  
• 35: October 2003 (including an email exchange on whistleblowing and dissent)
  
  
• 34: July 2003
  
  
• 33: April 2003
  
  
• 32: January 2003
  
  
• 2002
  
  
• 31: October 2002
  
  
• 30: July 2002
  
  
• 29: April 2002
  
  
• 28: January 2002
  
  
• 2001
  
  
• 27: June 2001
  
  
• 2000
  
  
• 26: December 2000
  
  
• 25: October 2000
  
  
• 24: June 2000
  
  
• 23: February 2000
  
  
• 1999
  
  
• 22: December 1999
  
  
• 21: September 1999
  
  
• 20: June 1999
  
  
• 19: March 1999
  
  
• 1998
  
  
• 18: November 1998
  
  
• 17: September 1998
  
  
• 16: July 1998 (also available in web format) (including Jean Lennane, "Who watches the watchdogs? Lessons from ICAC"; Karl Wolf, "The ubiquity of dishonesty"; media watch; Feliks Perera, "A time for reflection" and "Comment on stress")
  
  
• 15: May 1998 (also available in web format) (including media watch (with articles on workplace bullying); Jean Lennane, "NSW Police Service whistleblower project: a powerful tool"; Kate Schroder, "UK Whistleblowers' Bill"; Brian Martin, "Valuing whistleblowers"; Bruce Ilett responds to Lionel Stirling's article on the Jan ter Horst case; Feliks Perera, "Whistleblowers' stories")
  
  
• 14: March 1998
  
  
• 1997
  
  
• 13: December 1997
  
  
• 12: August 1997
  
  
• 11: May 1997
  
  
• 10: March 1997
  
  
• 9: January 1997
  
  
• 1996
  
  
• 8: October 1996
  
  
• 7: August 1996
  
  
• 6: June 1996
  
  
• 5: April 1996 (also available in web format) (including Brian Martin, "From the national president"; Keith Potter, "Is WBA's National President unduly conservative"; Raymond Hoser, "Whistleblower gagged!"; "Tips and traps for the unwary"; media watch; Jean Lennane, "News from the Australian Securities Commission and an update on the New South Wales Police")
  
  
• 4: February 1996
  
  
• 3: January 1996
  
  
• 1995
  
  
• 2: November/December 1995
  
  
• 1: August/September 1995
  
  

Other documents

Constitution

Motions passed by the WBA National Committee and at AGMs, 1996-1998
Workshop, May 1995
NSW newsletter, April 1995
NSW newsletter, March 1995
NSW newsletter, February 1995
Newsletter, July 1993
The Whistleblower, March 1993
Conference agenda, March 1993
John McNicol, "Whistleblower protection legislation", March 1993
John McNicol, "Public service scandal", no date (1991-1993)
Whistleblowers Anonymous leaflet, no date (1991-1993)

Suppression of dissent website

in the section on Contacts