tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/transparency-3175/articlesTransparency – La Conversation2024-03-25T12:39:00Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256182024-03-25T12:39:00Z2024-03-25T12:39:00ZI’ve been studying congressional emails to constituents for 15 years − and found these 4 trends after scanning 185,222 of them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582872/original/file-20240319-26-phuyva.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C6%2C2299%2C1470&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Messages stream out from members of Congress to constituents around the country.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/washington-dc-background-royalty-free-illustration/1300184706">traffic_analyzer/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Republicans in Congress use taxpayer-funded email messages to contact constituents more often, and perhaps more effectively, than their Democratic counterparts. </p>
<p>That’s what I’ve found over 15 years of compiling and analyzing the archive that I <a href="https://www.dcinbox.com/">call DCinbox</a>, a free and open real-time archive of every official e-newsletter sent by sitting members of Congress to their constituents. </p>
<p>To my knowledge, no other institution – not even the <a href="https://www.loc.gov/">Library of Congress</a> – digitally archives these significant historical government documents whose creation and distribution is funded by the American people. So far, my compilation includes more than 184,000 official e-newsletters, and it grows by about 30 messages each day.</p>
<p>These communications are a way for legislators to present themselves and their arguments directly to constituents, free from the oversight of a newspaper or magazine editor, and in ways that can put additional information just one hyperlink away. </p>
<p>The messages reveal fundamental differences in how each party seeks to connect with and inform their constituents: Republicans prefer visual elements and strategic timing, and Democrats prefer more text-heavy missives.</p>
<p><iframe id="w838S" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/w838S/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>A public-minded legacy</h2>
<p>Direct ways for lawmakers to communicate with the public have a long and democratic history. When the United States was founded, members of Congress were allowed to adopt what had been a common practice in the British Parliament – using <a href="https://cha.house.gov/the-history-of-the-frank">taxpayer funds to send informational mailings</a> to constituents. This privilege, <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10489/3">called “franking</a>,” allowed a senator or representative to sign his or her name on an envelope’s top right corner in place of a stamp. There were rules, though – the messages had to be <a href="https://ethics.house.gov/official-allowances/frank">informational, not campaign material</a> or endorsements of other politicians.</p>
<p>In recent years, this practice has evolved into <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10489/3">sending constituents email messages</a> from House members’ and senators’ official email accounts. The rules still apply: Members of Congress who want to send campaign material or partisan political messages must do so <a href="https://cha.house.gov/communications-standards-commission">from their campaign accounts or personal accounts</a>, not email addresses ending in “@house.gov” or “@senate.gov.” </p>
<p>In 2009, I began collecting all of the official messages as a part of dissertation work, with the hopes of creating an archive for researchers to use and to answer my own questions about how legislators would “look” ideologically if all we had to go on <a href="https://www.lindseycormack.com/_files/ugd/f1b05b_258780c810564137a5c14f2a627e2a89.pdf">were the votes they decided to communicate to constituents</a>. At that time, I had to <a href="https://www.lindseycormack.com/_files/ugd/f1b05b_7c033f4587d844dd97dccdb40a33ce1c.pdf#page=27">manually enter my email address</a> into the website of every member of Congress. Now it’s easier to keep up, because I just sign up for new members’ lists after every election.</p>
<p>For years, I’ve shared various insights, analyzing <a href="https://twitter.com/DCInbox/status/677312070401056772/photo/1">word usage</a>, <a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1206965493220958209?s=20">trends in geographical terms</a> and finer bits of information such as how many members of Congress talked about <a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1343585291878195201?s=20">COVID-19 on a given day</a> during the pandemic. </p>
<p>From this work, I have developed a few major insights into how members of Congress use this free perk, offering a better understanding of contemporary political communication tactics. Here are four important points I’ve learned.</p>
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<h2>1. Republicans use email more – and with more strategic timing</h2>
<p>Over the past 15 years, Republicans have won <a href="https://github.com/unitedstates/congress-legislators">only slightly more seats</a> in the House and Senate than Democrats. But once in office, Republicans use this email perk far more than Democrats. </p>
<p>In every month I’ve been tracking these messages – except briefly in the middle of 2010, when Democrats held 59% of all the seats in Congress, and for nine of the 11 months at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and early 2021 – Republicans have sent many more official e-newsletters to constituents than Democrats have.</p>
<p>Republicans also tend to be more attuned to the leisure reading habits of people. They send a greater number of their <a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1246432110677823489?s=20">emails on weekends</a> when people are likely to have weekend time to take them in. Democrats are more likely to send their messages during the work week.</p>
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<h2>2. Republicans tend to stay on message</h2>
<p>Republicans in Congress are more consistent in using key terms and phrases than Democrats.</p>
<p>For example, back in 2023 Republicans were unhappy with Democratic attempts to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/11/politics/republican-irs-funding-87000-agents/index.html">boost the IRS’ efforts</a> to reduce tax evasion. A proposal included the projection that the IRS could <a href="https://time.com/6260075/irs-87000-agents-republican-lie/">hire an additional 87,000 workers</a> over the coming decade. Republicans took to e-newsletters to oppose that move <a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1584340479130234880?s=20">and specifically used that number</a> as a rallying cry.</p>
<p>And in 2022 and 2023, as <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/18/1176830906/overdose-death-2022-record">fentanyl deaths gripped news headlines</a>, multiple Republicans told constituents about how the volume of fentanyl in the U.S. could “kill every single American.”</p>
<p>By contrast, Democrats are far less likely to have overlapping term usage or phrasing. That suggests they are not as focused on coordinating constituent communications as Republicans.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A trio of screenshots of e-newsletters from Republican members of the House and Senate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=192&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582658/original/file-20240318-18-w9v0f0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=242&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Republican e-newsletters tend to include eye-catching images up front.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lindsey Cormack, DCinbox</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Republicans also routinely co-opt opponents’ words</h2>
<p>GOP legislators tend to adopt phrases that originate with <a href="https://grist.org/article/whats-the-green-new-deal-the-surprising-origins-behind-a-progressive-rallying-cry/">policy oriented journalists</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-critical-race-theory.html">academics</a> and <a href="https://time.com/5936408/defund-the-police-definition-movement/">protesters</a> on the left into a convenient, and dismissive, shorthand. Terms like “<a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1762522701233594855">Green New Deal</a>,” “<a href="https://x.com/FGawehns/status/1494700662604673027?s=20">critical race theory</a>,” “<a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1529807563654586370?s=20">defund the police</a>” and “Bidenomics” are all used commonly in official Republican e-newsletters railing against Democratic policy proposals.</p>
<p>Democrats in Congress didn’t have a similar sort of concerted effort to use a Republican-originated word or phrase until 2022, when they began to use the <a href="https://x.com/DCInbox/status/1666065652489043968?s=20">term “MAGA</a>” as a way to tell constituents about parts of the Republican agenda they disagree with. And even then, only 292 e-newsletters from Democrats have used MAGA, while Republicans have sent 1,531 messages deriding the Green New Deal, 496 about critical race theory, 824 with defund the police and 330 saying Bidenomics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A trio of screenshots of e-newsletters from Democratic members of the House and Senate." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582657/original/file-20240318-26-3gd12c.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Democratic e-newsletters tend to be text-heavy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lindsey Cormack, DCinbox</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Official e-newsletters have changed with the internet</h2>
<p>Official e-newsletters have changed over time, as trends of online communication have shifted. But here again, Republicans are ahead of Democrats.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dcinbox.com/email/?id=225840">Republicans use more images</a> than Democrats and tend to refer constituents to <a href="https://lindsey-cormack.medium.com/the-news-congress-pushes-to-constituents-30a84e5de639">more media outlets, including those that support right-wing views</a>.</p>
<p>This official e-newsletter archive allows researchers to better understand the evolving nature of online political communications and learn about how the parties use contemporary tools to connect with their constituents. In order for the public and historians to make sense of American politics, I believe it’s important to analyze what legislators say when acting in their official capacity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lindsey Cormack does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In taxpayer-funded email messages to constituents, Republicans prefer visual elements and strategic timing, and Democrats prefer more text-heavy missives.Lindsey Cormack, Associate Professor of Political Science, Stevens Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2258282024-03-15T14:22:33Z2024-03-15T14:22:33ZHalf the world will vote in 2024, but how many elections will be fair?<p>This year has been widely proclaimed to be the year of elections, with national elections expected in at least <a href="https://time.com/6550920/world-elections-2024/">64 countries</a>. This means that half of the world’s population will have the opportunity to change their government, choose their representatives and indirectly shape policy. It began as a year of hope – and the prospect of democratic empowerment.</p>
<p>But so far in 2024, elections have already been marred by problems. February elections in Pakistan were riddled with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/03/shehbaz-sharif-sworn-in-as-prime-minister-of-pakistan">allegations of rigging and irregularities</a>. </p>
<p>Polls were opened in Belarus, but were labelled as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/25/belarus-elections-alexander-lukashenko-opposition">“farce”</a> by opposition parties, most of which were banned from the ballot paper. International observers <a href="https://www.osce.org/odihr/563046">have called out</a> crackdowns on human rights defenders and activists who have been “imprisoned in deplorable conditions, without the right to a fair trial”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, voters are heading to the polls in Russia, where all meaningful opposition was effectively stifled before election day. The results were declared by many as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/ukraine-recap-russian-election-special-and-the-winner-will-be-vladimir-putin-225835">foregone conclusion</a> before the ballots are counted. </p>
<p>Threats to elections such as <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/16f23c01-fa51-408e-acf5-0d30a5a1ebf2">disinformation</a>, <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/reimagining-federal-election-funding/">inadequate funding of electoral authorities</a>, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-68531799">a lack of transparency over political donations</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-reasons-britains-impending-voter-id-law-is-a-bad-idea-196436">restrictive voter identification requirements</a> have been flagged as concerns elsewhere in the world where elections are due to happen – including the UK.</p>
<h2>Summit for Democracy</h2>
<p>This should come as no surprise. The reality and wider narrative in 2024 has been that we live in an era of “democratic backsliding”. According to a recent report from the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, entitled <a href="https://v-dem.net/documents/43/v-dem_dr2024_lowres.pdf">The Varieties of Democracy</a>, the global level of democracy in 2023 was back to that in 1985 – before the collapse of the Soviet Union. </p>
<p>Autocracy has been growing in eastern Europe and south and central Asia. There are also signs of democratic decline even in the older democracies such as the <a href="https://tobysjamesdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/backsliding_report_digital_v1.pdf">UK</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01442872.2021.1957459">USA</a>. </p>
<p>In response to these broad international developments, the US president, Joe Biden, launched the <a href="https://www.state.gov/summit-for-democracy-2021/">Summit for Democracy</a> in December 2021, claiming that the defence of democracy was “the defining challenge of our time”. </p>
<p>Political leaders were asked to make commitments to improve democracy in their own backyard. More than 100 governments made <a href="https://summit4democracy.org/commitments/">written and video commitments</a> for how they would do this. The first summit was virtual because of the pandemic, but this year, leaders are flying to Seoul, South Korea, for the <a href="https://s4dkorea.kr/?menuno=5">third Summit</a> to discuss how to improve the quality of democracy and elections in their countries. </p>
<p>There is considerable work to be done to improve elections globally. Since 2012, the <a href="https://www.electoralintegrityproject.com/">Electoral Integrity Project</a>, an international academic think tank which researches how to improve elections, has published <a href="https://www.electoralintegrityproject.com/global-report-2023">data on election quality</a>. The map below shows the average election quality between 2012-2022, using this data. Countries in green have the highest quality, while those in red have a lot of work to do to improve election quality.</p>
<p>Election quality is the highest in Finland (see graphic) where electoral laws are fair to smaller parties, voter registration is seamless and electoral authorities are professional. </p>
<p>Across the border in Russia, where – as we’ve heard – voters are headed to the polls, the government has almost complete control of the broadcast media which slavishly toes the government line, election results lack transparency, most prominent opposition candidates are banned from the ballot – or are either in prison, exiled, or – as in the case of Alexey Navalny – have <a href="https://theconversation.com/alexei-navalny-reported-death-of-putins-most-prominent-opponent-spells-the-end-of-politics-in-russia-223766">died in mysterious circumstances</a>.</p>
<p>But even in Finland there are areas for improvement. There is scope for better transparency in how election campaigns are funded and equal access to campaign funds. </p>
<p>Finland is not alone – money is the biggest threat to elections. Campaign finance is weakest aspect of elections around the world according to our data. The idea that underpins democracy is that everyone has an equal chance at the ballot box. So finding a way to stop the flows of money that give some candidates and parties an unfair advantage remains a central problem. </p>
<h2>Commitments missing the mark</h2>
<p>Leaders have been reluctant to use previous summits as an opportunity to make commitments to improve their elections. So far in the first two summits, only 19 countries <a href="https://commitments.summitfordemocracyresources.eu/">have committed</a> to improving the quality of their elections.</p>
<p>But some leaders have set examples by making pledges to improve the integrity of their country’s elections. In 2021, Ireland set out an extensive <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/IRELAND-Summit-for-Democracy-Written-Statement-Accessible-Final.pdf">range of commitments</a>, some of which are now a reality. This included setting up an independent <a href="https://www.electoralcommission.ie/">electoral commission</a> at a time where the independence of electoral authorities has been claimed to be under pressure in countries including <a href="https://theconversation.com/boris-johnson-plans-to-take-control-of-the-independent-electoral-commission-in-another-assault-on-democratic-institutions-171366">the UK</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/07/mexico-democracy-protestst-lopez-obrador-amlo/">Mexico</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, Ireland has been addressing weaknesses in its electoral processes. As the graphic above shows, Ireland’s greatest weakness elections is its voter registration process – and the Electoral Reform Act of 2022 has set in train a process for <a href="https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/859a0-significant-modernisation-of-irelands-electoral-system-to-be-delivered-under-electoral-reform-bill/">modernising this</a>.</p>
<p>The medicine being prescribed by some governments, does not fit the problem, however. Sweden’s elections are thought to be among the fairest in the world. The country made a commitment in 2021 to <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/220126-Swedens-democracy-commitments-Accessible-Final.pdf">improve voter turnout</a>. But according to the <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58533f31bebafbe99c85dc9b/t/649dee1ee6e6c50219e9fbd9/1688071716978/Electoral+Integrity+Global+Report+2023.pdf">Electoral Integrity Project data</a>, the most important areas for improvement are party donations and transparency.</p>
<p>Most worryingly, most countries have made no promises to improve elections at all. Free and fair elections are an indispensable part of democracy. This year, as half the world votes, successful leaders need to commit to work with all partners across the political spectrum and civil society to make elections fairer in the future based on the evidence.</p>
<p>So the 2024 Summit for Democracy is an opportunity for world leaders to make concrete commitments to ensure that elections really are a moment of free expression and empowerment – rather than autocratisation, control and disempowerment. They should do this through the use of evidence and collaboration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225828/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toby James has previously received funding from the AHRC, ESRC, Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, Electoral Commission, Nuffield Foundation, the McDougall Trust and Unlock Democracy. His current research is funded by the Canadian SSHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Ann Garnett receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Defence Academy Research Programme. She has previously received funding from: the British Academy, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the NATO Public Diplomacy Division, the American Political Science Association Centennial Centre, and the Conference of Defence Associations.</span></em></p>We are living in an era of democratic backsliding. It is becoming increasingly vital to improve the quality of elections.Toby James, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, University of East AngliaHolly Ann Garnett, Class of 1965 Professor of Leadership, Royal Military College of CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256632024-03-14T02:23:22Z2024-03-14T02:23:22ZThe federal government’s new Administrative Review Tribunal must avoid the pitfalls of ‘jobs for mates’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581805/original/file-20240313-16-zoge6w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government is in the process of abolishing a powerful independent body that reviews government decisions on everything from child support to migration status. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is being replaced by a new body, the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), at least in part because of concerns about political stacking.</p>
<p>Appointments to the AAT represent one of the <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/new-politics-public-appointments/">most egregious examples</a> of political stacking in Australia in recent years. However, there is currently no guarantee the new body won’t succumb to the same fate. </p>
<p>To build public confidence in the ART, the government must ensure a best-practice appointments process, at arm’s length from political interference.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nowhere-to-hide-the-significance-of-national-cabinet-not-being-a-cabinet-165671">Nowhere to hide: the significance of national cabinet not being a cabinet</a>
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<h2>Political appointments undermined the AAT</h2>
<p>Appointments to the AAT were prestigious, powerful and very well paid (full-time members were paid between $207,310 and $530,630 per year). This made the tribunal an attractive target for political appointments – a nice job for a mate, a place to “park talent”, or perhaps a chance to return a favour. </p>
<p>In 2022, Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/new-politics-public-appointments/">research</a> showed a staggering 20% of the AAT’s 320 tribunal members had a direct political connection to the government that appointed them. It is unlikely such a high proportion of former politicians, political advisers and party officials would emerge from a completely merit-based recruitment process.</p>
<p>Political appointments to the AAT grew in recent years, as the chart below shows. Many of these appointments were made in the lead-up to the 2019 and 2022 federal elections.</p>
<h3>Political appointments to the AAT have increased in recent years</h3>
<p>Politicisation of appointments to the AAT undermined the independence of this important expert body. Administrative merits review provides a critical check on government decisions to ensure they are right in all circumstances – recognising that routine government decisions can have a significant impact on people’s lives. Independence is vital to ensure public confidence in these decisions.</p>
<h2>The new body must be squeaky clean</h2>
<p>The government has decided to cut its losses and start again – creating a whole new tribunal.</p>
<p>In announcing this decision in December 2022, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus <a href="https://www.markdreyfus.com/media/media-releases/albanese-government-to-abolish-administrative-appeals-tribunal-mark-dreyfus-kc-mp/">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The AAT’s public standing has been irreversibly damaged as a result of the actions of the former government over the last nine years.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Given the government’s concerns about politicisation of the AAT, one would expect a best-practice appointments process for the new body. But the government’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7117#:%7E:text=Introduced%20with%20the%20Administrative%20Review,establishes%20the%20Administrative%20Review%20Council.">bill to establish the ART</a> leaves a lot of wriggle room on appointments.</p>
<h2>A best-practice appointments process</h2>
<p>A 2022 <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/new-politics-public-appointments/">Grattan Institute report</a> recommended a better appointments process for all public boards, tribunals and statutory appointments (as shown below).</p>
<h3>A better process for public appointments</h3>
<p>Key recommendations are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>all public board, tribunal and statutory appointments should be advertised, along with the selection criteria for each position</p></li>
<li><p>an independent panel should do the shortlisting</p></li>
<li><p>the minister should choose from the shortlist, or redefine and republish the selection criteria, but should not directly select any candidate not shortlisted</p></li>
<li><p>a new public appointments commissioner should oversee the process and report to parliament.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The ART bill implements some elements of this process. Notably, it requires all positions to be advertised. But other elements are incomplete or absent. </p>
<p>The bill allows for a minister to establish an assessment panel but does not <em>require</em> an <em>independent</em> panel.</p>
<p>The minister must be “satisfied” a candidate “was assessed as suitable” through a “merit-based” process. “Merit-based” is defined in the bill, but not who makes the assessment.</p>
<p>And the new appointments process lacks the oversight of a public appointments commissioner who could report to parliament and provide further information on the process when questions inevitably rise about an appointment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fix-is-in-how-to-restore-public-faith-in-government-appointments-187991">The fix is in: how to restore public faith in government appointments</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What should happen now</h2>
<p>The government will need to negotiate to get its bill through the Senate, and a Senate committee is <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/ARTBills2447">considering</a> the bill.</p>
<p>The Coalition, Greens and cross-benchers in the Senate should be calling for a best-practice appointments process to ensure the ART doesn’t suffer its predecessor’s fate.</p>
<p>And if Labor is serious about cleaning up jobs for mates, it should look much further than the AAT. <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/new-politics-public-appointments/">My research</a> shows political appointments are common across many powerful, prestigious and well-paid public boards. </p>
<p>A best-practice appointments process for all public board, tribunal and statutory appointments would reduce jobs for mates, improve our institutions and ultimately enhance Australia’s political culture.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225663/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Grattan Institute began with contributions to its endowment of $15 million from each of the Federal and Victorian Governments, $4 million from BHP Billiton, and $1 million from NAB. In order to safeguard its independence, Grattan Institute’s board controls this endowment. The funds are invested and contribute to funding Grattan Institute's activities. Grattan Institute also receives funding from corporates, foundations, and individuals to support its general activities as disclosed on its website.</span></em></p>The former Administrative Appeals Tribunal was stacked with political appointments. The government must ensure the same does not happen with its replacement.Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250662024-03-06T17:58:43Z2024-03-06T17:58:43ZCanadians need to know how much money Big Pharma gives health-care providers, but this information is far too difficult to find<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579973/original/file-20240305-18-ban0k5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=310%2C120%2C5216%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Patients need to know that treatments are recommended based on patient need, not pharma company interests. That's why it's important to know how much Big Pharma is paying to health-care providers and organizations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Drug companies often give payments to physicians, other health-care workers and health-care organizations for things like consulting fees, sitting on advisory boards, speaking at sponsored events or funding research, as well as meals and travel expenses. However, in Canada, it’s difficult to know how much was paid to whom.</p>
<p>Prominent on the website of <a href="https://innovativemedicines.ca/about/ethics/">Innovative Medicines Canada</a> (IMC) — the organization that represents the research-based drug companies operating in Canada — is the statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“As part of our commitment to high ethical standards and enhancing trust, Innovative Medicines Canada has developed a Voluntary Framework on Disclosure of Payments made to health-care professionals and organizations.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Based on that commitment, starting in 2016, <a href="https://doi.org/10.12927%2Fhcpol.2022.26729">10 companies</a> — fewer than one-quarter of IMC’s members — have been reporting how much in total they gave to doctors and organizations.</p>
<p>In order to maintain faith in the integrity of treatments that doctors and other health-care providers and organizations offer their patients, it’s vital that the public knows that the choice of therapy is based on the patient’s best interest and not on the interest of the company that makes the drug.</p>
<h2>Lack of transparency</h2>
<p>When the disclosures began, the president of IMC said the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadian-drug-makers-assailed-for-lack-of-transparency-over-payments/article35392284/">revelations were only the first step in increased transparency</a>, and that more companies were expected to disclose payments in the coming years. However, since that time, there has not been an increase in the amount of information disclosed nor in the number of companies participating.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person in a business suit shaking hands with someone in a white coat who is holding a box" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579970/original/file-20240305-20-ioc67p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Canada’s disclosure guidelines don’t require pharma companies to disclose which doctors and organizations have received payments, or what they have done to earn the money.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, two companies have stopped disclosing information altogether so now only eight companies out of the 48 that belong to IMC make even these minimum disclosures. Another company has not disclosed payments since 2021. The IMC website still lists 10 participating companies. </p>
<p>The disclosures are not centrally collected by IMC; anyone interested has to hunt around on the individual companies’ websites to find the reports. Of course, there are no penalties for failing to disclose because it’s voluntary.</p>
<p>What do we know from the information that has been disclosed? Over seven years (2016-2022) the 10 disclosing companies gave over $236 million to doctors and almost $213 million to organizations. </p>
<p>Which doctors and organizations have received these payments, what have they done to earn the money? We don’t know, because the disclosures don’t name names or give the specific purpose of the payments. And since names are withheld, the amounts given to individual doctors or organizations are also not available.</p>
<h2>Transparency in other countries</h2>
<p>In asking for the disclosure of so little information, IMC is unique among pharmaceutical industry associations in high-income countries. Disclosure systems in Australia, most European countries, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-022-00902-9">Japan</a>, <a href="https://www.medicinesnz.co.nz/our-industry/transparency-guidelines">New Zealand</a> and the United Kingdom are run by their respective industry associations. In some cases, they are still voluntary and there are also weaknesses in what they reveal — for example individual doctors can opt out of being named.</p>
<p>But they all also require that companies provide far more information than IMC does. The <a href="https://www.efpia.eu/media/413643/efpia_about_disclosure_code_updated-july-2019.pdf">European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations</a> requires all member companies to disclose the names of professionals and organizations that have received payments or other transfers of value from them. They have to disclose the total amounts of value transferred by type of activity such as grants, consultancy fees, travel payments and registration fees to attend a medical education congress.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person in a white coat out of focus in the background with a prescription bottle in the foreground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579972/original/file-20240305-30-aon8rd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Research has shown that even a $20 meal is enough to influence prescribing behaviour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These disclosures can tell us a lot about how companies and health-care professionals interact. In the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016701">four years up to September 2015</a>, 42 Australia-based companies sponsored 116,845 events for health professionals, on average 608 per week with 30 attendees per event. The median cost per event was $263 and over 90 per cent included food and beverages.</p>
<p><a href="https://haiweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Sunshine-Act.pdf">France, Denmark, Greece, Romania, Latvia, Italy</a>, <a href="https://www.policymed.com/2017/08/sunshine-act-takes-effect-in-south-korea.html">South Korea</a> and especially the United States with its <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1305090">Physician Payments Sunshine Act</a> go even further and have legislation making reporting a legal requirement. </p>
<p>The U.S. Sunshine Act mandates that pharmaceutical and medical device companies report gifts or any other transfer of value of US$10 or greater to physicians and teaching hospitals. The types of payments that need to be reported include consulting fees, honoraria, gifts, entertainment, food and beverages, travel and lodging, education, research, charitable contributions, royalties or licenses, ownership or investment interests, speakers’ fees and grants. </p>
<p>All of this information is publicly available in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-06657-0">Open Payments database</a> maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.</p>
<p>A key feature of the Open Payments database is the requirement for companies to name the product(s) that their payments are tied to. This feature has allowed researchers to examine links between doctors’ payments and prescribing. As a result, we know that a $20 meal — not much more than the price of a Quarter Pounder, fries and a Coke at McDonalds — is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2765">enough to increase prescribing</a> of the drug(s) made by the company providing the meal.</p>
<p>Ontario was poised to go even further than the Sunshine Act. Before the 2019 election, the government was finalizing regulations for <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s17025">Bill 160</a>, which would have required that all drug and device manufacturers that provided a “transfer of value” to individual health-care practitioners and health-care organizations, including patient groups, report those transfers to a public registry. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.109-5718">election of a Progressive Conservative government</a> killed that initiative.</p>
<p>Canadians deserve more transparency about pharma companies’ payments to health-care providers. Multiple studies, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000352">one that I participated in</a>, have looked at what happens when doctors take payments from drug companies. Their prescribing almost never improves. It either stays the same or, more worrisome, it gets worse. Canadians need to know what Big Pharma is paying to whom, since these payments may not be to the benefit of patients.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Between 2020-2024, Joel Lexchin received payments for writing a brief on the role of promotion in generating prescriptions for a legal firm, for being on a panel about pharmacare and for co-writing an article for a peer-reviewed medical journal. He is a member of the Board of Canadian Doctors for Medicare. He receives royalties from University of Toronto Press and James Lorimer & Co. Ltd. for books he has written. He is participating in research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.</span></em></p>Canada has a lack of transparency about Big Pharma’s payments to health-care providers and organizations. Disclosure is voluntary, and there’s no central data on even the few companies that do report.Joel Lexchin, Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2237882024-02-20T21:44:04Z2024-02-20T21:44:04ZThe ArriveCan scandal: How can we avoid similar problems in the future?<p>The release of the recent report on the ArriveCan app by Auditor General of Canada Karen Hogan hit Canadians like a bombshell: the app was supposed to cost Canadians $80,000, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2308469827667#:%7E:text=Andrew%20Chang%20breaks%20down%20the,cost%20Canadians%20nearly%20%2460%20million.">but was updated 177 times and racked up a bill of at least $59.5 million, instead</a>. The company behind the scandal, GC Strategies, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/arrivecan-investigation-gc-strategies-had-dozens-of-government-contracts-now-it-s-not-eligible-for-any-1.6771612">received millions of dollars in federal contracts in less than 10 years</a>. </p>
<p>Hogan mentioned that while it was understandable that the government had to relax certain standards to be able to respond quickly to the pandemic, waiving the requirement to provide documentation for the awarding of contracts related to the creation of the app raises questions. ArriveCan collected health and contact information for people travelling outside the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>Hogan’s report reveals shameless mismanagement of public funds by the Canada Border Services Agency.</p>
<p>How could this happen? As a specialist in public sector audit, I took a close look at how different factors combined to create this extreme situation. Here is what I found. </p>
<h2>Exceptional measures for an unprecedented situation</h2>
<p>The pandemic, which was exceptional and unprecedented, profoundly disrupted our daily lives and redefined our perception of what is normal on a global scale. </p>
<p>It led governments to take equally exceptional and often unprecedented measures.</p>
<p>For example, between 2020 and 2023, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/mandate/about-agency/acts-regulations/list-acts-regulations.html">Emergency Orders in Council were issued under the Quarantine Act</a> to protect public health in Canada. </p>
<p>Among other things, Orders in Council issued as part of Canada’s response to the pandemic <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/drugs-health-products/compliance-enforcement/covid19-interim-order-drugs-medical-devices-special-foods/note.html">facilitated the rapid acquisition of personal protective equipment</a>, making this an appropriate government response to the health emergency. However, these measures also led to abuses, particularly concerning the creation of the ArriveCan app.</p>
<h2>Conflicts of interest</h2>
<p>In the case of ArriveCan, the Auditor General noted several situations that seemed to show what appears to be a conflict of interest. </p>
<p>In her report, she points to shortcomings in the contract award process. She points out that Public Health Agency employees attended dinners and other events organized by suppliers. However, there is no documentation proving that these employees informed their supervisor of these interactions, as required by the Agency’s code of conduct.</p>
<p>It is important to underline that government entities must adhere to high standards of integrity and fairness in their procurement processes. As a result, even if the legislation does not explicitly state that a government entity which establishes criteria for a call for tenders is prohibited from bidding, it is likely that such actions would be considered a conflict of interest and contrary to the principles of fairness and transparency. </p>
<p>In fact, any supplier wishing to do business with an entity linked to the government, and in particular to the Government of Canada, must comply with the <a href="https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32627">Directive on Conflict of Interest</a> at all times and adhere to <a href="https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=25049">the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector</a>.</p>
<h2>Preparation of the call for tenders and submission of bids</h2>
<p>The Auditor General found that the company that received the contract, GC Strategies, was also involved in defining the criteria used to evaluate and select the supplier. This represents a violation of the principles of fairness and transparency put forward by Public Services and Procurement Canada, while placing the company in a position of conflict of interest.</p>
<p>Calls for tenders related to government bodies must comply with certain rules and laws <a href="https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/insights/articles/deep-dive-canadas-public-procurement-law-2-part-series">requiring transparency and non-discrimination</a>. The fundamental principles of the legal framework for calls for tenders in Canada emphasize openness, fairness and transparency in the procurement processes. This means that <a href="https://buyandsell.gc.ca/for-government/buying-for-the-government-of-canada/the-procurement-rules-and-process">any tendering process must be open</a> (anyone can bid), fair (bidders and potential bidders are treated equally) and transparent (the rules are known to everyone).</p>
<p>This was clearly not the case for ArriveCan.</p>
<h2>Lack of accountability</h2>
<p>Another key issue was project management, where everyone’s responsibilities must be clearly established. The Auditor General noted major shortcomings in this area, noting that no formal agreement had been established to specify the roles and responsibilities of each party in the creation and management of the ArriveCan project. </p>
<p>Yet the <a href="https://www.tbs-sct.canada.ca/pol/doc-eng.aspx?id=32594&section=html">Government of Canada Directive on the Management of Projects and Programmes</a> clearly stipulates the need to assign the various responsibilities of a project in order to ensure accountability. This notion is also part of the <a href="https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/ethics/pmi-code-of-ethics.pdf">Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Project Management Institute</a>, the body that governs project managers. </p>
<p>These shortcomings in terms of accountability and responsibility led to ineffective reporting, as the Auditor General points out in her report.</p>
<h2>An exceptional incident, but not an isolated one</h2>
<p>Although the case of the ArriveCan app is surprising for Canadian taxpayers, with costs skyrocketing from $80,000 to nearly $59.5 million, it is not an isolated incident in the history of Canadian government projects. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sponsorship-scandal-adscam">Sponsorship scandal</a> is a good example. Between 1997 and 2003, public funds were used to finance public relations campaigns aimed at countering the pro-sovereignty efforts of a provincial political party (the Parti Québécois), without adequate oversight of the spending or effectiveness of these campaigns.</p>
<p>There is also the example of Montréal’s Formula E pilot project in July 2017, which involved electric vehicle races held on its streets. <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2018/05/28/montreals-inspector-general-blasts-ex-mayor-denis-coderre-over-formula-e-race/">In her report on the event</a>, the Auditor General of the City of Montréal claimed that the project suffered from ineffective management, unclear allocation of roles and responsibilities, and lack of accountability. At the time, many commentators felt that the affair was partly responsible for then Mayor Denis Coderre losing his re-election. </p>
<h2>Solutions to avoid such scandals</h2>
<p>The ArriveCan affair is just the most recent example of scandals involving an outrageous use of public funds. This underlines the crucial importance of transparent governance and rigorous management of public funds in maintaining the trust of citizens and preserving the integrity of institutions. </p>
<p>As a result, governmental and paragovernmental entities should implement controls to ensure compliance with the various government policies and directives to which they are subject. </p>
<p>In addition, committees made up of members from outside the organization should be set up to evaluate different projects while ensuring proper management and effective and timely reporting on them. This would ensure that the organization’s decisions and actions are subject to impartial and thorough scrutiny, thereby promoting greater transparency and accountability among the players involved. </p>
<p>Although basic, these measures would nevertheless help reinforce accountability among various stakeholders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223788/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Annie Lecompte ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The cost overruns of the ArriveCan app are exceptional, but the scandal is not unique in history. There are solutions available to prevent the excessive use of public funds.Annie Lecompte, Associate professor, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2214112024-01-19T00:37:04Z2024-01-19T00:37:04ZIsrael now ranks among the world’s leading jailers of journalists. We don’t know why they’re behind bars<p>Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to a <a href="https://cpj.org/reports/2024/01/2023-prison-census-jailed-journalist-numbers-near-record-high-israel-imprisonments-spike/">newly released census</a> compiled by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.</p>
<p>Each year, the committee releases a snapshot of the number of journalists behind bars as of December 1 2023 was the second highest on record with 320 in detention around the world. </p>
<p>In a small way, that is encouraging news. The figure is down from a high of 363 the previous year.</p>
<p>But a troublingly large number remain locked up, undermining press freedom and often, human rights.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-one-journalist-per-day-is-dying-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict-this-has-to-stop-217272">More than one journalist per day is dying in the Israel-Gaza conflict. This has to stop</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>China takes out unenviable top spot</h2>
<p>At the top of the list sits China with 44 in detention, followed by Myanmar (43), Belarus (28), Russia (22), and Vietnam (19). Israel and Iran share sixth place with 17 each. </p>
<p>While the dip in numbers is positive, the statistics expose a few troubling trends. </p>
<p>As well as a straight count, the Committee to Protect Journalists examines the charges the journalists are facing. The advocacy group found that globally, almost two-thirds are behind bars on what they broadly describe as “anti-state charges” – things such as espionage, terrorism, false news and so on. </p>
<p>In other words, governments have come to regard journalism as some sort of existential threat that has to be dealt with using national security legislation. </p>
<p>In some cases, that may be justified. It is impossible to independently assess the legitimacy of each case, but it does point to the way governments increasingly regard information and the media as a part of the battlefield. That places journalists in the dangerous position of sometimes being unwitting combatants in often brutally violent struggles.</p>
<p>China’s top spot is hardly surprising. It has been there – or close to it – for some years. Censorship makes it extremely difficult to make an accurate assessment of the numbers behind bars, but since the crackdown on pro-democracy activists in 2021, journalists from Hong Kong have, for the first time, found themselves locked up. And almost half of China’s total are Uyghurs from Xinjiang, where Beijing has been accused of <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/2022-08-31/22-08-31-final-assesment.pdf">human rights abuses</a> in its ongoing repression of the region’s mostly Muslim ethnic minorities.</p>
<p>The rest of the top four are also familiar, but the two biggest movements are unexpected. </p>
<p>Iran had been the <a href="https://cpj.org/reports/2022/12/number-of-jailed-journalists-spikes-to-new-global-record/#:%7E:text=The%20Committee%20to%20Protect%20Journalists,in%20a%20deteriorating%20media%20landscape.">2022 gold medallist</a> with 62 journalists imprisoned. In the latest census, it dropped to sixth place with just 17. And Israel, which previously had only one behind bars, has climbed to share that place. </p>
<p>That is positive news for Iranian journalists, but awkward for Israel, which repeatedly argues it is the only democracy in the Middle East and the only one that <a href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-709045#google_vignette">respects media freedom</a>. It also routinely points to Iran for its long-running assault on critics of the regime. </p>
<p>The journalists Israel had detained were all from the occupied West Bank, all Palestinian, and all arrested after Hamas’s horrific attacks from Gaza on October 7. But we know very little about why they were detained. The journalists’ relatives told the committee that most are under what Israel describes as “administrative detention”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gaza-war-israeli-government-has-haaretz-newspaper-in-its-sights-as-it-tightens-screws-on-media-freedom-218730">Gaza war: Israeli government has Haaretz newspaper in its sights as it tightens screws on media freedom</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>17 arrests in Israel in less than 2 months</h2>
<p>The benign term “administrative detention” in fact means the journalists have been incarcerated <a href="https://www.btselem.org/topic/administrative_detention">indefinitely, without trial or charge</a>. </p>
<p>It is possible that they were somehow planning attacks or involved with extremism (Israel uses administrative detention to stop people they accuse of planning to commit a future offence) but the evidence used to justify the detention is not disclosed. We don’t even know why they were arrested. </p>
<p>Israel’s place near the top of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ list exposes a difficult paradox. Media freedom is an intrinsic part of a free democracy. A vibrant, awkward and sometimes snarly media is a proven way to keep public debate alive and the political system healthy. </p>
<p>It is often uncomfortable, but you can’t have a strong democratic system without journalists freely and vigorously fulfilling their watchdog role. In fact, a good way to tell if a democracy is sliding is the extent of a government’s crackdown on the media.</p>
<p>This is not to suggest equivalence between Israel and Iran. Israel remains a democracy, and Israeli media is often savagely <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/public-trust-in-government-scrapes-bottom-amid-criticism-for-inadequate-war-response/">critical</a> of its government in ways that would be unthinkable in Tehran. </p>
<p>But if Israel wants to restore confidence in its commitment to democratic norms, at the very least it will need to be transparent about the reasons for arresting 17 journalists in less than two months, and the evidence against them. And if there is no evidence they pose a genuine threat to Israeli security, they must be released immediately. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-a-time-when-journalism-needs-to-be-at-its-strongest-an-open-letter-on-the-israel-hamas-war-has-left-the-profession-diminished-218596">At a time when journalism needs to be at its strongest, an open letter on the Israel/Hamas war has left the profession diminished</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Greste is Professor of Journalism at Macquarie University, and the Executive Director of the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom. He was also a signatory of an open letter calling for balanced coverage in the Gaza/Israel conflict and in 2006, covered Gaza for the BBC. </span></em></p>New statistics show a spike in the amount of journalists jailed in the country. To protect its democracy, Israel needs to be transparent about why members of the media are arrested.Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2168352023-11-12T19:14:24Z2023-11-12T19:14:24ZWho’s lobbying whom? When it comes to alcohol, tobacco, food and gambling firms, we’re in the dark<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558269/original/file-20231108-23-hhpw6i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C1000%2C658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/business-people-shaking-hands-finishing-meeting-420967090">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Alcohol, tobacco, food and gambling industries are among those that lobby government ministers and their advisors to help shape public policy.</p>
<p>But when we looked for details of who’s lobbying whom in Australia, we found government lobbyist registers largely left us in the dark.</p>
<p>In our recently <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/5/daad134/7326506">published research</a>, we found these registers were time-consuming to navigate and not detailed enough. The registers couldn’t give us a comprehensive picture of who’s lobbying whom, and how often. Most registers weren’t set up to do so.</p>
<p>We’re concerned about this lack of transparency and the potential for business interests to have undue influence over health policies. This has the potential to <a href="https://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NIS_FULL_REPORT_Web.pdf">diminish trust in government</a>, a risk to democracy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-tax-how-pwc-kpmg-and-other-consultants-risk-influencing-public-health-too-209687">It's not just tax. How PwC, KPMG and other consultants risk influencing public health too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why are we concerned about lobbying?</h2>
<p>In Australia, anyone can lobby governments and has a right to represent their views. It’s an important part of the democratic process. Yet not everyone has fair access to decision makers. </p>
<p>Some <a href="https://theconversation.com/paying-the-piper-and-calling-the-tune-following-clubsnsws-political-donations-60639">individuals and businesses</a> have outsized and <a href="https://theconversation.com/influence-in-australian-politics-needs-an-urgent-overhaul-heres-how-to-do-it-103535">undue influence</a> on government decision making. Lobbying is one form of such influence.</p>
<p>For instance, in the past ten years or so, the <a href="https://movendi.ngo/news/2021/12/06/australia-alcohol-lobby-pushes-to-weaken-public-health-again/">alcohol industry</a> has lobbied to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/3/daac022/6573372">delay implementation</a> of pregnancy warning labels.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1683996791820398592"}"></div></p>
<p>The gambling industry, which has funnelled <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-14/how-the-gambling-industry-cashed-in-on-political-donations/100509026">millions of dollars</a> into both major political parties, has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/24/gambling-companies-accused-of-using-big-tobaccos-tactics-in-push-for-weaker-regulations">lobbied to weaken gambling regulations</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-even-winning-is-losing-the-surprising-cost-of-defeating-philip-morris-over-plain-packaging-114279">tobacco industry</a> sued the Australian government for its plain packaging laws, <a href="https://tobaccotactics.org/article/alliance-of-australian-retailers/">after concerted lobbying</a> had failed to derail plans to introduce them. While the lawsuit was unsuccessful, this has <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-tobaccos-decisive-defeat-on-plain-packaging-laws-wont-stop-its-war-against-public-health-140439">deterred</a> other governments from implementing similar laws. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-businesses-want-the-ear-of-government-and-are-willing-to-pay-for-it-90688">Why businesses want the ear of government and are willing to pay for it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A deep dive into lobbyist registers</h2>
<p>Understanding who is seeing which government ministers or their advisors and what they are meeting about is the first step towards protecting against undue political influence and fostering political integrity.</p>
<p>So we decided to look at lobbyist registers to see what they tell us. These registers are like <a href="https://lobbyists.ag.gov.au/register">digital phone books</a>, with information about lobbyists. The aim of these registers is to guard against undue or unethical political influence. </p>
<p>Last year, we systematically extracted information from all lobbyist registers in Australia. All jurisdictions, except for the Northern Territory, have one. We: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>compared the disclosure requirements of Australian with international registers</p></li>
<li><p>mapped the population of lobby firms, lobbyists and clients that were active in each jurisdiction</p></li>
<li><p>identified which lobby firms represented tobacco, alcohol, gambling and ultra-processed food organisations.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1656525972781387776"}"></div></p>
<h2>Here’s what we found</h2>
<p>Compared to international lobbying registers, Australian registers provided little information. In the United States, for instance, companies must disclose <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying">how much money</a> they spend on lobbying.</p>
<p>Only four jurisdictions (federal, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland) provided information about whether a lobbyist had previously worked in government. We need to know this to gauge whether there are any conflicts of interest.</p>
<p>Of the registers that provided this information, few provided enough detail to identify the specific position or the exact date a lobbyist left government. Of particular concern, 96 lobbyists said they both <em>had</em> and <em>had not</em> worked in government, raising questions about oversight of these registers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politicians-who-become-lobbyists-can-be-bad-for-australians-health-124078">Politicians who become lobbyists can be bad for Australians' health</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Which industry hired the most lobby firms?</h2>
<p>Of the four industries we explored, gambling organisations hired the most lobby firms, followed by food, alcohol and tobacco. </p>
<p>Tobacco companies hired lobby firms in six jurisdictions, potentially contravening Article 5.3 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which <a href="https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-19-ftct/19-3-who-fctc-guiding-principles-and-general-obligations-">warns against</a> the tobacco industry lobbying governments.</p>
<p>Most registers are a directory of lobbyists rather than their activities. So, as most registers did not require disclosure of lobbying activities, it is unclear what service the firms provided for the tobacco industry.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-worked-out-how-many-tobacco-lobbyists-end-up-in-government-and-vice-versa-its-a-lot-205382">We worked out how many tobacco lobbyists end up in government, and vice versa. It's a lot</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s missing?</h2>
<p>Registers only provide information about “<a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/integrity/australian-government-register-lobbyists">third party</a>” lobbyists that work for professional lobby firms. This excludes many lobbyists working in Australia, such as those working directly for tobacco or alcohol companies or industry associations. In practice, this means a great deal of lobbying is hidden from the public.</p>
<p>Except for Queensland, registers did not provide a record of lobbyist meetings or contact with government officials. This information is important to understand who meets whom, and why. </p>
<p>The lobbyist registers hold no information about how much money is spent on, or received for, lobbying activities. </p>
<p>Lastly, we cannot see which individual lobbyists worked for which client. For firms that represent organisations with different interests, this raises questions about potential conflicts of interest.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1683365436094840832"}"></div></p>
<h2>Greater transparency and oversight needed</h2>
<p>In the past year, Australia has created the <a href="https://www.nacc.gov.au">National Anti-Corruption Commission</a> and <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Political_Influence_of_Donations/PoliticalDonations/Report_1">recommendations</a> about reforming political donations. Lobbying reform is the next logical step to ensure an integrated and coherent approach to political integrity. </p>
<p>The Australian government, like others, has a <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/integrity/publications/lobbying-code-conduct">lobbying code of conduct</a> with rules about ethical behaviour. It also stipulates that former members of government are not allowed to work as lobbyists for a “cooling off period” of 12 or 18 months (depending on where someone worked in government).</p>
<p>However, in the lobbying code, “lobbyist” is only understood as those working for third-party firms (such as the ones we analysed). It places no restrictions on ministers or government officials taking jobs with companies they used to regulate, or the consulting sector. Expanding the definition to include all forms of lobbying would help close this loophole. </p>
<p>We also need better enforcement of the rules around lobbying with sanctions and fines imposed to improve compliance.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revolving-door-why-politicians-become-lobbyists-and-lobbyists-become-politicians-64237">The revolving door: why politicians become lobbyists, and lobbyists become politicians</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216835/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Lacy-Nichols receives funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation. She is a member of the People's Health Movement, Healthy Food Systems Australia and the expert advisory group on commercial determinants of health for the World Health Organization. The findings of the research reported in this article, and the views expressed, are hers alone and not necessarily those of the above organisations.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Cullerton receives funding from the NHMRC and the Children's Health Foundation. She is on the executive of the Food and Nutrition Special Interest Group for the Public Health Association of Australia. </span></em></p>We found lobbying registers were hard to navigate and not detailed enough.Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, Research fellow, The University of MelbourneKatherine Cullerton, Research Fellow, Food and Nutrition Policy, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2110832023-08-22T12:25:07Z2023-08-22T12:25:07ZCameras in the court: Why most Trump trials won’t be televised<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543814/original/file-20230821-15-eau0j.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C7%2C4859%2C3239&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not inside: News cameras set up outside the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, where former President Donald Trump was due in court on Aug. 2, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TrumpCapitolRiot/2484aeafa94d432fa16882ed077ccac4/photo?Query=prettyman%20courthouse&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=now-30d&totalCount=156&currentItemNo=3">AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Americans will have few opportunities to binge-watch the Donald J. Trump trials.</p>
<p>It is unlikely the four court proceedings facing the former president will be televised live, with the exception <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/15/us/politics/trump-georgia-indictment-annotated.html">of the case in Georgia</a>, which favors public transparency under a policy established for that state’s courts known as <a href="https://www.gasupreme.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/USCR_22_Order-FINAL_Feb-6.pdf">Rule 22</a>.</p>
<p>The near blackout will leave 330 million Americans relying on news reports, artist renderings and social media posts for the bulk of their information, despite wanting to see the live proceedings for themselves.</p>
<p>A Quinnipiac University poll released Aug. 16, 2023, indicates that <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3877#question-37">71% of Americans support television coverage</a> of Trump’s “trial related to his attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.” A June poll found that <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3874#question-18">64% support televising proceedings</a> regarding Trump’s handling of classified documents. Even members of Congress from both sides of the aisle <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/833?s=1&r=91">proposed legislation</a> requiring cameras in the U.S. Supreme Court.</p>
<p>After all, courtroom cameras are allowed <a href="https://courts.rtdna.org/">in nearly all state courts</a>, along with the 9th and 2nd U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, which cover cases from the West Coast and the Northeast states of New York, Connecticut and Vermont. In this age of <a href="https://www.courttv.com/">Court TV</a> and <a href="http://www.judgejudy.com/">Judge Judy</a>, why would trials not be televised?</p>
<p>As director of the <a href="https://brechner.org/">Brechner Freedom of Information Project</a> at the University of Florida, I get that question a lot. Our center, for nearly 50 years, has researched the public’s ability to access civic data critical for self-governance.</p>
<p>There are many reasons why all trials aren’t televised, spanning the history of case law, congressional legislation, empirical research, high-profile “circus” trials and, in some cases, fear.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A drawing of a lot of men in a court." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543815/original/file-20230821-29-z0zq0l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An artist’s sketch depicting former President Donald Trump, center, conferring with his defense lawyer during his appearance at a federal courthouse in Washington on Aug. 3, 2023, as Special Counsel Jack Smith sits at far left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXTrumpIndictmentCapitolRiot/efdc98072ad24543a6432de342a4a1be/photo?Query=Trump%20court%20appearance&mediaType=photo&sortBy=creationdatetime:desc&dateRange=now-30d&totalCount=17&currentItemNo=1">Dana Verkouteren via AP</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>From public to pensive</h2>
<p>The right to a public trial is enshrined in English common law and the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/sixth_amendment">Sixth Amendment</a> to the U.S. Constitution. Almost everyone is guaranteed public access to, and thus oversight of, their case, which allows the public to hold the system accountable.</p>
<p>But the <a href="https://cqpress.sagepub.com/cqresearcher/report/cameras-courtroom-cqresrre20110114">courts have struggled</a> to define how “public” to make a public trial.</p>
<p>In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr was <a href="https://www.famous-trials.com/burr/169-judgement">tried for treason</a> in Richmond, Virginia, drawing reporters from throughout the country for what was called the “Trial of the Century.” While newspapers published inflammatory articles against Burr, <a href="https://webcitation.org/5nfK1KlO9">Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall determined</a> that the negative pretrial publicity did not prejudice the jury or damage the sanctity of the court. </p>
<p>Technology, over time, would change that thinking.</p>
<p>The 1925 Scopes “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Scopes-Trial">Monkey Trial</a>,” in which a teacher was accused of illegally teaching evolution, was the first to be covered on live radio and integrate electronic technology. Cameras documented the 1935 trial of Bruno Hauptmann for the kidnapping and killing of Charles Lindbergh’s son, resulting in what some described as a “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27654682">media circus</a>.”</p>
<p>In response, the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/08838155709385746">American Bar Association adopted Canon 35</a>, banning photographers and microphones from the courtroom to protect the “essential dignity” of proceedings. In 1946, Congress enacted the <a href="https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/frcrimp/rule53/">Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53</a>, prohibiting cameras and broadcasters from federal criminal trials, but not for state courts.</p>
<p>Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas and other states began allowing TV cameras in court, which was deemed constitutional in 1981 by the Supreme Court in <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1980/79-1260">Chandler v. Florida</a>, although the high court would not permit cameras in its own proceedings. Generally, in most state courts, an individual judge can make the ultimate decision about allowing cameras in their courtroom.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.courttv.com/about-us/">Court TV</a> <a href="https://gizmodo.com/a-brief-history-of-court-tv-where-many-a-true-crime-ob-1708115679">debuted in 1991</a>, and the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1995 sparked widespread criticism of televised proceedings, which continues to resonate today. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ywlk5CgwNT4&list=PL4CBB5711EF7BD211&index=6">said in 2018</a> that with cameras allowed in the high court, “I think, frankly, some of my colleagues would act differently, and that would affect what we think is a very important and well-functioning part of the decision process.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a suit in front of bookshelves being filmed by old-fashioned cameras." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543817/original/file-20230821-13912-wo73xx.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cameras follow Charles Lindbergh as he enters Hunterdon County Court in Flemington, N.J., for the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, charged in the kidnapping and murder of Lindbergh’s son, Charles Jr.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cameras-follow-charles-lindbergh-as-he-enters-hunterdon-news-photo/515589018?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Grandstanding or transparency?</h2>
<p>Some argue that televising the Trump trials would encourage his team to <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-trial-reality-tv-special-dems-think-rcna98872">employ courtroom theatrics</a> to build public support for reelection. A lawyer representing Trump in the federal 2020 election case said in July that he would <a href="https://www.rawstory.com/jack-smith-2662323492/">prefer cameras in the courtroom</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/case-against-cameras-courtroom">Judges say cameras</a> invite grandstanding by lawyers, intimidate jurors and witnesses, or cause select sound bites to reflect poorly on the court. Indeed, a recent experiment found that people watching videos of judges arguing with lawyers were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09848-5">less supportive of judges</a> than when they witnessed neutral exchanges between the two parties.</p>
<p>Even camera angles can affect perceptions – one experiment showed that when jurors saw video of a suspect confessing, they were more likely to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20182813">ascribe guilt</a> if the video showed just the suspect, excluding the interrogator. </p>
<p>Introduce the possibility of using artificial intelligence to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/02/11/deepfake-newscast-ai-chinese-messaging-wang-pkg-ac360-vpx.cnn">create deepfake videos</a> about courtroom proceedings, and judges may get even more skittish.</p>
<p>On the other hand, official recorded court proceedings could counter misinformation. Transparent trials shed light on the truth and have “significant community therapeutic value,” as then-Supreme Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote in 1980 in <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/448/555/#tab-opinion-1953703">Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia</a>, a case that guaranteed the media’s right to attend criminal trials.</p>
<p>Televising trials could lead to greater public <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/03/trump-trial-tv-broadcast/">understanding of the legal system</a>, at a time when only 47% of Americans <a href="https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-civics-knowledge-drops-on-first-amendment-and-branches-of-government/">can name all three branches</a> of government. Trust in the federal courts has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-poll-abortion-confidence-declining-0ff738589bd7815bf0eab804baa5f3d1">dropped to its lowest point in 50 years</a>, and trust in the Supreme Court, specifically, <a href="https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3874">continues to plummet</a>. </p>
<p>Providing more information to the public <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381610000034">increases trust in institutions</a>. One study indicates that recording trials can actually help <a href="https://columbialawreview.org/content/judges-on-demand-the-cognitive-case-for-cameras-in-the-courtroom/">train better lawyers</a> by viewing, not just reading about, previous cases.</p>
<p>A 1994 Federal Judicial Center study found that judges and lawyers <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/electronic-media-coverage-federal-civil-proceedings-evaluation">noted little-to-no detrimental effect</a> of cameras on federal proceedings. Witnesses said they weren’t distracted by cameras, and jurors said TV coverage did not affect their judgment.</p>
<p>If anything, some assert that cameras can <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/publications/litigation_journal/2020-21/spring/cameras-might-alter-courtroom-behavior-maybe-thats-point/">improve performance and behavior</a> of participants because of the extra scrutiny, and one study indicated that live blogging from trials <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437211022730">improves professionalism</a> of lawyers and judges. Televising federal trials wouldn’t be unusual – <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol2012/iss6/9/">Canada, England and Brazil</a> televise theirs.</p>
<p>Given the significance of the Trump trials, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/opinion/trump-jan-6-trial-tv.html">some say the rules should be changed quickly</a> to ensure the public sees firsthand what transpires, even if just for history’s sake. That would require an act of Congress and a rule change by the <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/topics/judicial-conference-united-states">Judicial Conference</a>, which makes policy for U.S. courts.</p>
<p>Perhaps a televised trial in Georgia will put the issue to the test by serving as a comparison, or experiment, of sorts. In the future, the United States may continue to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1969115">move toward cameras</a> in all courts, including the Supreme Court, through audio recordings, posting of transcripts, releasing video after the proceedings, and well-controlled courtroom decorum – until they begin streaming justice live, routinely, and for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211083/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Cuillier does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The majority of Americans support TV coverage of former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges he attempted to overturn the 2020 election.David Cuillier, Director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, College of Journalism and Communications, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092622023-07-16T09:58:13Z2023-07-16T09:58:13ZSouth Africa’s public protector has a vital watchdog role. Researcher offers tips on how the selection process can be improved<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536831/original/file-20230711-23-s0daqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane at her impeachment hearing in Cape Town.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Lombard/Gallo Images via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994 made it necessary to establish several institutions to underpin the country’s new constitutional democracy.</p>
<p>The office of the public protector was one of them. It was established in 1995 to exercise oversight over governmental power. The constitution grants the public protector autonomy to <a href="https://www.oxford.co.za/book/9780195991376-south-african-constitutional-law-in-context">investigate</a> improper government conduct and maladministration. The aim is to enhance government accountability and responsibility, thus safeguarding the public interest. </p>
<p>The term of the third incumbent, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who was appointed in 2016, has been mired in <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-public-protectors-job-is-to-make-sure-people-stick-to-the-law-not-to-change-it-79931">controversy</a>. She has faced serious criticism and calls for her removal amid allegations of <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-07-23-now-that-the-concourt-has-found-the-public-protector-both-dishonest-and-incompetent-will-parliament-axe-her/">dishonesty and incompetence</a>. She was suspended on 9 June 2022 and is the subject of an <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/36572/">impeachment inquiry</a>. </p>
<p>It’s not the first time the office has been caught up in controversy. Lawrence Mushwana, the second public protector (2002-2009), was <a href="https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/sas-public-protectors-the-legacies-part-two/">perceived</a> by some as biased towards the governing African National Congress. This raised doubts in some quarters about the institution’s independence and impartiality.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/storm-around-south-africas-public-protector-shows-robustness-not-a-crisis-120902">Storm around South Africa's public protector shows robustness, not a crisis</a>
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<p>The controversies and their impacts show how important it is to make the right appointment to the position. </p>
<p>I have been teaching and <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC-1a7adf489e">conducting research</a> in organisational psychology and theory for the past decade. My diverse research interests in the areas of professional employee recruitment and selection have provided me with valuable insights into best practices.</p>
<p>In a joint <a href="https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/1207">2021 study</a> we examined the recruitment and selection process of South Africa’s <a href="https://www.pprotect.org/">public protector</a>. In our view the <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/media-statement-committee-nominate-next-public-protector-calls-nominations-or-applications">process</a> is deeply flawed. It needs an overhaul to ensure it is transparent, professional and free from political bias. </p>
<p>In particular, enlisting the expertise of professionals would make the recruitment and selection process more robust, transparent and fair. </p>
<p>Our analysis highlights the need for a comprehensive approach to the process. It must involve multiple stakeholders and expertise from fields such as law, human resources, and work or organisational psychology.</p>
<p>Fixing the flaws will improve competence and public trust in the public protector’s office.</p>
<h2>The public protector</h2>
<p>The public protector is one of six institutions created by <a href="https://openbooks.uct.ac.za/uct/catalog/download/25/32/1275?inline=1">Chapter 9</a> of the South African constitution. The office investigates improper conduct in state affairs and public administration.</p>
<p>It is <a href="https://constitutionallawofsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Chap24A.pdf">entrusted</a> with monitoring state officials and agencies to promote an effective, ethical and accountable public service. The office plays a vital “<a href="https://constitutionallawofsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Chap24A.pdf">government watchdog</a>” role in safeguarding the public interest.</p>
<p>Given the public protector’s crucial role in combating corruption and maladministration, the selection of a <a href="https://pmg.org.za/committee-meeting/22629/">“fit and proper”</a> candidate is paramount. Making the <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/full/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1207">right appointment is key</a> for the institution’s effectiveness and integrity.</p>
<h2>Flaws in the recruitment process</h2>
<p>The constitution <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1207">outlines</a> the appointment procedures for and functions of the public protector. But it lacks specific guidelines for the recruitment and selection of a suitable candidate. This raises concerns about the fairness of the process and potential political influence. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1207">Public Protector Act, 1994</a> also outlines the requirements for appointment. But it too does not provide a clear definition of what constitutes a “fit and proper” person for the role. It lists qualifications such as legal expertise, administrative knowledge and cumulative experience of 10 years in the administration of justice, public administration or public finance.</p>
<p>It doesn’t explain why it emphasises 10 years of experience, or why these specific criteria are important. </p>
<p>The act does not promote transparency in the appointment process. Instead of following a professional recruitment and selection approach, it leaves this to a committee of the national assembly. The committee consists of representatives of various political parties. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ghanas-new-chief-justice-gertrude-tokornoo-faces-challenges-but-could-help-transform-the-countrys-courts-208595">Ghana's new chief justice: Gertrude Tokornoo faces challenges, but could help transform the country's courts</a>
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<p>Filling the committee with politicians compromises the professional ethics of recruitment and selection. The committee lacks qualifications in human resources or recruitment. It has no training on the process. Yet, it recommends a candidate to be appointed by the president.</p>
<p>The committee has no clear guidelines or criteria for choosing a fit and proper person for the position. It relies on interviews and personal judgments, leaving room for bias and subjective decision making. The committee does not provide its rationale for the qualities considered during the shortlisting of candidates. </p>
<h2>What needs to happen</h2>
<p>Clear guidelines, competencies and expert input should be established so that a qualified and suitable candidate is appointed for this important role.</p>
<p>The recruitment process should adhere to best practices in human resources. It should use scientific methods to assess candidates’ knowledge, skills and abilities. </p>
<p>Human resources experts can provide insights and expertise in developing the selection criteria, based on job analysis and competency frameworks. They can help develop standardised methods of assessment, including competency-based behavioural assessments. These can be used to evaluate candidates’ qualifications, integrity, reliability, diligence and other required characteristics.</p>
<p>Work or organisational psychology experts would use structured interviews, comprehensive reference checks, and blind or anonymous assessments.</p>
<h2>Effectiveness and integrity</h2>
<p>The recruitment and selection process for a new public protector <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/media-statement-committee-nominate-next-public-protector-calls-nominations-or-applications">started in May</a>. The current incumbent’s term expires in October. The public protector is appointed for a non-renewable seven-year term. </p>
<p>The appointment directly affects the country’s governance and accountability of public officials. </p>
<p>Selection of unsuitable candidates compromises the effectiveness and integrity of the office. </p>
<p>Our research highlights the urgency of addressing these procedural issues so that the public protector can fulfil its role of protecting the public interest, promoting transparency and upholding democratic principles.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandiso Bazana does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Past controversies and their impacts show how important it is to make the right appointment to the position.Sandiso Bazana, PhD Candidate/Research & Teaching Assistant, Grenoble Ecole de Management/Lecturer in Organisational Psychology, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2075382023-06-14T13:34:37Z2023-06-14T13:34:37ZWater quality in South Africa: reports show what needs to be fixed, and at what cost<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531921/original/file-20230614-15-99hkpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michele Spatari /AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The citizens of Hammanskraal, a small town north of South Africa’s capital, Tshwane, have been dealing with the deaths of 23 residents from cholera since 23 May 2023. Tests to find the source are continuing. The initial assumption by residents and authorities was that poor quality water led to the outbreak. In one week in May, 163 patients were <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-joe-phaahla-updates-cholera-outbreak#:%7E:text=The%20current%20outbreak%20of%20Cholera,returned%20on%2030%20January%202023.">admitted</a> to the Jubilee Hospital with diarrhoea and vomiting.</p>
<p>In 2019 the South African Human Rights Commission <a href="https://www.sahrc.org.za/index.php/sahrc-media/news/item/2089-water-warning-for-hammanskraal-residents-issued-by-sahrc">confirmed</a> what residents already knew. The samples the commission drew from Temba Water Treatment Works, Kekana Primary School, Refentse Clinic and Hammanskraal Secondary School revealed that the water was unfit for human consumption.</p>
<p>Hammanskraal illustrates a much wider and deeper problem in the country. The problem is highlighted by <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/latestresults.aspx">reports recently released</a> by the Department of Water and Sanitation. These watch reports give an update on the status of water treatment, wastewater treatment and water losses. The Blue Drop, Green Drop, and No Drop Watch Reports each present an interim analysis of the deteriorating status of water services in the country.</p>
<p>These latest reports are welcomed and place the spotlight on South Africa’s capability to deal with water resources. The reporting programme was <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-senzo-mchunu-release-blue-drop-watch-report-no-drop-watch-report-and-green-drop">introduced</a> in 2008. The reports were not published since 2014.</p>
<p>However, recent Drop Water Reports suggest a fresh leadership is emerging within the Department of Water and Sanitation. And, from the language in the introduction, the department appears to be better positioned than before in demanding greater accountability from municipalities as well as offering them support. </p>
<p>All three reports are very specific in identifying the condition of treatment plants and water infrastructure. They identify what needs to be fixed or maintained and at what cost. This level of intent hasn’t been visible before.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-drinking-water-quality-has-dropped-because-of-defective-infrastructure-and-neglect-new-report-207267">South Africa's drinking water quality has dropped because of defective infrastructure and neglect – new report</a>
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<p>It is also worth recognising how some municipalities are performing well in difficult circumstances. The Linton water treatment works in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is a good example. The city and region have been in the grip of prolonged drought <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/south-africas-nelson-mandela-bay-water-crisis/">since 2015</a> but have managed to achieve excellent water quality standards. </p>
<p>The reports are the first stage in informing actions and mitigation measures. Overall they identify the need for better governance, monitoring and reporting and an improvement of systems.</p>
<h2>Latest update</h2>
<p>The summary findings of the Department of Water and Sanitation’s reports recently <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-senzo-mchunu-release-blue-drop-watch-report-no-drop-watch-report-and-green-drop">released</a> are as follows:</p>
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<li><p>The <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/releases/BDWR.pdf">Blue Drop Watch Report</a> is about microbiological and chemical water quality. It shows that only 38% of water treatment systems achieved excellent microbiological water quality for more than 99% of the time, while 11% achieved good microbiological quality between 97% and 99% of the time. The remaining 51% of 151 water supply systems in the sample had poor to bad microbiological water quality status. The majority of treatment plants (71%) failed to achieve chemical compliance. But in 2012 only <a href="https://www.gov.za/speeches/minister-senzo-mchunu-release-blue-drop-watch-report-no-drop-watch-report-and-green-drop">10% of municipalities</a> had bad or poor microbiological water quality. The decline is staggering.</p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/iris/releases/Report_DPW_Rev02_29Mar22_MN%20web.pdf">Green Drop Watch Report</a> identified 334 municipal wastewater treatment works that showed a general deterioration from medium (65.4%) status of compliance to high risk (70.1%). More evidence of decline. What’s more, the Department of Water and Sanitation <a href="https://www.dws.gov.za/documents/Watch%20Reports%206%20June%202023sp7.pptx">issued</a> directives to these failing municipalities with plants in a critical state, but only 50% responded with plans to address the issues at these plants. </p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/releases/NDWR.pdf">No Drop Watch Report</a> is the final element in a volley of bad news. It accounts for the country’s water losses from leakages and non-revenue water. The report refers to the situation in 2015 when it was estimated that 35% of South Africa’s water was unaccounted for; new estimates in the most recent report suggest that it has risen to around 50%.</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cholera-in-south-africa-a-symptom-of-two-decades-of-continued-sewage-pollution-and-neglect-206141">Cholera in South Africa: a symptom of two decades of continued sewage pollution and neglect</a>
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<h2>Overwhelming challenges</h2>
<p>South Africa’s <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/national-water-act">National Water Act 36 of 1998</a> was hailed by the <a href="https://www.wrc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/mdocs/14%20Water%20law%20p%2038-41.pdf">international community</a> as one of the most progressive, radical and admired legislative measures worldwide. </p>
<p>It established the right to clean water for everyone. And it addressed the issue of equality of access.</p>
<p>But in the intervening years the well-intentioned legislation has been hobbled by poor strategic planning, limited investments and governance.</p>
<p>The Department of Water and Sanitation <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/iris/releases/Report_DPW_Rev02_29Mar22_MN%20web.pdf">acknowledges</a> that water services are being hampered by several factors. These include:</p>
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<li><p>a lack of funding, </p></li>
<li><p>vandalism and theft, </p></li>
<li><p>sewage losses before reaching the treatment works, </p></li>
<li><p>construction and contractor issues such as not meeting deadline or quality objectives, </p></li>
<li><p>lack of cooperation by municipalities, </p></li>
<li><p>lack of capacity among Department of Water and Sanitation enforcement officials, and </p></li>
<li><p>ongoing deterioration of infrastructure, processes and effluent quality. </p></li>
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<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p>The Watch Drop Water interim reports confirm that the government recognises the scale of the problems. The water and sanitation minister, Senzo Mchunu, <a href="https://ws.dws.gov.za/IRIS/latestresults.aspx">confirms</a> that the reports identify the urgent need for better governance, monitoring, reporting, operating procedure and investment in infrastructure. Revealing the truth and reporting the evidence is a step in the right direction.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/basic-water-services-in-south-africa-are-in-decay-after-years-of-progress-185616">Basic water services in South Africa are in decay after years of progress</a>
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<p>But there needs to be greater cooperation between the Department of Water and Sanitation and municipalities that are struggling to deliver services. Provincial governments are important bridge builders in improving cooperation, but it is going to take a lot more determination from multiple stakeholders, including the private sector, academia and willing citizens. Cooperation comes in many forms, but is most likely to be strengthened by an approach to governance that is open to collaboration, innovation, strategic leadership and transparency in reporting. Transparency is one reason why the watch reports are necessary and critical to inform the public and the department.</p>
<p>Lastly, South Africa needs to build a stronger economy as a key priority so that it can invest in water infrastructure and services. It should be obvious that better investment in water infrastructure and services means better healthcare and prevention of diseases.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Winter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Good legislation has been undermined by poor planning, limited investment and governance, but recent water reports suggest the government recognises the scale of the problems.Kevin Winter, Senior Lecturer in Environmental & Geographical Science, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1939152023-04-03T12:27:43Z2023-04-03T12:27:43ZCompanies that frack for oil and gas can keep a lot of information secret – but what they disclose shows widespread use of hazardous chemicals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518576/original/file-20230330-20-te72z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C15%2C5168%2C3440&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A deep injection well used for disposal of fracking wastewater in Kern County, Calif.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/deep-injection-well-used-for-disposal-of-wastewater-kern-news-photo/566446781">Citizens of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>From rural Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, more than 17 million Americans live within a mile of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1535">at least one oil or gas well</a>. Since 2014, most new oil and gas wells <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=34732">have been fracked</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/fracking-101">Fracking</a>, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which workers inject fluids underground under high pressure. The fluids fracture coal beds and shale rock, allowing the gas and oil trapped within the rock to rise to the surface. Advances in fracking launched a huge <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Boom/Russell-Gold/9781451692297">expansion of U.S. oil and gas production</a> starting in the early 2000s but also triggered intense debate over its health and environmental impacts. </p>
<p>Fracking fluids are up to 97% water, but they also contain a host of chemicals that perform functions such as dissolving minerals and killing bacteria. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies a number of these chemicals as <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/hfstudy/recordisplay.cfm?deid=332990">toxic or potentially toxic</a>. </p>
<p>The Safe Drinking Water Act, enacted in 1974, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/uic/underground-injection-control-regulations-and-safe-drinking-water-act-provisions">regulates underground injection of chemicals</a> that can threaten drinking water supplies. However, Congress has <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/belj/vol19/iss1/1/">exempted fracking from most federal regulation</a> under the law. As a result, fracking is regulated at the state level, and requirements <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44134029">vary from state to state</a>.</p>
<p>We study the oil and gas industry in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0ljDCPkAAAAJ">California</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aBGLAAYAAAAJ&hl=en">Texas</a> and are members of the <a href="https://sarawylie.com/wedj-lab/">Wylie Environmental Data Justice Lab</a>, which studies fracking chemicals in aggregate. In a recent study, we worked with colleagues to provide the first systematic analysis of chemicals found in fracking fluids that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120552">would be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act</a> if they were injected underground for other purposes. Our findings show that excluding fracking from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act is exposing the public to an array of chemicals that are widely recognized as threats to public health.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of a fracking operation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=529&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518584/original/file-20230330-19-6wvvu3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=665&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A schematic of a hydraulic fracking operation, with wastewater temporarily stored in a surface waste pit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/fracking-royalty-free-illustration/501046435">wetcake via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Averting federal regulation</h2>
<p>Fracking technologies were originally developed in the 1940s but only entered widespread use for fossil fuel extraction in the U.S. in the early 2000s. Since the process involves injecting chemicals underground and then disposing of contaminated water that flows back to the surface, it faced potential regulation under multiple U.S. environmental laws. </p>
<p>In 1997, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that fracking should be <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/19971585118f3d146711376">regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act</a>. This would have required oil and gas producers to develop underground injection control plans, disclose the contents of their fracking fluids and monitor local water sources for contamination. </p>
<p>In response, the oil and gas industry lobbied Congress to exempt fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Congress did so as part of the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/uog#:%7E:text=The%20Energy%20Policy%20Act%20of,regulation%20under%20the%20UIC%20program.">Energy Policy Act of 2005</a>. </p>
<p>This provision is widely known as the <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/w4040983">Halliburton Loophole</a> because it was championed by former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who previously served as CEO of <a href="https://www.halliburton.com/">oil services company Halliburton</a>. The company patented fracking technologies in the 1940s and remains one of the world’s largest suppliers of fracking fluid. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1585001137115111431"}"></div></p>
<h2>Fracking fluids and health</h2>
<p>Over the past two decades, studies have linked exposure to chemicals in fracking fluid with a wide range of health risks. These risks include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/reveh-2014-0057">giving birth prematurely and having babies with low birth weights</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306722">congenital heart defects</a>, as well as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2020.10.023">heart failure</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2436">asthma and other respiratory illnesses</a> among patients of all ages. </p>
<p>Though researchers have produced numerous studies on the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.013.44">health effects of these chemicals</a>, federal exemptions and sparse data still make it hard to monitor the impacts of their use. Further, much existing research focuses on individual compounds, not on the cumulative effects of exposure to combinations of them.</p>
<h2>Chemical use in fracking</h2>
<p>For our review we consulted the <a href="https://www.fracfocus.org/">FracFocus Chemical Disclosure Registry</a>, which is managed by the <a href="https://www.gwpc.org/">Ground Water Protection Council</a>, an organization of state government officials. Currently, <a href="https://www.fracfocus.org/learn/about-fracfocus">23 states</a> – including major producers like Pennsylvania and Texas – require oil and gas companies to report to FracFocus information such as well locations, operators and the masses of each chemical used in fracking fluids. </p>
<p>We used a tool called <a href="https://qbobioyuz1dh57rst8exeg.on.drv.tw/open_FF_catalog/Open-FF_Catalog.html">Open-FracFocus</a>, which uses <a href="https://codeocean.com/capsule/9423121/tree/v14">open-source coding</a> to make FracFocus data more transparent, easily accessible and ready to analyze. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sOGHpz7Id7g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This 2020 news report examines possible leakage of fracking wastewater from an underground injection well in west Texas.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found that from 2014 through 2021, 62% to 73% of reported fracks each year used at least one chemical that the Safe Drinking Water Act recognizes as detrimental to human health and the environment. If not for the Halliburton Loophole, these projects would have been subject to permitting and monitoring requirements, providing information for local communities about potential risks.</p>
<p>In total, fracking companies reported using 282 million pounds of chemicals that would otherwise regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act from 2014 through 2021. This likely is an underestimate, since this information is self-reported, covers only 23 states and doesn’t always include sufficient information to calculate mass. </p>
<p>Chemicals used in large quantities included <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=85&toxid=21">ethylene glycol</a>, an industrial compound found in substances such as antifreeze and hydraulic brake fluid; <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=1162&toxid=236">acrylamide</a>, a widely used industrial chemical that is also present in some foods, food packaging and cigarette smoke; <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=239&toxid=43">naphthalene</a>, a pesticide made from crude oil or tar; and <a href="https://wwwn.cdc.gov/TSP/ToxFAQs/ToxFAQsDetails.aspx?faqid=219&toxid=39">formaldehyde</a>, a common industrial chemical used in glues, coatings and wood products and also present in tobacco smoke. Naphthalene and acrylamide are possible human carcinogens, and formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen.</p>
<p>The data also show a large spike in the use of <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts3.pdf">benzene</a> in Texas in 2019. Benzene is such a potent human carcinogen that the Safe Drinking Water Act limits exposure to 0.001 milligrams per liter – equivalent to half a teaspoon of liquid in an Olympic-size swimming pool. </p>
<p>Many states – including states that require disclosure – allow oil and gas producers to withhold information about chemicals they use in fracking that the companies declare to be proprietary information or trade secrets. This loophole greatly reduces transparency about what chemicals are in fracking fluids. </p>
<p>We found that the share of fracking events reporting at least one proprietary chemical increased from 77% in 2015 to 88% in 2021. Companies reported using about 7.2 billion pounds of proprietary chemicals – more than 25 times the total mass of chemicals listed under the Safe Drinking Water Act that they reported.</p>
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<h2>Closing the Halliburton loophole</h2>
<p>Overall, our review found that fracking companies have reported using 28 chemicals that would otherwise be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Ethylene glycol was used in the largest quantities, but acrylamide, formaldehyde and naphthalene were also common. </p>
<p>Given that each of these chemicals has serious health effects, and that hundreds of spills <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05749">are reported annually at fracking wells</a>, we believe action is needed to protect public and environmental health, and to enable scientists to rigorously monitor and research fracking chemical use. </p>
<p>Based on our findings, we believe Congress should pass a law requiring full disclosure of all chemicals used in fracking, including proprietary chemicals. We also recommend disclosing fracking data in a centralized and federally mandated database, managed by an agency such as the EPA or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Finally, we recommend that Congress repeal the Halliburton Loophole and once again regulate fracking under the Safe Drinking Water Act. </p>
<p>As the U.S. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-poised-regain-crown-worlds-top-lng-exporter-2023-01-04/">ramps up liquefied natural gas exports</a> in response to the war in Ukraine, fracking could continue for the foreseeable future. In our view, it’s urgent to ensure that it is carried out as safely as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193915/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vivian R. Underhill receives funding from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lourdes Vera serves on the coordinating committee of the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, which develops practices and tools to generate, analyze, steward, and improve environmental data and information. </span></em></p>Fracking for oil and gas uses millions of pounds of chemicals, some of which are toxic or carcinogenic. Two researchers summarize what companies have disclosed and call for more transparency.Vivian R. Underhill, Postdoctoral Researcher in social Science and Environmental Health, Northeastern UniversityLourdes Vera, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Environment and Sustainability, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2010512023-03-28T12:15:23Z2023-03-28T12:15:23ZBehind the Latter-day Saint church’s vast wealth are two centuries of financial hits and misses<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/516774/original/file-20230321-26-djhpwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C1019%2C669&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thousands of church members sing during the 2016 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/thousands-of-mormons-sing-with-the-mormon-tabernacle-choir-news-photo/518743136?phrase=%22general%20conference%22%20latter-day&adppopup=true">George Frey/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the first weekend of April 2023, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will hold <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04?lang=ase">its semiannual General Conference</a> in Salt Lake City. Tens of thousands of members will attend in person, with millions watching from home.</p>
<p>Over two days, Latter-day Saints – often called “Mormons” – will hear an array of talks from religious leadership. But another speaker will likely be a member of the church’s auditing department, who, if he <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/04/22larson?lang=eng">follows tradition</a>, will state that the institution’s financial activities from the past year were “administered in accordance with Church-approved budgets, accounting practices, and policies.” No further specifics are typically provided.</p>
<p>This yearly ritual may seem striking in the face of the church’s February 2023 agreement to <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/mormon-church-fined-5-million-for-obscuring-size-of-investment-portfolio#:%7E:text=SALT%20LAKE%20CITY%20(AP)%20%E2%80%94,and%20Exchange%20Commission%20announced%20Tuesday.">pay a US$5 million fine</a> in a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to its press release, the SEC concluded that the church went to “great lengths” <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-35">to “obscure” its investment portfolio</a>. A <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-issues-statement-on-sec-settlement">church statement</a> expressed “regret” that its leaders had followed faulty legal counsel and insisted that the fine would be paid through “investment returns” rather than members’ donations.</p>
<p>The settlement came on the heels of <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/11/02/whats-up-with-lds-finances/">other controversies</a> about the church’s taxes and financial portfolio, which journalists and whistleblowers have estimated at around <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mormon-church-amassed-100-billion-it-was-the-best-kept-secret-in-the-investment-world-11581138011">$100 billion</a>.</p>
<p>These revelations have raised questions concerning the ethics of a religious organization amassing such a large amount of wealth, and how it is balanced with charitable giving. But headlines often overlook the <a href="https://theconversation.com/mormons-and-money-an-unorthodox-and-messy-history-of-church-finances-129132">long and surprising history</a> of the modern church’s financial success – as well as the continued anxiety surrounding its economic reserves.</p>
<h2>Share and share alike</h2>
<p>Mormonism was born through <a href="https://deseretbook.com/p/joseph-smith-rough-stone-rolling-richard-l-bushman-5351?variant_id=104298-paperback">the spiritual quest of Joseph Smith</a>, who was raised amid America’s <a href="https://www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp">Second Great Awakening</a> during the early 1800s, a period of Christian revivals. His parents were religious seekers who struggled to find a fulfilling church, and tussled with the young country’s financial turbulence. Smith’s father had lost savings in <a href="https://latterdaysaintmag.com/joseph-smith-sr-starts-a-ginseng-business-and-loses-their-farm/">an ill-fated ginseng deal</a>, plunging the family into two decades of poverty. </p>
<p>It is no surprise, then, that when Smith formed his own church, its teachings included a sharp critique of the capitalist system. Early converts to what was originally called the Church of Christ, organized in 1830, were encouraged to <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/42?lang=eng&id=30-42#p30">consecrate all their goods</a> to their new religious community so it could redistribute resources to those in need.</p>
<p>It was one of <a href="https://pressbooks-dev.oer.hawaii.edu/ushistory/chapter/antebellum-communal-experiments/">many communal experiments</a> Americans attempted during the antebellum period as religious innovators offered alternatives to what they believed was a dangerous and uncaring economic system. Smith’s earliest revelations denounced individualism and urged believers to <a href="https://rsc.byu.edu/doctrine-covenants-revelations-context/all-things-are-lords-law-consecration-doctrine-covenants">share their property and resources with one another</a>. </p>
<p>Yet financial difficulties, personal clashes and other challenges doomed the experiment from the start. Within just a few years, the new church’s leaders had already abandoned the consecration ideal. In its stead, Smith directed members <a href="https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/revelation-8-july-1838-c-dc-119/1">to donate “surplus property</a>” to help pay off the group’s immediate debts and then to donate “one tenth of all their interests annually.” This commandment commenced <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/tithing#:%7E:text=For%20Latter%2Dday%20Saints%2C%20tithing,paid%20on%20the%20honor%20system.">a practice of tithing</a> that still exists today, though it has been interpreted in different ways over the years.</p>
<h2>Hardscrabble years</h2>
<p>Over the first two decades of the church’s existence, the Latter-day Saints had to relocate their headquarters multiple times – including <a href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631494864">seven years in Nauvoo, Illinois</a>, a focus of <a href="https://benjaminepark.com/">my historical research</a>. By the time the Saints <a href="https://theconversation.com/utahs-pioneer-day-celebrates-mormons-trek-west-but-theres-a-lot-more-to-the-history-of-latter-day-saints-and-migration-186099">reached Utah’s Great Salt Lake</a> in 1847, leaders and members alike largely embraced the economic system that Smith had previously decried.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white drawing of a small main street, with mountains in the distance." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517044/original/file-20230322-28-holukq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A drawing of Salt Lake City from a book published in 1875.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-the-main-street-salt-lake-city-utah-america-in-the-news-photo/188003483?adppopup=true">Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A series of <a href="https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/banking-panics-of-the-gilded-age">national economic crises</a> during the late 19th century further tested the church’s finances and financial ideals. In addition, the government’s decision to prosecute polygamists amid growing criticism of the church’s “plural marriages” <a href="https://archives.utah.gov/research/exhibits/Statehood/intronew.htm">crippled the region’s economy</a> until Latter-day Saint leaders <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mormons-polygamy/">renounced the practice</a> in 1890. </p>
<p>Facing financial ruin, the church’s prophet and president in 1899, Lorenzo Snow, urged members to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23286314">redouble their commitment to tithing</a>. The church formalized its expectation that members donate 10% of their annual income to remain in good standing. To this day, Latter-day Saints are expected to meet with local bishops every year and <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/tools/help/conduct-tithing-declaration?lang=eng">state that they have paid a full tithe</a>.</p>
<p>By 1907, Snow’s successor, Joseph F. Smith, <a href="https://archive.org/details/conferencereport1907a/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater">jubilantly announced</a> that tithing income had paid off all the church’s loans. He even predicted that if the current rate continued, “we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose.”</p>
<h2>Bust to boom</h2>
<p>Donations only increased over the following decades, however, as the church continued to grow rapidly. The prosperity of the 1950s enabled <a href="https://uofupress.lib.utah.edu/david-o-mckay-and-the-rise-of-modern-mormonism/">an ambitious construction agenda</a> for the next decade, as the church built over a thousand new meetinghouses and temples for its exploding membership.</p>
<p>Yet high spending, poor financial management and unwise or unlucky investments brought another financial crisis, and the church soon found itself cash-poor. By 1962, the budget had amassed a $32 million deficit. Leaders <a href="https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/102-17-29.pdf">ceased offering detailed financial reports</a>, which had been inconsistent yet common staples at the church’s General Conference.</p>
<p>Things started looking up the next year when N. Eldon Tanner, a successful Canadian politician and businessman, <a href="https://rsc.byu.edu/firm-foundation/n-eldon-tanner-church-administration">joined the church’s leadership</a> and <a href="https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/102-17-29.pdf">modernized its financial structure</a>, investing any surplus. The church was once again on solid financial footing by the end of the 1960s, though it did not resume the release of detailed financial reports. Instead, Tanner empowered a private economic team to <a href="https://www.signaturebooks.com/books/p/the-mormon-hierarchy-2">continue growing the faith’s portfolio</a>. </p>
<p>Decades of <a href="https://religionnews.com/2022/04/07/is-mormonism-still-growing-five-facts-about-latter-day-saint-growth-and-decline/">membership growth</a>, tithing donations and lucrative investments resulted in the modern church’s massive accumulation of wealth. This financial success has enabled it to oversee a worldwide church with <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics">nearly 17 million members of record</a>, tens of thousands of employees and countless volunteer and charitable programs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A grand-looking church building with tall spires lit up at night." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517045/original/file-20230322-2513-m87hvw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ historic temple in Salt Lake City, Utah.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-historic-news-photo/1189395667?adppopup=true">George Frey/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Its investments became so profitable in the early 2000s that, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2023/34-96951.pdf">according to the SEC report</a>, church leaders explored ways to shield their success from the public. According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/mormon-church-has-misled-members-on-100-billion-tax-exempt-investment-fund-whistleblower-alleges/2019/12/16/e3619bd2-2004-11ea-86f3-3b5019d451db_story.html">one whistleblower</a>, church authorities feared that greater transparency would discourage members from further tithing. </p>
<h2>Giving to God</h2>
<p>While the church reports giving over <a href="https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2022-annual-report-caring-for-those-in-need">$1 billion</a> in charitable aid last year, some members and observers alike critique leaders for not donating more, given the vast size of its investment portfolio, which is almost <a href="https://www.harvard.edu/about/endowment/">twice the size of Harvard’s endowment</a>.</p>
<p>The issue also raises important ethical questions regarding a religious institution’s obligations toward its own members. Should Latter-day Saints, especially those who are struggling financially, still donate a tenth of their income to a church whose reserves <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-mormon-church-amassed-100-billion-it-was-the-best-kept-secret-in-the-investment-world-11581138011">are likely deep enough</a> to pay off more than a decade of expenses? The <a href="https://religionnews.com/2022/12/14/on-mormon-tithing-and-a-100-billion-investment-fund/">seeming discrepancy</a> between the transparency required of individual members and the church’s own lack of accountability has unsettled some members.</p>
<p>Yet many believers emphasize that their tithing’s purpose is not merely to add to the church’s coffers but to help build the kingdom of God – their donations are primarily offered for spiritual reasons, not worldly ones. And investments are also a safety net for the faith’s growth: Leaders likely hope it can <a href="https://bycommonconsent.com/2009/03/11/the-church-and-the-debt-bubble/">support rapidly growing membership</a> in lower-income countries. </p>
<p>As absurd as it may be to call a $100 billion dollar portfolio <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2020/02/08/lds-church-kept-lid-its-b/">a “rainy day” fund</a>, the church’s turbulent history may have led leaders to see it as just that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201051/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Park does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Joseph Smith encouraged early Latter-day Saints to pool their resources. Two centuries later, one of the results is an investment portfolio estimated at $100 billion.Benjamin Park, Associate Professor of History, Sam Houston State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1992822023-02-28T06:12:34Z2023-02-28T06:12:34ZMost special advisers become lobbyists after leaving government – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512921/original/file-20230301-29-7ag05i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C780%2C577&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are numerous factors that influence public trust in government, one in particular is the relationship with people in power and lobby groups. Some of the recent scandals that have damaged public trust in British politics have related to people with private financial interests having <a href="https://theconversation.com/owen-paterson-saga-sees-government-integrity-called-into-question-171154">far more access to politicians</a> than we might like – and with people connected to politicians getting <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64440335">special treatment</a>.</p>
<p>Most special advisers, who act as senior advisers to ministers in government, are supposed to wait <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-advisers-code-of-conduct">two years</a> before taking a job lobbying government for a new employer but this rule is rarely enforced.</p>
<p>There is a general sense that the revolving door between politics and the world of lobbying spins a little too fast these days. </p>
<p>In new research, we looked at just how fast by conducting a study on the post-government <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13691481221144228">career moves of 521 former British special advisers</a> who served ministers from 1997 to 2017. The goal was to see how many ended up in corporate lobbying jobs. And indeed, most did.</p>
<h2>What is a special adviser?</h2>
<p>UK special advisers are <a href="https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/special-advisers-who-they-are-what-they-do-and-why-they-matter/ch1-why-study-special-advisers">powerful political figures in Whitehall</a>. They are senior political staff who are personally appointed by a minister to advise them on policy and politics. They work on temporary contracts and are not classed as civil servants – who are nonpartisan government employees. </p>
<p>The total number of special advisers working in Westminster remains small, but has grown substantially from around 38 under former British prime minister John Major in 1996 to 125 under <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-july-2022/special-adviser-data-releases-numbers-and-costs-june-2022-html#:%7E:text=Number%2520of%2520Special%2520Advisers,servants%2520as%2520at%2520March%252020221.">Boris Johnson</a> in 2022. However, their ability to influence British politics endures even after they leave government so these figures remain important.</p>
<h2>From public to private sector</h2>
<p>Our study of special advisers found that 31% moved into corporate lobbying after leaving government.</p>
<p>Some went to work for registered lobby firms, which are contracted by various different companies to influence decision makers. </p>
<p>Others got jobs in government relations doing influencing on behalf of internet companies, food and drinks producers and for banking and insurance firms. </p>
<p>Professional lobbying firms have to list themselves on the <a href="https://registrarofconsultantlobbyists.org.uk/">Register of Consultant Lobbyists</a> but in-house lobbyists employed directly by companies or organisations don’t. Almost all special advisers in our sample, irrespective of type of corporate organisation they revolved into, work without being registered as a lobbyist in the official registry.</p>
<p>Another 22% went into policy advocacy, taking jobs representing the interests of trade unions, thinktanks and charities or working for organisations dedicated to a specific cause. </p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41309-017-0024-y">Policy advocates are also considered to be lobbyists</a>, despite the fact that they work for different kinds of clients and may have different ideals than corporate types. </p>
<p>Therefore, around 54% of former special advisers revolve into some kind of broadly defined lobbying role after they leave government.</p>
<p><strong>The post-government life of special advisers, 1997-2017</strong></p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>On balance, former special advisers who have since moved into lobbying roles help ensure important causes reach the ears of decision makers. As independent advisory group the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1029944/Upholding_Standards_in_Public_Life_-_Web_Accessible.pdf">Committee on Standards in Public Life</a> recognised, “lobbying is an important and legitimate aspect of public life in a liberal democracy”.</p>
<p>But lobbyists have more capacity to influence policy compared to the general public. And that is even more true for people who recently worked in government themselves. They have established political networks, an understanding of the machinery of government and corporate interests backing them. They can use their contacts from their former job to excel in their new role. They may find it easier to get a meeting with a minister of senior decision maker or get them to attend their events, for example. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-lobbying-rules-explained-why-no-one-seems-to-be-in-legal-trouble-159741">Lax transparency standards</a> are partly to blame for how quickly many special advisers become lobbyists. It is hard to know who is a lobbyist and who is not.</p>
<p>By improving transparency measures, more people would have faith in the process by which decisions are made and public policies are crafted.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heath Pickering receives funding from Flemish Research Foundation in Belgium. He is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Athanassios Gouglas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>These influential people go on to work in roles that enable them to use their contacts from their old jobs.Heath Pickering, Doctoral Researcher in Public Administration, KU LeuvenAthanassios Gouglas, Lecturer Politics & Public Policy, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983052023-01-31T05:02:16Z2023-01-31T05:02:16ZAfter a decade of decline, Australia is back on the rise in a global anti-corruption ranking<p>Just months after Australia legislated to establish the long-anticipated National Anti-Corruption Agency, our standing is back on the rise in Transparency International’s <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022">annual Global Corruption Perceptions Index</a>. This is a small but important turn-around following a decade of steady decline.</p>
<p>Australia ranked 13th out of 180 countries in the index released today, up from a low of 18th last year. The index ranks countries on their perceived levels of public sector corruption – the higher the score, the less perceived corruption.</p>
<p>Australia was ranked as high as seventh in 2012. But since then, the country has been trending downward. From 2012 to 2021, Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/25/australia-records-its-worst-ever-score-on-anti-corruption-index-after-decline-to-match-hungarys">dropped 12 points on the index</a>, more than any OECD country apart from Hungary, which also fell 12 points. The only countries to have fallen by more are Syria, Cyprus and Saint Lucia. </p>
<p>It’s no coincidence Australia’s big fall happened during the Coalition’s near-decade-long hold on the federal government, though local events like the quagmire around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/19/former-nsw-labor-ministers-eddie-obeid-and-ian-macdonald-found-guilty-of-corruption-charges">former NSW Labor minister Eddie Obeid</a> also sent bad signals. </p>
<p>Turning the results around isn’t a quick fix. But the fact Australia has arrested the decline and is headed back up the list is significant, though not a matter for complacency.</p>
<p>The biggest collapse this year was the UK, whose ranking fell dramatically from 11th to 20th, with a loss of 5 points. This shows that resolve and actions of government affect global perceptions of corruption.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-and-norway-were-once-tied-in-global-anti-corruption-rankings-now-were-heading-in-opposite-directions-174966">Australia and Norway were once tied in global anti-corruption rankings. Now, we're heading in opposite directions</a>
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<h2>Where we’ve faltered</h2>
<p>The Corruption Perceptions Index isn’t a direct measure of corruption, but a perceptions index. Using rigorous <a href="https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2019_CPI_methodology.pdf">methodology</a>, the index assesses the perceptions of business leaders and experts on every country’s efforts to prevent and control corruption, and then scores and ranks them. </p>
<p>Ranking 13th out of 180 is pretty good, but we have done better and the public expects better. This was evident in the last federal election, when integrity in government became a focal point. The Coalition had dragged its feet on creating a federal anti-corruption body, a point that was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/voters-don-t-care-about-integrity-commission-seven-liberal-mps-20220416-p5adw7.html">heavily criticised</a> by Labor, the Greens and teal independents.</p>
<p>The Morrison government eventually proposed legislation for an anti-corruption commission in the lead-up to the election. But to many independent observers, it <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/weakest-watchdog-report-slams-morrison-plan-for-integrity-commission-20211005-p58xgd.html">looked more like a protection racket for politicians</a> than an attempt to deal with scandals involving politicians and public money.</p>
<p>The independent Centre for Public Integrity said the proposed watchdog would have lacked the power to investigate the $100 million “sports rorts” <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sports-rorts-affair-shows-the-need-for-a-proper-federal-icac-with-teeth-122800">affair</a> or the $660 million commuter <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-car-park-rorts-story-is-scandalous-but-it-will-keep-happening-unless-we-close-grant-loopholes-164779">car park scheme</a> – just two high-profile examples of government ministers allegedly using public money for political gain in recent years.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/perceptions-of-corruption-are-growing-in-australia-and-its-costing-the-economy-176562">Perceptions of corruption are growing in Australia, and it's costing the economy</a>
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<h2>How we’re getting back on track</h2>
<p>Although Australia isn’t a high-corruption country, the passage last November of legislation to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is an important first step. </p>
<p>The legislation sets a high bar by <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-12/detailed-overview-of-NACC-act-19-12-22.PDF">defining corruption</a> as conduct that adversely affects, or could affect, the honest or impartial exercise or performance of any public official’s power, functions or duties. The NACC will also have broad jurisdiction, operate independently from government, hold public hearings, and make public findings. </p>
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<p>However, it would be a mistake to assume the NACC will be a magic bullet.</p>
<p>Politicians are always looking for partisan advantage and government agencies with tens of thousands of employees will always have somebody on the make. This is why, in addition to the establishment of a federal anti-corruption body, it’s important to focus on changing the culture within government agencies too.</p>
<p>Australian government agencies have robust integrity processes, but when there are breaches, the loss is often more likely to be of trust and morale. Services and governance suffer. Eliminating corruption completely is not feasible, but making it even rarer than it is now is something we can achieve.</p>
<h2>A way forward</h2>
<p>Reporting recently on a national integrity research project, a team led by government integrity expert AJ Brown at Griffith University proposes a five-point <a href="https://transparency.org.au/australias-national-integrity-system/">blueprint for action</a>. Two of these steps are already underway: a national integrity plan and a strong federal integrity commission. </p>
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<p>The other themes focus on the need to strengthen open, trustworthy decision-making in government; ensure we have a fair and honest democracy; and enhance protections for public interest whistleblowing. </p>
<p>These involve much more than nailing somebody who looks the other way for a few dollars or manipulates a contract for a bag full of cash.</p>
<p>Open, trustworthy decision-making involves better parliamentary and ministerial standards, and an overhaul of the lobbying system. We need our politicians to observe the highest ethical standards, and if they deal with special interests, as they must, they need to make that more transparent.</p>
<p>A fair and honest democracy, meanwhile, requires desperately needed reform of our campaign financing laws. We need to ensure all campaign donations are reported in real time, and with lowered thresholds. We need to make sure that political donations are just that – donations and not transactions.</p>
<p>And when things don’t look right, public servants, employees and journalists should be able to call them out without fear of persecution or reprisals. The public sector has fallen behind the private sector in whistleblowing protections, though there are hopefully signs <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-and-why-australian-whistleblowing-laws-need-an-overhaul-new-report-195019">the government will move ahead on reforms</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-and-why-australian-whistleblowing-laws-need-an-overhaul-new-report-195019">How and why Australian whistleblowing laws need an overhaul: new report</a>
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<p>This bundle of proposals shows that corruption is more than receiving bribes or favouring family and friends in obtaining benefits or jobs. Australia needs to take a more comprehensive approach to ensuring government integrity, and when it does, we’ll be on our way back into the top ten in the global anti-corruption rankings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Graycar has received funding from the Independent broad based anti-corruption commission (Victoria) and the Australian Research Council.. </span></em></p>Australia slipped from 7th to 18th in the rankings over the past decade. But this year we’ve climbed back to 13th thanks to reforms in key areas including the new National Anti-Corruption Commission.Adam Graycar, Professor of Public Policy, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1955602022-11-30T02:19:18Z2022-11-30T02:19:18ZAustralia’s national anti-corruption agency arrives. Will it stand the test of time?<p>Australia’s long-awaited National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has become a legislative reality, after the House of Representatives today accepted a final amendment imposed by the Senate on Tuesday.</p>
<p>It’s the biggest reform to federal public accountability for over 40 years.</p>
<p>It’s also an historic step internationally. Specialist anti-corruption agencies are now widespread across many Asian, eastern European and developing countries, especially since the <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/">UN Convention Against Corruption</a> in 2003.</p>
<p>But Australia is one of the first OECD countries to adopt such a far-reaching model at national level. Most others – like the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand – still rely on traditional law enforcement agencies to root out official corruption, using just the criminal law.</p>
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<p>By contrast, Australia has translated its state-based model of standing royal commissions against corruption to the national level.</p>
<p>Instituted in NSW in 1988 and Queensland in 1991, and since repeated everywhere but South Australia, this model differs from overseas approaches by extending strong inquiry powers to serious corruption risks, even if not necessarily criminal.</p>
<p>So after an <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-the-governments-long-awaited-anti-corruption-bill-rate-an-integrity-expert-breaks-it-down-189878">18-year gestation</a>, how does this new national agency measure up against expectations, including other international standards?</p>
<p>Some key final debates of the last week provide the answers.</p>
<p>The best news is that the commission has been born with the unanimous support of all political parties. This multi-partisanship was initially reflected in a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/select_integritycommission">Senate Select Committee</a> in 2017. But it disappeared after the Morrison Coalition government was pressured into putting forward, and defending, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-federal-governments-new-integrity-commission-isnt-up-to-the-job-110441">deeply flawed model</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-the-governments-long-awaited-anti-corruption-bill-rate-an-integrity-expert-breaks-it-down-189878">How does the government’s long-awaited anti-corruption bill rate? An integrity expert breaks it down</a>
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<p>Forced to reverse this approach after losing the 2022 election, Coalition MPs contributed to six consensus recommendations from the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Anti-Corruption_Commission_Legislation/NACC/Report">joint select committee</a> that reviewed the new Labor government’s vastly superior bill.</p>
<p>Accepted by the government, five of these led to positive improvements, from respect for media freedom and secrecy exemptions for health care support, to monitoring powers for the proposed parliamentary inspector. </p>
<p>However, against these “lowest common denominator” improvements, four final controversies raise question marks for the future.</p>
<h2>4 controversies raise question marks</h2>
<p><em>1. Public hearings</em></p>
<p>Most prominently, independent and Green members failed in attempts to either remove, or define, a threshold of “exceptional circumstances” before compulsory public hearing powers can be used by the commission.</p>
<p>Added late, in a relatively naked breach of the government’s pre-election promises, the test copies one used in Victoria. Fortunately, that has not proved fatal to the work of that commission. But almost everyone but the government and Coalition agrees the test is unnecessary and either legally or politically dangerous.</p>
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<p>Given wide categories of “sensitive” evidence that the commission can never receive in public, it will have the most restrictive public hearing powers of any Australian anti-corruption body, as shown by a <a href="https://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/221014-Submission_NACC_PublicHearings_graphic.pdf">Griffith University and Transparency International Australia analysis</a> (barring South Australia which has no such powers at all).</p>
<p><em>2. Scope of corruption</em></p>
<p>The government also slightly walked back the scope of corruption that can be tackled. It resisted cross-bench attempts to ensure corrupt non-government actors are fully covered, along with political “pork barrelling”. It also removed a catch-all that the commission could investigate “corruption of any other kind”.</p>
<p>But while less flexible than originally proposed, the scope remains simpler, less legalistic and uncomplicated compared to most state definitions.</p>
<p><em>3. Role of the inspector</em></p>
<p>The only area where the government was forced to accept an amendment by the Senate was a proposal by the Greens, supported by the Coalition, to provide <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=66055f33-8671-46ba-a7ec-b1a848757e1a&subId=722662">clarity and purpose</a> to the roles of the commission’s inspector.</p>
<p>A victim of the haste with which the government prepared its bill after being elected in May, this key safeguard of the legality and propriety of the commission has now been lifted to the standard of national best practice.</p>
<p><em>4. True independence?</em></p>
<p>The fourth and final controversy points to the challenges facing every anti-corruption body, but especially Australia’s outdated federal integrity system as it strives to catch up with the rest of the country.</p>
<p>Will the commission be seen as truly independent, financially and politically? This question lies at the heart of international standards, such as the <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2020/20-00107_Colombo_Commentary_Ebook.pdf">2012 Jakarta Principles</a>, backed by the United Nations.</p>
<p>The NACC’s financial independence gets some support from a dedicated parliamentary oversight committee, which can review and support its budget.</p>
<p>But the government rejected cross-bench attempts and expert advice to give the commission the same status and budget support as the federal auditor-general. It also failed to heed the emerging best practice in New Zealand, NSW, Victoria and Queensland of a separate parliamentary budget track for core integrity agencies, which in Victoria are even recognised in the Constitution as independent officers of parliament.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-the-national-anti-corruption-commission-actually-stamp-out-corruption-in-government-191759">Will the National Anti-Corruption Commission actually stamp out corruption in government?</a>
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<p>Similarly, the government refused to embed a principle that the government of the day cannot just pick the commissioner all by itself. Cross-bench and Coalition amendments for more than just a government majority vote of the committee, to support or reject the recommended appointment, were vigorously opposed by the government. </p>
<p>By contrast, a requirement for bipartisan support is explicitly recognised in Queensland and Western Australia, and assumed in NSW and Victoria’s arrangements. It’s also often followed overseas. For example, the selection committee for the head of India’s <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/following-social-distancing-norms-sanjay-kothari-takes-over-as-cvc/who-appoints-cvc-chief/slideshow/75386320.cms">Central Vigilance Commission</a> includes the leader of the opposition. </p>
<p><a href="https://transparency.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/221014-Submission_NACC.pdf">Transparency International Australia</a> recommended entrenching this principle through a two-thirds majority vote of the committee. In the select committee, and in amendments not ultimately put to a vote, the Coalition proposed an even stronger, three-quarters majority.</p>
<p>After reacting apoplectically to that idea on Tuesday <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/rn-breakfast/14108340">morning</a>, the government refused an attempt by the Greens and independent Senator David Pocock to require even <em>one</em> non-government member of the committee to also support the proposed appointment.</p>
<p>The lack of understanding of this important principle, now left out of the bill, is the clearest reminder that the Commonwealth’s integrity system is built on some shaky, out-of-date ground – even if this new commission itself is otherwise strong.</p>
<p>In fact, the government refused to support any amendments proposed by independent Helen Haines, to bring the government’s bill up to the standard of her own <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6787">ground-breaking proposal</a>.</p>
<p>Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus had told voters before the election the government’s package would be “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-integrity-commission-to-investigate-allegations-from-a-long-time-ago-20220512-p5akvr.html">extremely similar</a>” to Haines’. But it has proved not to be, in significant respects.</p>
<p>The fact that Australia will now have a national anti-corruption commission is testament to the attorney-general’s leadership, over more than five years. And its many strong features promise to be a positive game-changer for public integrity in Australia, and likely beyond.</p>
<p>But as always, question marks remain over whether the new commission has been designed sufficiently to weather the future political storms that go with the job.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195560/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>A J Brown is a board member of Transparency International, globally and in Australia. He has received funding from the Australian Research Council, all of Australia's Ombudsman offices, most of Australia's anti-corruption agencies, other Commonwealth and State regulatory agencies, parliaments and private sector peak bodies for his research on integrity, anti-corruption and public interest whistleblowing relevant to this article, including the Australian Research Council Linkage project 'Strengthening Australia's National Integrity System: Priorities for Reform' (<a href="https://transparency.org.au/australias-national-integrity-system/">https://transparency.org.au/australias-national-integrity-system/</a>)</span></em></p>It’s the biggest reform to federal public accountability for over 40 years, though questions remain over whether it’s been designed sufficiently to weather future political storms.A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1950192022-11-23T05:50:40Z2022-11-23T05:50:40ZHow and why Australian whistleblowing laws need an overhaul: new report<p>Recent developments in Australian whistleblowing cases have shown how critical it is to get our whistleblower protection laws back up to world standards. </p>
<p>Fortunately, there are signs the new government will press ahead with reforms – but what’s involved in truly getting these right?</p>
<p>The importance of whistleblowing has been reinforced by parliamentary debate over Australia’s new National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which resumed this week. On November 10, the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/National_Anti-Corruption_Commission_Legislation/NACC/Report">Joint Select Committee</a> reviewing the government’s bill expressed unanimous support for “wider-ranging whistleblower protection reforms” to follow, including “specific” consideration of an independent whistleblower protection commission.</p>
<p><a href="https://ministers.ag.gov.au/media-centre/speeches/australian-public-sector-anti-corruption-conference-16-11-2022">Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus</a> has announced reform will start within days, with some “priority amendments” to the whistleblowing law for federal public servants, even as the long awaited anti-corruption body is debated and finalised. He has also flagged there will be more to follow.</p>
<p>How much more, and why is it vital? A <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/1657813/Protecting-Australias-Whistleblowers-The-Federal-Roadmap-2022-EMBARGOED-23NOV.pdf">new research report</a>, published today by Griffith University, the Human Rights Law Centre and Transparency International Australia, seeks to present a clear roadmap for getting these reforms right.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tax-office-whistleblowing-saga-points-to-reforms-needed-in-three-vital-areas-187608">Tax office whistleblowing saga points to reforms needed in three vital areas</a>
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<h2>Expectation vs reality</h2>
<p>In theory, there’s strong consensus in favour of protections for “public interest whistleblowers”. These are the insiders who play a vital role in our integrity systems by speaking up about suspected wrongdoing, usually internally but also to regulators or, if necessary, publicly.</p>
<p>However, protecting whistleblowers often becomes much more controversial in reality, depending on whose interests are affected.</p>
<p>On Monday, federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie – himself a prominent former national security whistleblower – initiated a fresh parliamentary debate in support of stronger protections. He <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/nov/21/andrew-wilkies-claims-in-parliament-of-coal-industry-concerning-resources-minister-says">claimed</a> some in the coal industry had lied about the quality of Australian exports. A mining industry whistleblower lay at the heart of the allegations.</p>
<p>Three weeks ago, former army lawyer David McBride <a href="https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-mcbride-public-interest-defence-fiasco-shows-labor-is-also-out-to-get-the-whistleblower/">dropped</a> his attempted defence under the Public Interest Disclosure Act against criminal charges for releasing Defence information about war crimes in Afghanistan. Federal prosecutors claimed the information he sought to use was, itself, too secret to even be admitted in a closed court. This effectively rendered the whistleblower protection law null and void.</p>
<p>In June 2021, the former intelligence operative known as “Witness K” <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-17/witness-k-pleads-guilty-to-conspiring-to-reveal-classified-info/100223306">pleaded guilty</a> to revealing alleged commercial espionage by Australia against our close neighbour Timor Leste. Again, the whistleblowing law failed to help because the categories of “intelligence information” that cannot be revealed under the act are so wide, they effectively mean nothing can be.</p>
<p>The attorney-general withdrew his consent for the prosecution of Witness K’s lawyer, Bernard Collaery. But he has come under <a href="https://whistleblowingnetwork.org/News-Events/News/News-Archive/Australia-Leading-NGOs-urge-end-to-criminal-prose">international pressure</a> to do more to end the prosecutions of McBride and <a href="https://theconversation.com/tax-office-whistleblowing-saga-points-to-reforms-needed-in-three-vital-areas-187608">Australian Taxation Office whistleblower Richard Boyle</a>. The latter is awaiting a decision on his public interest defence, after four damaging years of charges without even yet getting to a trial.</p>
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<h2>Why we need an overhaul of whistleblowing laws</h2>
<p>The government’s commitment to overhaul whistleblower protections is good news. But however worthwhile, the “priority amendments” recommended by a now out-of-date <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/about-us/publications/review-public-interest-disclosure-act-2013">2016 review</a> involve few steps towards addressing the deeper defects in the laws.</p>
<p>Most of those 2016 recommendations were designed to make it easier for agencies to navigate their roles, more than improve the protections.</p>
<p>This is why having a forward plan for a full overhaul of federal whistleblowing laws in 2023 is so important.</p>
<p>High among the issues is the lack of effective machinery to enforce whistleblowers’ rights. This problem is shared not only by the public sector law, but by private sector protections in the Corporations Act 2001, <a href="https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/whistleblowing-reforms-in-australia-show-the-way">reformed as recently</a> as 2019.</p>
<p>A whistleblower protection authority was recommended by the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporations_and_Financial_Services/WhistleblowerProtections">Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services</a> in 2017. Such an authority also formed part of the national integrity commission proposals put forward by independents Cathy McGowan and Helen Haines, and the Greens, before the 2019 and 2022 elections.</p>
<p>As well, our analysis shows that defective public sector protections have now spread into private sector laws, and even state laws in the case of NSW. Despite other innovations, our federal laws impose tough tests before aggrieved whistleblowers can claim civil compensation for any damage they suffer. They effectively require a criminal reprisal before this can happen.</p>
<p>These protections fall short of European or United States’ standards for when a whistleblower can claim for damage. They’re also increasingly inconsistent across different areas of federal regulation.</p>
<p>Under the Aged Care Act and National Disability Insurance Scheme Act, for example, whistleblowers can also only claim protection if deemed to have complained “in good faith”, irrespective of the truth of their information. They must also identify themselves when making any disclosure. They get no protection if they speak out publicly, even if their internal complaints have been entirely ignored.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-whistleblowers-must-be-kept-confidential-just-look-at-what-happened-to-me-126403">Why whistleblowers must be kept confidential – just look at what happened to me</a>
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<p>Union whistleblowers operate under different rules again. And in many areas of federal regulation, unless they’re employees of a corporation, many whistleblowers get no protection at all.</p>
<p>In the US, whistleblower protections are split across more than 47 different pieces of regulatory legislation. Australia can avoid this nightmare of red tape, duplication, confusion and inconsistency.</p>
<p>All this is solvable if whistleblowing law reform is approached systematically, as a whole-of-government initiative – not in the rushed, piecemeal fashion that caused the problems in existing laws.</p>
<p>With trust in the new National Anti-Corruption Commission hinging on the ability of public and private employees to safely bring forward information, the need for comprehensive reform couldn’t be clearer.</p>
<p>We know what needs doing. The challenge now is how best to follow the larger roadmap for reform, beyond its first stages, and ensure this time we complete the whistleblower protection mission.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195019/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>AJ Brown has received funding from the Australian Research Council and all Australian governments for research on public interest whistleblowing, integrity and anti-corruption reform through partners including Australia's federal and state Ombudsmen, Australian Securities & Investments Commission, and other regulatory agencies, parliaments, anti-corruption and private sector bodies (see most recently 'Whistling While They Work 2: Improving Managerial and Organisational Responses to Whistleblowing in the Public and Private Sectors' (<a href="https://whistlingwhiletheywork.edu.au/">https://whistlingwhiletheywork.edu.au/</a>). He was a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Expert Panel on Whistleblowing (2017-2019), and is a board member of Transparency International, globally and in Australia. He was proposed to be called as an expert witness in the public interest defence proceedings brought by David McBride.</span></em></p>Recent developments in Australian whistleblowing cases have shown how critical it is to reform our laws - which are far from world standard.A J Brown, Professor of Public Policy & Law, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1927052022-11-08T21:23:45Z2022-11-08T21:23:45ZTo clean up Hockey Canada, financial transparency is a must<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493110/original/file-20221102-22-tdqssu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C21%2C7164%2C5279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Hockey Canada document is reviewed by a member of Parliament during a House of Commons Committee on Canadian Heritage looking into safe sport in Canada on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 4, 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a transparency issue at the root of the Hockey Canada scandal. By now, most Canadians are well aware of how the organization used funds <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/hockey-canada-scandal-explained-organization-losing-sponsors-due-to-handling-of-sexual-assault-allegations/">to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct</a>. But Hockey Canada didn’t just betray the trust of the public — it also betrayed its own stakeholders.</p>
<p>When Hockey Canada opted to not inform funders, sponsors, members, players and parents about how it used its funds, it violated the trust of its stakeholders. This violation has far reaching implications about financial transparency — not only for Hockey Canada, but for the nonprofit sector as a whole. </p>
<p>As a result of the scandal, Hockey Canada has lost the support of numerous <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9180732/hockey-canada-sponsorship-telus-sexual-assault-allegations/">corporate sponsors and provincial members</a>. This loss of trust will have important financial implications for Hockey Canada over the coming years. </p>
<p>Transparency in financial disclosure is a crucial part of ethical, responsible governance. Unless Hockey Canada prioritizes financial transparency, any attempts at reform will fall short.</p>
<h2>Amateur hockey funds paid for lawsuits</h2>
<p>The funds that Hockey Canada used <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hockey-canada-insurance-fees-national-equity-fund-1.6591975">to settle sexual misconduct claims</a> came from the National Equity Fund, which is funded by amateur hockey participant fees. Amateur hockey participants cannot opt out of the fund.</p>
<p>This information was hidden from the public. Parents of amateur players, funders and sponsors were not aware of their funds being used to cover costs unrelated to amateur hockey. <a href="https://www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/blog/hockey-canadas-full-financial-statements-are-finally-available-to-the-public-here-are-the-last-8-years/">Financial statements from last year make no mention of claims for sexual assault</a>.</p>
<p>Hockey Canada’s decision to use these funds is puzzling, considering its profitability. Financial statements from 2013, 2017 and 2021 <a href="https://carleton.ca/profbrouard/wp-content/uploads/PARGnote202212RNHockeyCanada20221011FBMPAW.pdf">reveal that Hockey Canada’s cash and short-term investments grew</a> from $5 million to $9 million to $25 million. Its long-term investments grew from $65 million to $86 million to $118 million, and its net asset balances grew from $61 million to $93 million to $119 million. </p>
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<img alt="Two men in suits sit behind a conference table. The man on the left sits behind a name plate that says 'Scott Smith' and the man on the right sits behind a name place that says 'Brian Cairo'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493111/original/file-20221102-18-22xyb5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Scott Smith, who recently stepped down from his role as Hockey Canada’s President and CEO, left, and Hockey Canada Chief Financial Officer Brian Cairo, appear at a standing committee looking into how Hockey Canada handled allegations of sexual assault and a subsequent lawsuit in July 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
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<p>Over the 2018-21 year period, Hockey Canada earned total net incomes of $26 million. Approximately 30 per cent of all of Hockey Canada’s revenue comes from marketing (about $20 million a year).</p>
<p>In addition, Hockey Canada claims an exemption for income tax purposes as a <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/other-organizations-that-issue-donation-receipts-qualified-donees/other-qualified-donees-listings/list-registered-canadian-amateur-athletic-associations.html">registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Association</a>. Hockey Canada also received significant funding from the federal government, including more than $4 million per year over the last three years. The Hockey Canada Foundation had an additional sum of $27 million in net assets as of June 2021.</p>
<p>Hockey Canada <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hockey-canada-insurance-fees-national-equity-fund-1.6591975">has since claimed the reserve fund will no longer be used to settle claims</a> and has announced it <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/hockey-canada-fees-1.6629098">will not collect participant fees for the upcoming season</a>.</p>
<h2>Issues in transparency</h2>
<p>We have several suggestions for how Hockey Canada can improve its financial transparency, organizational governance and accountability.</p>
<p><strong>Knowing who Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations (RCAAAs) are:</strong> RCAAAs were introduced in the 2011 federal budget <a href="https://www.budget.gc.ca/2011/home-accueil-eng.html">to increase transparency in the charity/qualified donor sector</a>. Information about them, although limited, is available from the Canada Revenue Agency. Key financial information, like tax forms and financial statements, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/other-organizations-that-issue-donation-receipts-qualified-donees/canadian-amateur-athletic-associations.html">are not included on the CRA website</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Access to financial statements from Hockey Canada:</strong> No financial statements are posted on Hockey Canada’s website. All the financial statements discussed in this article were obtained through an access to information request. Only one annual report from 2020-21 is posted on Hockey Canada’s website, and no financial statements are included. </p>
<p>Financial statements should have been available through the Corporations Canada website since <a href="https://www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/blog/hockey-canada-filings-with-corporations-canada/">Hockey Canada is a soliciting corporation under the Not-for-profit Corporations Act</a>, but Hockey Canada <a href="https://www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/blog/hockey-canadas-full-financial-statements-are-finally-available-to-the-public-here-are-the-last-8-years/">did not file these until recently</a>. In fact, Hockey Canada has been fighting the federal government <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/sports/jack-todd-one-out-one-to-go-at-hockey-canada">to prevent the disclosure of its financial statements</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A document lying on a table with the Hockey Canada logo visible" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493112/original/file-20221102-24-2z25vy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Hockey Canada should make its financial statements available through the Corporations Canada website.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick</span></span>
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<p><strong>Disclosure of financial information:</strong> In addition to financial statements, information about a number of financial topics, such as compensation of the leadership team, is not available either. The details of the investigative reports — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hockey-canada-responds-cromwell-report-national-equity-fund-1.6615460">the Cromwell report</a>, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9031505/iihf-hockey-canada-inquiry-sexual-assault-allegations/">International Ice Hockey Federation investigation</a>, and the investigation by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/hockey-canada-sexual-misconduct-helpline-1.6551894">Henein Hutchison LLP</a> — surrounding the scandal should also be made public.</p>
<h2>Clean up the books to clean up the sport</h2>
<p>The scandal is a major turning point for the future of Hockey Canada. The organization must repair trust between itself and its stakeholders, starting with better transparency, governance and accountability. </p>
<p>Financial transparency is crucial for organizations like Hockey Canada that receive public funding. Any organization that receives public funding should be required to make their financial statements publicly available, not just to government officials. All RCAAA and charities should post their annual reports and audited financial statements on their websites and be clearer about fund use. </p>
<p>Other organizations should learn from Hockey Canada’s scandal and take the necessary steps to increase financial transparency — the sooner, the better. This needs to happen to avoid a further loss of stakeholder trust in the nonprofit sector. Transparency is a journey of trust and it’s time for the sporting community to embark on it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192705/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Transparency in financial disclosure is a crucial part of ethical, responsible governance. Unless Hockey Canada prioritizes financial transparency, any attempts at reform will fall short.Marc Pilon, Assistant Professor of Accounting, Faculty of Management, Laurentian UniversityAndrew Webb, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton UniversityFrancois Brouard, Full Professor Accounting and Taxation / Professeur titulaire comptabilité et fiscalité, Sprott School of Business, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1916752022-10-04T04:21:23Z2022-10-04T04:21:23ZThe High Court of Australia has a majority of women justices for the first time. Here’s why that matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487957/original/file-20221004-20-bbywz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In appointing Justice Jayne Jagot to the High Court, the Albanese government has made history: for the first time, the court will have a majority of women on its bench.</p>
<p>We have come a long way. At the turn of the 20th century, women were not permitted to practise law in any Australian jurisdiction. And even when those formal barriers to admission were eventually removed, informal barriers meant the law remained a man’s world.</p>
<p>For more than 80 years after its establishment in 1903, the High Court of Australia remained the exclusive preserve of men. It was not until 1987 that Mary Gaudron, became the first woman to serve on the court. </p>
<p>Women have been appointed to the High Court with some regularity over the past decade. Yet only seven women have been appointed of a total of 56 justices. The first woman to serve as Chief Justice of the High Court, Susan Kiefel, was sworn-in in 2017.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487970/original/file-20221004-19-yfpinx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Justice Jayne Jagot’s appointment means the High Court will have a majority female judges for the first time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Federal Court/AAP</span></span>
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<p>Justice Jayne Jagot will replace Justice Patrick Keane on the High Court, which means four of the seven justices will be women. In <a href="https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/dreyfus/2022/appointment-high-court-australia">announcing</a> the appointment, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus explicitly acknowledged the historical significance of the appointment, noting “this is the first time since Federation that a majority of Justices on the High Court will be women”. He described the new judge as an “outstanding lawyer and an eminent judge”.</p>
<p>The government is largely unrestrained in making their appointments beyond a <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2004A02147">requirement</a> they consult with state attorneys-general and the appointee meets the minimum qualifications of admission as a legal practitioner. Certainly, there is nothing that compels the government to consider the value of diversity in making its appointments. Moreover, there is little transparency and accountability in the process – the government is not required to shortlist against publicly available selection criteria or to account for its decision-making. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-federal-election-winner-will-get-a-big-opportunity-to-change-the-face-of-the-high-court-will-they-take-it-180864">The federal election winner will get a big opportunity to change the face of the High Court - will they take it?</a>
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<h2>Australia needs greater transparency in appointing judges</h2>
<p>Calls to reform High Court appointment practice to improve diversity, transparency and accountability are not new. Importantly, these criticisms have very rarely been personal (about the suitability of individual appointees). However, these calls were renewed in 2020 in response to allegations that Dyson Heydon had sexually harassed legal associates during his time as a Justice on the High Court of Australia. </p>
<p>In an <a href="https://theconversation.com/deep-cultural-shifts-required-open-letter-from-500-legal-women-calls-for-reform-of-way-judges-are-appointed-and-disciplined-142042">open letter</a> to then Attorney-General Christian Porter, more than 500 legal women called for reforms to how Australia appoints and disciplines its judges. It called for shortlisting against publicly available criteria, including legal knowledge, skill and expertise, as well as essential personal qualities (such as integrity and good character). It was further proposed that the value of diversity in judicial appointments should also be respected in formulating criteria. </p>
<p>More recently, the Australian Law Reform Commission’s new <a href="https://www.alrc.gov.au/news/without-fear-or-favour/#:%7E:text=The%20ALRC%20concluded%20that%2C%20given,public%20confidence%20in%20the%20judiciary.">report</a> on judicial impartiality outlined a series of recommendations. One of those recommendations was for a more transparent process for the appointment of federal judicial officers.</p>
<p>Historically, there has been little appetite for formal reforms to High Court appointment practices. Successive governments have often <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1037969X1504000305">avoided explicitly</a> commenting on the value of a more diverse judiciary. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-australias-new-high-court-judges-a-legal-scholars-take-on-the-morrison-governments-appointees-148982">Meet Australia's new High Court judges: a legal scholar's take on the Morrison government's appointees</a>
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<p>It remains to be seen whether the government will seek to implement formal reforms. However, Dreyfus is <a href="https://www.auspublaw.org/blog/2022/08/the-alrc-on-judicial-impartiality-and-the-momentum-towards-judicial-appointments-reform">understood</a> to be sympathetic to a more open and transparent appointment process. In announcing the most recent appointment, he explained the extensive consultation undertaken by the government, which was certainly more far-reaching than we have seen in recent years. It consulted with all state and territory attorneys-general, the heads of the federal courts, and state and territory supreme courts. It also spoke with state and territory bar associations and law societies, National Legal Aid, Australian Women Lawyers, the National Association of Community Legal Centres and deans of law schools.</p>
<p>Justice Jagot’s appointment has been <a href="https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/35635-lawyers-laud-historic-appointment-of-jayne-jagot-to-high-court">widely praised</a> within the legal profession. Although legal commentators emphasised that it was a welcome milestone for women, it was nonetheless <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/labor-gets-it-right-with-latest-high-court-pick-20220929-p5blyq">framed</a> as something of a happy (if politically expedient) coincidence given her eminence as a jurist. </p>
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<h2>Why do women judges matter?</h2>
<p>In answering this, it is worth remembering the classic quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg in response to questions about when there will be “enough” women judges on the United States Supreme Court. Ginsburg replied there would enough <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov/30/justice-ginsburg-all-female-supreme-court">when there were nine</a> (that is, all of them). Acknowledging that people were shocked by this response, Ginsburg famously countered</p>
<blockquote>
<p>there’s been nine men, and nobody’s ever raised a question about that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This exchange demonstrates how accustomed we are to the idea that judging is the domain of men. </p>
<p>This very notion is reminiscent of the question posed by American lawyer Carrie Menkel-Meadow: “what would our legal system look like if women had not been excluded from its creation?”</p>
<p>We can never know the answer to this question. Nor can these institutions necessarily be remade in a way that escapes their masculinist origins.</p>
<p>And yet, a majority of women judges sitting on an apex court is still significant, both nationally and internationally. The process of “letting women in” has chipped away at these foundations and opened up possibilities for transformation.</p>
<p>This is not because there is a distinctive women’s judicial voice (there isn’t). It is because a majority of women judges sitting on the High Court makes an important symbolic statement about women’s admission to legal authority in Australia.</p>
<p>When an institution once occupied only by men admits women into its space, the <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Law-Women-Judges-and-the-Gender-Order-Lessons-from-the-High-Court-of-Australia/McLoughlin/p/book/9780367230357#:%7E:text=Resources%20Support%20Material-,Book%20Description,Court's%20historically%20masculinist%20gender%20regime.">existing gender</a> relations and gender norms cannot remain unaffected.</p>
<p>We saw this in 2020 with the revelations about sexual harassment on the High Court and Chief Justice Susan Kiefel’s decisive response, which was widely praised. The admission of women to historically masculine domains does have the potential to disrupt institutional norms.</p>
<p>Australia is certainly not the first apex court to have a majority of women justices. For example, the Federal Court of Malaysia has a <a href="https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/node/224">majority</a>(8/14) of women. But compared with other Western democracies, Australia has been progressive on this issue. In the UK, there is currently one woman on a bench of 12; in the US 4/9, New Zealand 3/6 and Canada 4/9.</p>
<p>Of course, there will always be those who say gender shouldn’t matter. But gender has always mattered. It mattered for the first 80 years when only men were permitted to exercise legal authority at the peak of our legal system. And it still matters in 2022, when the High Court has a majority women justices for the first time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kcasey McLoughlin receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Since the High Court’s establishment, women have come a long way – and a majority female bench will have significant implications.Kcasey McLoughlin, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1902422022-09-08T11:20:47Z2022-09-08T11:20:47ZGrattan on Friday: Albanese’s commitment to transparency should apply to national cabinet<p>The change of government has transformed many things but, unfortunately, not the secrecy surrounding national cabinet. </p>
<p>Anthony Albanese beats his drum about transparency but he has rejected calls for more light to be shed on the meetings he has with his state and territory counterparts.<br>
Last week’s national cabinet decision that cut the COVID quarantine time from seven to five days highlights the case for the public to be better informed, especially when controversial matters are being decided. </p>
<p>That decision saw health and economic considerations collide. Health experts point out people can be still infectious after five days and so, some maintain, a cautious approach should be retained. But many businesses, and individuals, say we are now “living with COVID” and economic and social considerations should be put first. </p>
<p>Neither stand is objectively “correct” – it’s how you balance risks and priorities. The point is, the community should be given the information that played into the course the national cabinet chose. </p>
<p>When Albanese was asked early last week (ahead of the isolation decision) about his keeping national cabinet papers secret, his response was dismissive.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-simon-holmes-a-court-on-community-independents-and-two-state-elections-190248">Politics with Michelle Grattan: Simon Holmes à Court on 'community independents' and two state elections</a>
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<p>He lauded the fact that after these meetings he spoke for all the leaders, in contrast to the Morrison days, when the PM’s news conference would be followed (or even preceded) by premiers putting out their own takes. He also suggested there weren’t papers for meetings these days. </p>
<p>There are spurious arguments. Unanimity might be desirable, but if there are differences and they are aired, at least the public have an idea of what’s going on. And there are always minutes. </p>
<p>The Morrison government lost a legal challenge brought by then-crossbench senator Rex Patrick to prise open national cabinet, making it subject to freedom-of-information applications. In that case, the government argued national cabinet was a committee of federal cabinet, which was obviously absurd. </p>
<p>Although Patrick won, the Prime Minister’s Department frustrated later attempts to get information. Little has changed with the new administration. </p>
<p>Patrick was defeated at the election but is still on the national cabinet issue. He applied for the minutes of the new government’s first meeting on June 17. His application was rejected by the decision-maker, an assistant secretary in the PM’s Department. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/word-from-the-hill-more-mortgage-pain-labors-climate-legislation-nearly-done-and-scott-morrison-staying-put-190078">Word from The Hill: More mortgage pain, Labor's climate legislation nearly done, and Scott Morrison staying put</a>
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<p>Patrick was told disclosure of the document would or could “cause damage to Commonwealth-State relations by adversely affecting the trust and co-operation that underpins the National Cabinet, and in particular the ability to freely raise and discuss agenda items.</p>
<p>"Disclosing the requested document would inhibit the ability of First Ministers to conduct robust deliberations and make decisions on critical intergovernmental policy issues […]</p>
<p>"This would undermine the trust between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories and would prevent full and frank discussions that achieve the best outcomes for the Australian public […]</p>
<p>"In turn this would lead to poorer outcomes and adversely affect all governments’ abilities to consider and respond urgently to issues of national interest, and would undermine the key decisions needed to deliver outcomes in the public interest.”</p>
<p>But material genuinely demanding confidentiality obviously could be redacted, rather than refusing to release anything. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-summit-triggers-immediate-action-and-elevates-gender-equality-189883">View from The Hill: Summit triggers immediate action and elevates gender equality</a>
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<p>Patrick has now applied for any advice the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) – which comprises state and territory health officers and advises national cabinet – distributed to national cabinet for the August 31 meeting that decided to reduce the isolation period. </p>
<p>NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet led the charge for last week’s decision. Albanese earlier had resisted a change to the isolation period, but was now ready to move. </p>
<p>Ahead of the meeting, Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly put a recommendation to the AHPPC to shift to five days. </p>
<p>But the AHPPC is supposed to operate by “consensus” and Kelly could not get general acceptance for the recommendation. </p>
<p>Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria favoured staying with seven days. Other states either supported change or were willing to go along with it. </p>
<p>Some AHPPC participants were discontented at being presented with what they saw as a done deal by the Commonwealth. When this was raised, Kelly strongly rejected any suggestion he was acting politically. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/penny-wongs-diplomacy-efforts-in-the-pacific-begin-to-bear-fruit-with-png-security-pact-189710">Penny Wong's diplomacy efforts in the Pacific begin to bear fruit with PNG security pact</a>
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<p>Michael Kidd (acting chief medical officer on the day) presented the epidemiology and the outcome of the AHPPC meeting to national cabinet. Kidd gave a verbal briefing on the different views. As there was not an AHPPC consensus, there wasn’t a paper from that body, but presumably what was non-advice would be reflected in the minutes. </p>
<p>The Australian Medical Association immediately called for the government to make public the advice. </p>
<p>AMA President Steve Robson, pointing out that up to three in ten people were likely to be still infectious after five days, said: “Throughout this pandemic the AMA has continuously said governments must base their decision-making on the health and medical advice and we need to see that advice and whether it supports today’s decision.” </p>
<p>The AMA received short shrift from the PM. “The chief health officers in every state are responsible for their respective advices, so that’s a matter for the
state governments as to whether that happens or not,” he said.</p>
<p>Medicos in the Labor caucus weren’t consulted before the decision. One of them, Mike Freelander, who’s chairing a House of Representative inquiry into long COVID, admitted to the ABC national cabinet had made a “political” decision, adding “we have got to live with it”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labor-extends-big-lead-in-newspoll-but-morgan-is-much-better-for-coalition-189872">Labor extends big lead in Newspoll, but Morgan is much better for Coalition</a>
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<p>Another doctor, Labor’s new member for Higgins, Michelle Ananda-Rajah, had already tweeted “5 days is not enough”. </p>
<p>The way the decision on the isolation period played out can be seen as bringing full circle the story of experts in this pandemic. </p>
<p>At the start, panicked politicians, with little clue what they were dealing with, leaned heavily on the health experts. “We follow the health advice,” became the mantra, justifying what was done. </p>
<p>Leaders used the health experts as crutches, and as political shields (even though with Morrison there was always a tug of war between health and economic considerations – he elevated economics wherever possible). </p>
<p>These days, the politicians – on both sides – have grabbed back their agency. Political leaders know the community – or a majority of it – has moved on, despite the tens of COVID deaths daily. COVID case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths are now to be reported on a weekly, rather than daily, basis. The escalating cost of living has well and truly taken over from COVID as the hottest issue in the public mind. </p>
<p>Be that as it may, the public still deserve to know about the health advice on COVID issues. More generally, Albanese needs to live up to his professed views on transparency. As things stand, Patrick is right when he says that Albanese “has taken the blue secrecy blanket off national cabinet and replaced it with a red secrecy blanket”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190242/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Anthony Albanese beats his drum about transparency but has rejected calls for more light to be shed on national cabinet meetingsMichelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1893102022-09-06T20:06:12Z2022-09-06T20:06:12ZHow dark is ‘dark advertising’? We audited Facebook, Google and other platforms to find out<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482896/original/file-20220906-12-ewa20l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C333%2C2592%2C2727&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashkar Dave / Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once upon a time, most advertisements were public. If we wanted to see what advertisers were doing, we could easily find it – on TV, in newspapers and magazines, and on billboards around the city. </p>
<p>This meant governments, civil society and citizens could keep advertisers in check, especially when they advertised products that might be harmful – such as alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pharmaceuticals, financial services or unhealthy food. </p>
<p>However, the rise of online ads has led to a kind of “dark advertising”. Ads are often only visible to their intended targets, they disappear moments after they have been seen, and no one except the platforms knows how, when, where or why the ads appear. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://fare.org.au/transparency-report/">new study</a> conducted for the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), we audited the advertising transparency of seven major digital platforms. The results were grim: none of the platforms are transparent enough for the public to understand what advertising they publish, and how it is targeted.</p>
<h2>Why does transparency matter?</h2>
<p>Dark ads on digital platforms shape public life. They have been used to spread <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/313053">political falsehoods</a>, <a href="https://themarkup.org/citizen-browser/2021/07/09/facebook-got-rid-of-racial-ad-categories-or-did-it">target racial groups</a>, and perpetuate <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-ads-can-still-discriminate-against-women-and-older-workers-despite-a-civil-rights-settlement">gender bias</a>. </p>
<p>Dark advertising on digital platforms is also a problem when it comes to addictive and harmful products such as alcohol, gambling and unhealthy food. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-ads-have-enabled-discrimination-based-on-gender-race-and-age-we-need-to-know-how-dark-ads-affect-australians-168938">Facebook ads have enabled discrimination based on gender, race and age. We need to know how ‘dark ads’ affect Australians</a>
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<p>In a <a href="https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/media-releases/dark-marketing-tactics-of-harmful-industries-exposed-by-young-citizen-scientists">recent study</a> with VicHealth, we found age-restricted products such as alcohol and gambling were targeted to people under the age of 18 on digital platforms. At present, however, there is no way to systematically monitor what kinds of alcohol and gambling advertisements children are seeing. </p>
<p>Advertisements are optimised to drive engagement, such as through clicks or purchases, and target people who are the most likely to engage. For example, people identified as high-volume alcohol consumers will likely receive more alcohol ads. </p>
<p>This optimisation can have extreme results. A <a href="https://fare.org.au/alcohol-ad-every-35-seconds-during-covid-19/">study</a> by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) and Cancer Council WA found one user received 107 advertisements for alcohol products on Facebook and Instagram in a single hour on a Friday night in April 2020.</p>
<h2>How transparent is advertising on digital platforms?</h2>
<p>We evaluated the transparency of advertising on major digital platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Google search, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok – by asking the following nine questions: </p>
<ul>
<li>is there a comprehensive and permanent archive of all the ads published on the platform?</li>
<li>can the archive be accessed using an application programming interface (API)?</li>
<li>is there a public searchable dashboard that is updated in real time?</li>
<li>are ads stored in the archive permanently?</li>
<li>can we access deleted advertisements?</li>
<li>can we download the ads for analysis?</li>
<li>are we able to see what types of users the ad targeted?</li>
<li>how much did it cost to run the advertisement?</li>
<li>can we tell how many people the advertisement reached?</li>
</ul>
<p>All platforms included in our evaluation failed to meet basic transparency criteria, meaning advertising on the platform is not observable by civil society, researchers or regulators. For the most part, advertising can only be seen by its targets.</p>
<p>Notably, TikTok had no transparency measures at all to allow observation of advertising on the platform. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482707/original/file-20220905-20-vg8uvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=635&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Advertising transparency on these major digital platforms leaves a lot to be desired.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://fare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Transparency-Report.pdf">From 'Advertisements on digital platforms: How transparent and observable are they?'</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Other platforms weren’t much better, with none offering a comprehensive or permanent advertising archive. This means that once an advertising campaign has ended, there is no way to observe what ads were disseminated. </p>
<p>Facebook and Instagram are the only platforms to publish a list of all currently active advertisements. However, most of these ads are deleted after the campaign becomes inactive and are no longer observable.</p>
<p>Platforms also fail to provide contextual information for advertisements, such as advertising spend and reach, or how advertisements are being targeted. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/transparency-reports-from-tech-giants-are-vague-on-how-theyre-combating-misinformation-its-time-for-legislation-184476">'Transparency reports' from tech giants are vague on how they're combating misinformation. It's time for legislation</a>
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<p>Without this information, it is difficult to understand who is being targeted with advertising on these platforms. For example, we can’t be sure companies selling harmful and addictive products aren’t targeting children or people recovering from addiction. Platforms and advertisers ask us to simply trust them.</p>
<p>We did find platforms are starting to provide some information on one narrowly defined category of advertising: “issues, elections or politics”. This shows there is no technical reason for keeping information about other kinds of advertising from the public. Rather, platforms are choosing to keep it secret. </p>
<h2>Bringing advertising back into public view</h2>
<p>When digital advertising can be systematically monitored, it will be possible to hold digital platforms and marketers accountable for their business practices.</p>
<p>Our assessment of advertising transparency on digital platforms demonstrates that they are not currently observable or accountable to the public. Consumers, civil society, regulators and even advertisers all have a stake in ensuring a stronger public understanding of how the dark advertising models of digital platforms operate. </p>
<p>The limited steps platforms have taken to create public archives, particularly in the case of political advertising, demonstrate that change is possible. And the detailed dashboards about ad performance they offer advertisers illustrate there are no technical barriers to accountability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Carah is Deputy Chair of Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education. Nicholas receives funding from the Australian Research Council, VicHealth and Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aimee Brownbill is Senior Policy and Research Advisor at the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Dobson receives funding from the Australian Research Council (LPLP190101051 DPDP220100152), VicHealth, and the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brady Robards receives funding from the Australian Research Council (DE190100858, LP190101051, SR200200364), VicHealth, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Department of Education, Skills & Employment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Angus receives funding from Australian Research Council through Discovery Projects DP200100519 ‘Using machine vision to explore Instagram’s everyday promotional cultures’, DP200101317 ‘Evaluating the Challenge of ‘Fake News’ and Other Malinformation’, and Linkage Project LP190101051 'Young Australians and the Promotion of Alcohol on Social Media'. He is an Associate Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision Making & Society, CE200100005.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kiah Hawker, Lauren Hayden, and Xue Ying Tan do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>None of the major digital platforms lets the public see what advertising they carry and how it’s targeted, according to a new report.Nicholas Carah, Associate Professor in Digital Media, The University of QueenslandAimee Brownbill, Honorary Fellow, Public Health, The University of QueenslandAmy Shields Dobson, Lecturer in Digital and Social Media, Curtin UniversityBrady Robards, Associate Professor in Sociology, Monash UniversityDaniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Queensland University of TechnologyKiah Hawker, Assistant researcher, Digital Media, The University of QueenslandLauren Hayden, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant, The University of QueenslandXue Ying Tan, Software Engineer, Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1874482022-07-21T15:02:38Z2022-07-21T15:02:38ZAngola’s Dos Santos failed to provide a moral example and stop the plunder of the state<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/475377/original/file-20220721-1369-hfxt6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Manuel de Almeida</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Silence is what comes to define the life and the death of the former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos (1942-2022), who died recently <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/angolas-former-president-dos-santos-dies-79-2022-07-08/">at a hospital in Barcelona</a>, Spain, at the age of 79. Putting it slightly differently, his control of what he said and what he left unsaid defined not only how he lived and governed, but also how he managed the last years of his solitary life.</p>
<p>I previously worked as a journalist in Angola and Portugal. My subsequent <a href="https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8HM5GFD">PhD in anthropology</a> focused on the interplay between politics, urbanism and kinship in Luanda. I have also published a <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/in-the-skin-of-the-city">monograph</a> on the urban transformation of Luanda, the capital city of Angola.</p>
<p>In my view, since its independence from Portugal in 1975, Angola has become for the most part a country known for its opacity or lack of transparency. </p>
<p>It might not be sound to attribute to one single man the making of a whole system of state operations. But if one can say so, Dos Santos’s personality was fundamental in the shaping of postcolonial Angola. Very few leaders in the world have achieved this. He loathed direct confrontation, abolished the death penalty and prevented the slaughter of the generals of the rebel movement <a href="https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv03445/04lv03446/05lv03515.htm">National Union for the Total Independence of Angola</a> (Unita) in the wake of the killing of its leader Jonas Savimbi, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-61426699">in February of 2002</a>. </p>
<p>Yet Dos Santos failed to provide a moral example and did very little to prevent those around him, including his family, from unmercifully plundering the country’s resources.</p>
<h2>The early years</h2>
<p>Born in Luanda in 1942, he joined the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the Congo in 1961 when he was 19. Soon afterwards, he was sent to the Soviet Union, where he studied oil engineering. The MPLA was confronted with a lack of capable cadres at that time, enabling him to move up its highest echelons. </p>
<p>Angola achieved independence from Portugal in 1975.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-leader-is-changing-angola-but-the-end-destination-isnt-clear-131063">New leader is changing Angola. But the end destination isn't clear</a>
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<p>Dos Santos became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1975 and First Deputy Prime Minister in December 1978, nine months before the death of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1979/09/12/angolan-leader-neto-dies-in-moscow/e6bc2716-b3cc-44f4-af32-4909d4648d05/">Agostinho Neto</a>, the first president of a free Angola.</p>
<p>Good looking, soft spoken, and at the tender age of 37, he was chosen to replace <a href="https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/national-orders/recipient/agostinho-neto-1922-1979">Neto</a>. In his inauguration speech, he conceded that replacing Neto, to whom epithets such as <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/agostinho-neto-1922-1979/">Father of the Nation</a> and <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201409091501.html">Immortal Guide</a> were given, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YvajZ1kIRw">was not</a></p>
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<p>an easy substitution, let alone a possible substitution, but simply a necessary substitution.</p>
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<p>There are various versions of why he was nominated to succeed Neto. One is that it was because he was young, and therefore seen as easy to control. Another is that he became the president because the top structure of the party was dominated by whites and mixed-race militants. Most party members believed that only a black Angolan could govern the country.</p>
<h2>Oil and war</h2>
<p>But those who helped Dos Santos rise to the presidency and thought that they could use him as a puppet were soon disappointed. In the early 1980s, he started to push out Neto’s advisers and surround himself with younger ones who would be known as Futunguistas, in reference to the presidential headquarters he had transferred to Futungo de Belas, on the outskirts of the city.</p>
<p>In those years, he was concerned with two interrelated pressing issues that came to determine his presidency: oil and war. </p>
<p>On the oil front, he turned Angola into one of the largest producers on the continent, using oil to finance the war as well as to drive economic growth. Results became visible in the 2000s, when Angola become one of the countries with the highest economic growth in the world. The GDP growth rate of Angola <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/angola/gdp-growth">reached an all time high of 23.2% in the fourth quarter of 2007</a>. </p>
<p>He furthered military cooperation with Cuba, and with its help attempted to crush Unita militarily. In 1985 he ordered the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09592318.2018.1519312">Operation Second Congress</a>, with the goal of destroying Unita’s main logistical hub in Mavinga. </p>
<p>Unita survived thanks to support from <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4005928#metadata_info_tab_contents">apartheid South Africa and America’s CIA</a>. But the offensive – which culminated in a peace deal – had other consequences for democracy in the region by contributing to South Africa’s increased isolation. </p>
<p>This change in sentiment opened the way for the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/namibia-gains-independence">1990</a> independence of Namibia, which was still governed by the apartheid regime. Other events that shaped the region included the democratisation of South Africa in 1991 and the peace agreement signed between the Angolan government and Jonas Savimbi’s rebels <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/angola/peace-agreements-case-angola">in the same year</a>.</p>
<p>As part of the agreement Cuban troops were withdrawn from Angola.</p>
<p>Dos Santos ran against Savimbi in the general election of 1992. Dos Santos was <a href="https://www.eisa.org/wep/ang1992elect2.htm">declared the winner</a> but Savimbi refused to accept the results. This precipitated an even more destructive phase of the civil war, which ensued for ten more years. </p>
<p>In the late 1990s, frustrated with the possibility of negotiating peace, Dos Santos became increasingly convinced that war in Angola would only end with either Savimbi’s death or capture. But to achieve this he needed unrestricted power.</p>
<p>In 1998 he dissolved the cabinet and embarked on the overhaul of the Angolan constitution to enable him to take quick and expedient decisions without the approval of the National Assembly.</p>
<p>This weakening of state institutions was certainly behind <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-luandas-residents-are-asking-where-did-all-the-oil-riches-go-49772">the plunder of public resources by private interests</a>. This state of affairs was cemented with the adoption of constitutional changes in <a href="https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Angola_2010.pdf?lang=en">2010</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/angolas-president-has-little-to-show-for-his-promise-of-a-break-with-the-authoritarian-past-167933">Angola's president has little to show for his promise of a break with the authoritarian past</a>
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<p>All of this Dos Santos did without, so to speak, opening his mouth. At least in public. He rarely sat with journalists. As far as I know he never granted an interview to an Angolan journalist, and only conceded three interviews to Portuguese channels. He rarely spoke off script, preferring to carefully read the speeches prepared by his collaborators. </p>
<p>For the duration of his presidency, people spent their time trying to interpret his silence. Many resorted to taking decisions in the anticipation of what they thought Dos Santos expected them to do.</p>
<h2>Legacy</h2>
<p>Dos Santos didn’t break his silence even after being replaced by <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/who-is-angolas-new-president-joao-lourenco/a-40218458">João Lourenço</a>, who won the general election in 2017. </p>
<p>Lourenço made the fight against corruption – deemed to be the main legacy of Dos Santos’s 38 years in power – the cornerstone of his presidency. He pursued Dos Santos’s main collaborators, including the former president’s family. </p>
<p>Dos Santos made only a single public attempt – and a timid one at that – to clear his record on the issue of corruption. For the rest he kept his silence, failing to intervene even when his children were pursued. His son <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-angola-dossantos-idUSKCN25A1T6">Zenu dos Santos</a> was jailed in Angola. His daughter <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/angola-dossantos-portugal-idUSL8N29S2IQ">Isabel dos Santos</a> remains abroad.</p>
<p>Dos Santos promised to give a tell-all interview. But it never happened. He died as he had lived and governed: in silence. His silence, and what he accomplished with it, is for me the most enduring legacy of José Eduardo dos Santos.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187448/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>António Tomás does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dos Santos died as he had lived and governed: in silence. His silence, and what he accomplished with it, is his most enduring legacy.António Tomás, Associate Professor, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1862652022-07-13T13:58:54Z2022-07-13T13:58:54ZHow BRICS’ New Development Bank can improve transparency and accountability<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472282/original/file-20220704-24-jd8a24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The New Development Bank has not been forthcoming with information on its funding of South Africa's Medupi power station.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The New Development Bank, which was <a href="https://www.ndb.int/wp-content/themes/ndb/pdf/Agreement-on-the-New-Development-Bank.pdf">formed</a> in July 2014, marks its eighth birthday this year. It was formed by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) when they met in Fortaleza, Brazil for the bloc’s summit. The bank was seen as a potential alternative to the World Bank and able to take a new approach to development finance.</p>
<p>The New Development Bank has since approved <a href="https://www.ndb.int/projects/list-of-all-projects/?country_name=5">11 projects</a> in South Africa and Lesotho. These involve sustainable energy, transportation, water resource management, and a COVID-19 emergency loan programme. Some of these projects, for instance the <a href="https://www.ndb.int/environmental-protection-project-for-medupi-thermal-power-plant/">Environmental Protection Project for Medupi Thermal Power Plant</a>, are of strategic importance to South Africa. Of the project’s estimated total cost of US$2.75 billion, the bank is providing a US$480 million loan.</p>
<p>This is in line with hopes that the bank would serve as a much-needed new source of financing for national and regional initiatives. Another hope was that it would be more transparent and accountable than other multilateral banks such as the World Bank. Its <a href="https://www.ndb.int/about-us/essence/mission-values/">mission and values</a>, <a href="https://www.ndb.int/wp-content/themes/ndb/pdf/Agreement-on-the-New-Development-Bank.pdf">articles of agreement</a>, <a href="https://www.ndb.int/wp-content/themes/ndb/pdf/ndb-environment-social-framework-20160330.pdf">environmental and social framework</a> and <a href="https://www.ndb.int/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/information-disclosure-policy-revised.pdf">information disclosure policy</a> make commitments about transparency and openness. </p>
<p>The bank’s <a href="https://www.ndb.int/about-us/essence/mission-values/">mission statement</a> expresses its objective of not only “achieving development goals with transparency” but also displaying “empathy” towards its projects’ intended beneficiaries. </p>
<p>Billions of dollars of investment later, however, the reality suggests that improvement is needed.</p>
<p>A study on transparency and accountability by Oxfam South Africa and the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights raises concerns about how the bank handles <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/oxfam-ndb-accountability-discussion-paper-1-web.pdf">access to information</a>. It also lacks an <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/oxfam-ndb-accountability-discussion-paper-2-web.pdf">independent accountability mechanism</a>. The study calls into question whether the bank is showing empathy towards the communities that are affected by its projects.</p>
<h2>Too little openness</h2>
<p>The study highlights transparency and accountability challenges with some of the projects co-financed by the bank. The researchers interviewed representatives of the communities near the <a href="https://www.ndb.int/lesotho-highlands-water-project-phase-ii/">South Africa Lesotho Highlands Water Project Phase II</a> and the <a href="https://www.ndb.int/environmental-protection-project-for-medupi-thermal-power-plant/">Medupi project</a>.</p>
<p>Some of these challenges are cross-cutting. For instance, the representatives said that the influx of migrant workers into their communities had put a strain on resources and services. There were also project-specific issues. These included concerns about the resettlement of <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/oxfam-ndb-accountability-discussion-paper-1-web.pdf">more than 3,000 people</a> to make way for the Lesotho project.</p>
<p>The study demonstrates the difficulty of getting project information. The New Development Bank’s responses to information requests from the researchers lacked adequate detail. Without timely and comprehensive access to information, how can communities affected by projects adequately address their concerns? </p>
<p>The bank’s website has no project documents and its information portal is hard to use. This affects the right of communities to be heard, a right that can’t be exercised without access to information. </p>
<p>Unlike most <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/accountability#:%7E:text=The%20World%20Bank%20Accountability%20Mechanism%20is%20an%20independent%20complaints%20mechanism,a%20World%20Bank%2Dfunded%20project.">multilateral development banks</a>, the New Development Bank doesn’t have an independent accountability mechanism. Nor does it have other ways for these communities to seek redress or hold it accountable. </p>
<p>Such mechanisms are created to <a href="https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Glass-half-full.pdf">hold development finance institutions</a> and their clients accountable to their own policies. They also provide access to remedies for individuals and communities that are adversely affected by the activities such institutions fund. Without such a mechanism, the bank’s approach to accountability falls far short of global best practice.</p>
<p>It’s clear that much more can be done to improve transparency and accountability at the New Development Bank. </p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>The bank could do this in several ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>It must put section 23 of its <a href="https://www.ndb.int/wp-content/themes/ndb/pdf/ndb-environment-social-framework-20160330.pdf#page=12">environment and social framework</a> into practice. This requires the bank to disclose project documents and information to communities and the general public during the project design and implementation phases, and throughout projects’ life cycles.</p></li>
<li><p>It should create a structure or platform, an independent accountability mechanism, that affected communities can use to prod the bank when it fails to provide timely access to project information or to comply with its own policies and procedures. Better and more sustainable development outcomes can be achieved when the mechanism’s design process includes public consultations that incorporate different stakeholders. These public consultations should aim to genuinely solicit inputs that influence the design and implementation of the proposed mechanism.</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-and-international-financial-institutions-a-liaison-group-could-recalibrate-relations-177643">South Africa and international financial institutions: a liaison group could recalibrate relations</a>
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<li>At a national level, there have also been calls for the formation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africa-and-international-financial-institutions-a-liaison-group-could-recalibrate-relations-177643">a South African liaison group for international financial institutions</a>. This group would be a platform to promote discourse between South African government institutions such as the treasury and civil society concerning the country’s relationship with international financial institutions. This group could for instance be a good platform to discuss civil society’s concerns about the New Development Bank.</li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Magalie Masamba is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. She receives funding from Prof. Danny Bradlow's SARCHI Chair at the University of Pretoria and works on research projects funded by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and Oxfam South Africa. </span></em></p>The New Development Bank doesn’t have mechanisms that communities can use to hold it accountable or seek redress.Magalie Masamba, Post-doctoral Fellow, Centre for Human Rights, University of PretoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1864702022-07-07T03:28:15Z2022-07-07T03:28:15ZA new report from Queensland offers guidance on integrity to all Australian governments<p>Peter Coaldrake’s report to Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, <a href="https://www.coaldrakereview.qld.gov.au/assets/custom/docs/coaldrake-review-final-report-28-june-2022.pdf">Let the Sunshine In</a>, is a clear and frank assessment of culture and accountability in the Queensland public sector today. With one exception, it also offers refreshing guidance to jurisdictions across Australia showing signs of complacency about integrity.</p>
<p>First to the important exception: Coaldrake’s proposal that all cabinet submissions and their attachments, all agendas and all decision papers be published online within 30 days of cabinet decisions.</p>
<p>While the report acknowledges some of the risks associated with such a change – including the possible compromising of frank and fearless advice – it claims that New Zealand’s experience with early disclosure has worked well. As it points out, the NZ system explicitly omits:</p>
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<p>exploratory advice, “blue skies” thinking or advice generated in the early and formative stages of a policy development process and intended to ensure the free and uninhibited exchange of ideas that is necessary for the development of robust policy advice […]</p>
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<p>Coaldrake believes NZ takes a “measured approach” to redacting small sections of documents where free and frank advice is offered. He also firmly endorses NZ’s principle that </p>
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<p>the possibility of a cabinet paper being proactively released must not undermine the quality of advice included in the paper, and therefore the quality of the decision ultimately reached by ministers.</p>
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<p>But it is important to recognise the context in which those rules operate:</p>
<ul>
<li>NZ’s voting system means that it doesn’t emulate Australia’s strongly adversarial political culture; indeed, governments tend to be coalitions and cross-party negotiation is common</li>
<li>NZ’s public service commissioner is the employer of departmental secretaries (and other agency heads), limiting their exposure to penalties if advice embarrassing to the government is released</li>
<li>NZ has far fewer ministerial advisers devoted to minimising political risks, including risks from public servants’ written advice.</li>
</ul>
<p>Even if governments move towards NZ practice on the latter two points, I wouldn’t support such early release of cabinet papers.</p>
<p>The cabinet system nurtures the important principle of collective responsibility. It requires cabinet ministers to consider fully and frankly all perspectives and expert evidence, enabling each of them to stand by the collective decision regardless of differences robustly debated.</p>
<p>It is likely that Australian governments would adjust their cabinet processes or papers if they knew these documents would soon be available to opposition members and journalists eager to find divisions within cabinet or failures to accept expert advice. </p>
<p>It would be better, in my view, to start at the other end: to go back to a culture in which departments undertake and publish more research and analysis, produce substantial annual reports and perform evaluations for public release. Governments would issue green papers and white papers; the definition of an “exempt cabinet document” would be tighter; attachments to cabinet submissions and memoranda would be released if they didn’t include direct advice or ministerial recommendations.</p>
<h2>The tone at the top</h2>
<p>A number of Coaldrake’s other recommendations echo the key proposals of David Thodey’s 2019 <a href="https://www.apsreview.gov.au/">Independent Review of the Australian Public Service</a> rejected by the Morrison government:</p>
<p><strong>On ministerial staff:</strong> “Development and continual reinforcement of a common framework to determine appropriate relationships among ministers, their staff and senior public servants.” Here, Coaldrake recognises that the tone set at the top – the attitudes of political and public service leaders that foster the culture of the system – is essential. For the Commonwealth, I would go further. A <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7801306/ministerial-staff-like-public-servants-should-be-accountable/?cs=14264">major overhaul</a> of the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act is long overdue, as is a cut in the oversupply of ministerial staff.</p>
<p><strong>On capability and the Public Service Commission’s role:</strong> “Rejuvenation of the capability and capacity of the public sector” to emphasise performance and integrity, with the Public Service Commission playing a key role. For the Commonwealth, I would go further towards the NZ model, with the Australian Public Service (APS) Commissioner as professional head of the APS.</p>
<p><strong>On consultants and contractors:</strong> “Departments [to] more robustly account for the benefits from engaging consultants and contractors with regular monitoring by the Auditor-General.” Hear, hear.</p>
<p><strong>On top appointments and tenure:</strong> “Stability of government and performance of public service [to] be strengthened by appointment of agency CEOs on fixed term, five year contracts, unaligned to the electoral cycle.” For the Commonwealth, I would further strengthen the merit basis of appointments and constrain terminations.</p>
<h2>Institutions matter</h2>
<p>Coaldrake’s recommendations about integrity bodies provide excellent guidance to the new federal government. As it develops legislation for a federal anti-corruption authority, Coaldrake’s proposed “single clearing house for complaints, with capacity for the complainants and agencies to track progress and outcomes” would be of enormous use.</p>
<p>This clearing house would help to ensure the new authority works with existing bodies such as the ombudsman and the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) – and, indeed, with the departments and agencies complained about. It would also ensure it focuses on serious corruption and major crime.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-rorts-shows-the-government-misunderstands-the-public-service-130796">'Sports rorts' shows the government misunderstands the public service</a>
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<p>Coaldrake also recommends that integrity bodies’ independence be enhanced by involving parliamentary committees in setting budgets and contributing to key appointments. To some extent this already applies to the Australian National Audit Office. But it should apply more firmly not only to that body but also to the ombudsman, the information commissioner, the human rights commissioners, the electoral commission and, indeed, the APSC.</p>
<p>In essence, Coaldrake’s report is a reminder of the importance of institutions and the need to review their roles and performance regularly. Critical to their effectiveness is the tone at the top, a point also emphasised in NZ’s integrity system. That tone has been wanting not only in Queensland but also in the Commonwealth and a number of other states.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Podger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With one exception, it offers refreshing guidance to jurisdictions across Australia showing signs of complacency about integrity.Andrew Podger, Honorary Professor of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1845232022-06-16T20:48:43Z2022-06-16T20:48:43ZWhen health care goes wrong: It’s time for transparency in patient safety<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469340/original/file-20220616-16-sfv7gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=75%2C150%2C3391%2C2487&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Patient safety incidents are the third leading cause of death in Canada.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 crisis has both <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadians-becoming-more-divided-over-covid-19-and-politics-survey-says-1.5846868">divided</a> and <a href="https://nationalpost.com/health/after-two-years-of-covid-pandemic-canadians-want-changes-to-health-system-poll">galvanized</a> Canadians on health care. While the last three years have presented new challenges to health-care systems across the country, the pandemic has also exacerbated existing challenges, most notably the high levels of errors and mistreatment documented in Canadian health care. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/en/toolsResources/PolicyFrameworkforPatientSafetyCanada/Documents/PolicyFramework%20Document%20ENG%20FINAL.pdf#search=medical%20errors%20mistreatment">2019 report from the Canadian Patient Safety Institute</a>, Canada was already facing a public health crisis prior to the pandemic: a crisis of patient safety. As the report details, patient safety incidents are the third leading cause of death in Canada, following cancer and heart disease. </p>
<p>Few studies calculate national data on this topic, but a 2013 report found that patient safety events resulted in just under <a href="https://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/en/About/Documents/The%20Case%20for%20Investing%20in%20Patient%20Safety.pdf">28,000 deaths</a>. Many Canadians who have experienced these errors have <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/frightening-broken-needle-left-in-woman-s-body-among-harrowing-tales-of-medical-errors-in-canada-1.5410613?cache=%3FautoPlay%3Dtrue%3Fot%3DAjaxLayout%3FcontactForm%3Dtrue">shared their experiences with media</a> in an effort to raise awareness and demand change. </p>
<h2>Converging crises</h2>
<p>The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a moment of dual crises. First, the pre-existing crisis of patient safety, and second, health care overall is now at a breaking point after three years of COVID-19, according to health-care workers. </p>
<p>Edmonton physician Dr. Darren Markland, for example, recently closed his kidney specialist practice after making a few “profound mistakes.” In an <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8889103/covid-burnout-destroyed-health-workers/">interview with Global News</a>, he explains he could no longer work at the current pace. </p>
<p><a href="https://bc.ctvnews.ca/wave-of-health-care-resignations-in-northern-b-c-as-calls-grow-for-audit-1.5923163">He is not alone in this decision</a>. Across the country, there have been waves of resignations in health care, leaving some areas struggling with a system that is “<a href="https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-it-is-what-it-is-the-quiet-progressive-death-of-albertas-health-care-system">degrading, increasingly unsafe, and often without dignity</a>.” </p>
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<img alt="A person in scrubs, a face mask and a hair covering, with a stethoscope are their neck, sits alone in a row of folding chairs with head in hand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=613%2C48%2C5877%2C4242&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469179/original/file-20220616-24-1a5dua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Health care is now at a breaking point, according to health-care workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>While COVID-19’s sudden disruption to health care delivery has been a shock to many health practitioners and the public, its <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-s-health-care-system-is-collapsing-around-us-warns-cma-president-1.5948416?cid=sm:trueanthem:ctvnews:twittermanualpost&taid=62aa3c275996a20001d8df2f&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:+New+Content+(Feed)&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter">impact falls especially heavily</a> on what was an <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/why-canadas-hospital-capacity-was-so-easily-overwhelmed-by-the-covid-pandemic">already overburdened and under-resourced health-care system</a>. COVID-19 continues to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050380">drain practitioner stamina and erode patient well-being</a>, contributing to the under-recognized, but growing undercurrent of care failures. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/patient-aggression-and-physician-burnout-the-makings-of-a-human-resources-crisis-in-health-care-175017">Patient aggression and physician burnout: The makings of a human resources crisis in health care</a>
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<p>Further, as made clear in British Columbia’s 2020 <a href="https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/613/2020/11/In-Plain-Sight-Summary-Report.pdf">In Plain Sight Report</a>, Indigenous patients, particularly Indigenous women, are often at the forefront of this crisis because system failures intersect with racism and discrimination. As the high profile case of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/joyce-echaquan-systemic-racism-quebec-government-1.6196038">Joyce Echaquan’s</a> death in a Québec hospital has revealed, the intersection of health-care errors and racism is a reality across the country. </p>
<h2>Opportunity for change</h2>
<p>With crisis comes opportunity for change. The challenges identified above have two elements in common: a lack of transparency and the erosion of trust. Deconstructing the culture of secrecy that prevents Canadians from knowing the realities of their health-care system must be a central part of meaningful change to rebuild and maintain trust. </p>
<p>Why is there so much secrecy in health care? Across Canada, current legislation, such as <a href="https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96124_01#section51">Section 51 of B.C.’s Evidence Act (1996)</a>, extends legal privilege to quality and safety reviews, <a href="https://www.longwoods.com/content/26811/healthcare-quarterly/legal-privilege-legislation-consequences-for-patient-safety">leading to further harm for many patients, families and health-care providers</a>. The intentional isolation, silencing and exclusion after incidents of harm undermines trust, prevents learning and impedes opportunities to heal and recover for all those involved. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-rates-of-covid-19-burnout-could-lead-to-shortage-of-health-care-workers-166476">High rates of COVID-19 burnout could lead to shortage of health-care workers</a>
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<p>While the issues of accountability regarding the COVID-19 crisis are somewhat different, the impact in terms of trust is similar. Leaders in Canada and around the world <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/road-ahead-jason-kenney-alberta-covid-politics-1.5818058">politicized the pandemic</a> in various ways, often <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/covid-pandemic-leaders-behaviour-damage-1.6315350">while flouting the rules themselves</a>. </p>
<h2>Transparency and accountability</h2>
<p>The lack of transparency and accountability must be resolved. Patients, families, communities and health care providers at all levels must have a reliable way of knowing the extent of the challenges we are facing — whether that be with respect to the recent pandemic crisis, the decades-old patient safety crisis or the ongoing impact of racism and discrimination in health care across the country. </p>
<p>Simple, direct accounting of both numbers and stories must be widely available if there is a possibility of building momentum to effect change and rebuild trust in the health care system as a whole.</p>
<p>Increasing transparency is one vital step forward. However, there are also other ways we can further rebuild relations and trust in health care through processes that promote healing for all of those affected. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9rRhculNHVg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Pou hihiri, Pou o te aroha (Healing and learning from harm) is a restorative justice project in New Zealand.</span></figcaption>
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<p>For example, New Zealand has had significant success in <a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/restorative-justice/research/health/restorative-practice-and-surgical-mesh">implementing restorative justice processes</a> following health care harm. This kind of process requires a shift in thinking away from, “What happened and who is to blame?” to “Who has been harmed and what are their needs?”</p>
<p>We can move forward from this moment of crisis in a way that promotes <a href="https://doi.org/10.5553/TIJRJ.000096">just relations of care, concern and dignity</a>. We can move forward in a way that cultivates trust in our beloved, but beleaguered, public health-care system. Restorative justice practices provide an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rRhculNHVg">avenue to do so</a>, which we hope can offer a foundation for action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona MacDonald receives funding from the Michael Smith Foundation, The BC Law Foundation and SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allison Kooijman has received research funding from BCPSQC and Health Research BC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Canfield receives funding from the Innovation Support Unit, UBC Family Practice and teaching fees from UBC Faculty of Medicine. Unpaid volunteer with patient and professional networks to advance patient safety in Canada and internationally.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nelly Oelke receives funding from CIHR, Health Research BC, UBC Health, RCCbc, Interior Tri-Universities Coalition, Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine, The College of Family Physicians of Canada, Mitacs, BCPSQC, Doctors of BC, and SSHRC . </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Robson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Patient safety incidents were already a leading cause of death in Canada. With that crisis converging with the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care is being pushed to a breaking point.Fiona MacDonald, Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Northern British ColumbiaAllison Kooijman, Patient Safety Advocate and PhD Student, Faculty of Health and Social Development, School of Nursing, University of British ColumbiaCarolyn Canfield, Citizen-patient and Adjunct Professor, UBC Department of Family Practice, University of British ColumbiaNelly Oelke, Associate professor, School of Nursing, University of British ColumbiaRobert Robson, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1839922022-06-15T13:22:06Z2022-06-15T13:22:06ZWhistleblowers in South Africa have some protection but gaps need fixing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467717/original/file-20220608-219-zp6ve6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Anti-corruption protests are a regular feature in South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every person in South Africa has the right to a functioning local government that can provide basic services such as clean water, electricity and sanitation. But corruption has left much of this sphere of government <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/23792949.2018.1440971?casa_token=IQ_lNJBVOFAAAAAA:YAFk045JUgy0_dzukdk5M8waCivyzIr5iB5gsufD0SOYUdhgOf3NZylEzUgz3w53BvmoTzPhyTQ">unable to fulfil its role</a>.</p>
<p>The watchdog organisation <a href="https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/">Corruption Watch</a>, which is the South African chapter of <a href="https://www.transparency.org/">Transparency International</a>, received 5,094 reports of corruption in local government <a href="https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CW-local-govt-sectoral-report-">from 2012 to 2020</a>.</p>
<p>Most of the disclosures were by whistleblowers in the offices of the municipal managers and the police departments. Whistleblowers are people who report actions that are illegal, fraudulent, criminal, or corrupt – often within their own organisations. They often find their lives at risk and irrevocably changed as a result. They sometimes lose their jobs or even get killed. </p>
<p>Moss Phakoe, a councillor in the <a href="https://bojanala.gov.za/">Bojanala Platinum District Municipality</a> in North West province, <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012-07-18-phakoe-killers-get-20-years-life/">was shot in 2009</a> after exposing corruption by councillors and officials.</p>
<p>Babita Deokaran, a key witness in the investigation of an allegedly corrupt <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2018-08-27-the-price-of-speaking-out-as-a-whistle-blower-%20in-south-africa-is-high-just-ask-moss-phakoes-family/">multi-million rand tender</a> in Gauteng province, was <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-02-24-alleged-killers-of-whistle-blower-babita-deokaran-to-remain-behind-bars-until-mid-april-proceedings/">shot dead in August 2021</a>.</p>
<p>I recently concluded a <a href="https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/38862/Wright_JS.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">doctoral thesis</a> in which I critically explored, from the perspective of the law, how corruption in local government can be prevented. </p>
<p>A subsection of my thesis examined legal protections for whistleblowers in the country, and how they might be improved. This part of the study was limited to analysis of legal literature as well as international and national laws and policies.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/38862/Wright_JS.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">findings</a> show that South Africa’s whistleblower protection regime is too restrictive. It protects certain disclosures only, leaving many whistleblowers unprotected.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whistleblowers-are-key-to-fighting-corruption-in-south-africa-it-shouldnt-be-at-their-peril-168134">Whistleblowers are key to fighting corruption in South Africa. It shouldn't be at their peril</a>
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<p>I also found that witness protection is only used in exceptional circumstances, leaving many whistleblowers exposed to danger. The research further showed that the country could benefit from amending certain pieces of legislation to improve protection. That might encourage more people to report public sector corruption, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/state-capture-in-south-africa-how-the-rot-set-in-and-how-the-project-was-rumbled-176481">is rampant</a>.</p>
<h2>Weighing whistleblower protection</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/38862">research</a> shows that whistleblower protection in South African law and policy has two main components. The first relates to witnesses in criminal offences. </p>
<p>South African <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292689589_The_Protected_Disclosures_Act_26_of_2000_the_Companies_Act_71_of_2008_and_the_Competition_Act_89_of_1998_with_regard_to_whistle-blowing_protection_Is_there_a_link">law</a> and policy boasts a good deal of protection for witnesses and the integrity of evidence relating to corruption as a statutory offence. Statutory corruption is the offering of or promising of benefit to a person, and receiving or accepting such a benefit to act in a manner which may be illegal, dishonest, unauthorised or biased. Such actions may also amount to the abuse of a position of authority, breach of trust or the violation of a legal duty, or a set of rules.</p>
<p>This excludes unilateral abuses of power, favouritism, diversion of public funds, and favours done for the benefit of an institution, rather than for personal gain. For example, a human resources officer may appoint an employee (regardless of the person’s ability to do the job) upon the instruction of his or her political leader to improve the political party’s influence in a municipality.</p>
<p>Witnesses to corruption are offered protection under the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a112-98.pdf">Witness Protection Act of 1998</a>. This <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a112-98.pdf">includes</a> relocation, changing the witness’s identity and other related assistance. But this protection is limited to people who are to give evidence in court.</p>
<p>No protection is given to <a href="https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/38862">their family</a>. Neither is any protection offered to those who report corruption that does not fall under the ambit of statutory corruption. Examples include favouritism and the diversion of public funds or resources. Nor is protection offered to those who report corruption but will not be witnesses in criminal proceedings. </p>
<p>The second part of whistleblower protection falls under the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a26-000.pdf">Protected Disclosures Act of 2000</a>. It protects certain disclosures made by employees against their employers. A protected disclosure is any information which may show that a crime was committed. The act only affords protection for disclosures which relate to statutory corruption. </p>
<p>This protection extends to public officials who make a disclosure against political office bearers. The main objective for protected disclosures is to protect employees from being victimised for reporting corruption. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whistleblowers-and-tax-evasion-what-south-africa-needs-to-add-to-its-toolbox-178055">Whistleblowers and tax evasion: what South Africa needs to add to its toolbox</a>
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<p>Protection under the Protected Disclosures Act is afforded through remedies for any occupational detriment suffered as a result of such a disclosure. This may involve compensation, or other remedial action. </p>
<p>The application of the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/a26-000.pdf">Protected Disclosures Act</a> is limited to occupational detriment and employment relationships. It excludes commercial relationships such as parties to a procurement agreement. This is a serious flaw, given the <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-state-capture-commission-nears-its-end-after-four-years-was-it-worth-it-182898">extent of procurement corruption</a> in the country.</p>
<p>Furthermore, these disclosures are only protected if made to the <a href="http://www.pprotect.org/">Public Protector</a> or the <a href="https://www.agsa.co.za/">Auditor General</a>. Other competent bodies that can investigate and prosecute corruption, such as the police or the <a href="https://www.npa.gov.za/">National Prosecuting Authority</a>, are excluded. </p>
<p>Both parts of witness protection focus on the physical safety of whistleblowers or protecting their current employment conditions. No provision is made for future job security, or financial, emotional, legal or other support for whistleblowers and their families.</p>
<h2>Suggestions for reform</h2>
<p>My <a href="https://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/38862">research</a> revealed that whistleblower protection must be improved to encourage people to report corruption. Parliament should amend the definition of protected disclosures to include those made by people who are not in an employment relationship with an accused. That would include protection for parties to a commercial relationship, such as a procurement contract or tender award.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/muckracking-journalists-who-shaped-southern-africa-over-three-centuries-106792">Muckracking journalists who shaped southern Africa over three centuries</a>
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<p>Witness protection must also be extended to include people who could potentially be in danger because they witnessed corruption as well as their families and close associates. This would encourage even more people to expose corruption. </p>
<p>Doing so would give anti-corruption authorities such as the <a href="https://www.npa.gov.za/">National Prosecuting Authority</a> and the <a href="http://www.pprotect.org/">Public Protector</a> greater access to the evidence needed to combat corruption.</p>
<p>South Africa could also benefit from having a dedicated institution to oversee whistleblower protection. Such an institution should further provide support services, such as legal representation and advice, to current and potential whistleblowers.</p>
<p>It should also provide psychological and social support services for whistleblowers and their connections. This will help ensure that witnesses are able to participate in the entire investigation and prosecution of corruption.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Johandri Wright receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant number 115581), the NWU and the Faculty of Law. All errors and viewpoints are the authors' own. The author is affiliated with the North-West University, Faculty of Law and is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the NRF SARChI Chair in Cities, Law and Environmental Sustainability.</span></em></p>South Africa could benefit from having a dedicated institution to oversee whistleblower protection.Johandri Wright, Postdoctoral Fellow, North-West UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.