The former professional standards director’s employment was terminated under senior executive “no reason” legislation after lodging the December, 2017 complaint about the investigation, in which she also alleged “serious matters” were “kept hidden” from a resources governance unit established after damning NSW corruption inquiries.

The then director alleged “inappropriate and potentially unlawful conduct” by senior staff investigating a complaint about Hunter mining titles manager Rebecca Connor, in a process “being inappropriately managed to achieve an improper conclusion”.

Ms Connor was sacked in May but the department settled her unfair dismissal case a few weeks later. Ms Connor said she was sacked because she “wouldn’t play ball” after raising corruption allegations that were referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption last week after questions in NSW Parliament.

The former professional standards director, who did not want to be named, has backed calls for a judicial inquiry after her position was abolished following a department review of the resources area, and after other staff from the governance unit were transferred or left.

She alleged section 41 of the Government Sector Employment Act, which allows senior executives to be sacked “for any or no stated reason and without notice”, was used to silence internal criticism from senior staff.

“To sack a senior executive who’s seen to be a problem is pretty damn effortless. They’re gone within days,” the former professional standards director said.

“I have no doubt if I had sat in my $200,000 a year job and done nothing I’d probably still be there now, but I did what I was employed to do. People see examples of employees speaking out and they just disappear in a cloud, either by being made redundant or resigning or having their positions terminated.

“There is a culture in the department of people fearing if they raise issues they’ll lose their jobs.”

In documents seen by the Newcastle Herald she alleged a mid-level employee was improperly directed to make a statement about Ms Connor; that the employee was extremely stressed about being used as a witness in a “fishing expedition” investigation, and that staff were allegedly told their “jobs may be at risk” if they declined to be interviewed for the investigation.

The professional standards director alleged the mid-level employee, whose reasons for resisting an interview over the Connor investigation included stress because her sister had terminal cancer, was asked to provide a letter from her sister’s oncologist to “evidence that she is terminally ill”.

Another employee was allegedly directed to take part in a phone interview for the investigation while on leave overseas.

The professional standards director made a protected disclosure complaint in late December, 2017 after alleging she was given an unlawful direction not to talk with staff who approached her about the investigation, despite her obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act.

Her objections about the investigation were described as “highly inappropriate” by a more senior department employee in an email directing that “No further action is to be taken by you on this matter”.

In her protected disclosure complaint the professional standards director said the direction “not to be involved where staff allege improper process” could mean “staff will not feel confident to raise allegations of serious corruption”.

“Given the nature of the business involves exploration titles for mining and minerals which have been the subject of two ICAC investigations and subsequent criminal prosecutions, there is a need for a robust corruption prevention culture,” she wrote.

She was “fearful” actions by senior staff in the Connor case “will compromise existing efforts to create a culture of reporting”.

She also had “concerns that the division is lacking transparency and that serious matters warranting governance intervention are kept hidden from governance”.

In a letter on May 17 the professional standards director was given five days to respond to a notice advising her position was terminated following a “review of the resources and geoscience division of the Department of Planning and Environment and proposed abolition of the role of director professional standards in light of that review”.

She said referral of matters relating to the Connor investigation to ICAC was unlikely to address culture issues in the department.

“My concern is that ICAC is very limited in the work it can do, relating to serious and systemic corruption issues. But you have a whole body of stuff that falls outside the definition of corruption, that still provides a breeding ground for corrupt conduct,” she said.

“I just don’t think ICAC will necessarily be the best vehicle to address the serious issues in the department that need to be addressed.”

The lack of strong whistleblower legislation and the availability of section 41 to sack senior executives without reason were also issues stopping “the cultural change that’s needed”, she said.

“Section 41 legally allows whistleblowers to be sacked without cause and without notice. The rhetoric behind this provision was to allow the public service to deal with underperforming executives, but the reality is the opposite. It can have nothing to do with performance. In my view it erodes confidence in the public service.”

Shadow Resources Minister Adam Searle said Resources Minister Don Harwin had to resign after Herald articles confirmed his department’s role in a mining company’s attempt to reduce an undisclosed $5 million community fund to $500,000, after months of government silence, and after allegations raised by Ms Connor after her sacking.

They included that an elderly farmer had been “screwed” by the department after his objection to a mining licence went missing for 18 months, only to be found after the licence was granted.

“This latest revelation shows that Minister Harwin has been asleep at the wheel while things in his portfolio get out of control. Enough is enough. The Minister must now resign,” Mr Searle said.

A department spokesperson denied that the department used section 41 terminations as a tool to silence senior executives.

“This is not correct. Staff leave the organisation for a number of reasons including poor performance, restructures, resignations, or redundancies including voluntary redundancies. There is significant process around the use of section 41 including reporting to the NSW Public Service Commissioner,” the spokesperson said.

After a restructure the department had one governance unit under policy and communications deputy secretary Alison Frame that covered all areas, including resources and geoscience.